I DID AND I DO  People who have already said their “I do’s” get to re-ignite the spark with the annual Valentine’s Day “Say I Do Again” ceremony on Siesta Beach.
    For more than 20 years, couples have been gathering on the beach at sunset as Judge Becky Titus leads them through wedding vows. “It’s a lot of fun and the vows are wonderful,” says Martha O’Connor, who registers couples for the event, which is produced by the county’s parks and recreation department, and got hitched again herself last year—to her husband of 33 years.
    Martha donned blue jeans, but some couples wear veils and full wedding regalia. All the “brides” get a flower courtesy of the county.
    A couple married 64 years were honored for the longest marriage, and another celebrating their first anniversary got a gift certificate for fewest years. Titus had the couples give each other an Unconditional Surrender-like kiss after the vows.
    With 20-plus years of outdoor weddings, a few disasters have occurred—red tide, storms and controversy. When the Sarasota Herald-Tribune ran a picture of two lesbians kissing after saying “I do,” the paper was flooded with e-mails and phone calls, leading then-editor Janet Weaver to write an editorial defending the photo.
    The ceremony isn’t legally binding, so anyone can participate. It begins at 6 p.m. Feb. 14 at the main pavilion at Siesta Beach. Photographers will be there to take pictures. Call 861-7275.

SINGLES' CITY If you haven’t had much luck finding that special someone, don’t despair–-Sarasota is the best city for singles, according to a recent Fortune article on retirement.
    There are a few qualifiers to go along with the designation: It’s the best place for singles over the age of 55 with an income above $200,000. If you don’t quite fit into those categories, get to know Patti Hirsch, the new local queen of singledom. She’ll help you find a hook-up whether you’re middle-class, extremely tall or like to contra dance.
    “My passion is trying to find someone for someone else,” Hirsch, 50, says over a margarita at a local Mexican restaurant. “It’s the lost puppy syndrome.”
    A peppy, plain-speaking, plain-dressing woman, Hirsch works as a marketing director at a glass company by day and by night organizes singles events for the group she started, “Singles Organizations Unite.” Presidents of local groups serve on her board and recruit members at SOU events. A recent dance featured a sexy Santa giving out thongs.
    “I’m not Dr. Ruth. I just coordinate and get people together,” Hirsch says. 
    On Feb. 25, Hirsch is bringing the third annual Singles Expo and Dance to the Sarasota Cay Club. Relationship experts will be there, such as Lynn McDonald, local author of How to Use Your Shopping Skills to Get a Man, and Bradenton resident Dr. Robyn, who has a nationally syndicated talk show and has been featured on Dr. Phil and CBS’ 48 Hours. SARASOTA Magazine’s very married resident foodie, Judi Gallagher, will whip up a romantic dessert.
About 2,000 singles attended last year’s expo, Hirsch says, and a similar event in Tampa drew 4,000. 
    Hirsch also recently published Finding the Right Connection, a directory of 90 single groups from Tampa to Naples. “Nobody believed there were that many,” Hirsch says. “A lot of them are non-profits and they don’t know how to get the word out.”
    The book (which sells for $14.95 at local book stores or online at therightconnection.com) is the culmination of Hirsch’s “detective work” beginning four years ago when Hirsch moved to Sarasota from Kansas City to care for her ailing parents. In the glossy-covered directory featuring a photo of Hirsch, a tattooed 20-something man, an 81-year old grandma with a tennis racket, and a local single representing just about every other demographic, you’ll discover Shake a Leg, a new Sarasota dance club; 13 Ugly Men, a group of Tampa professionals (they’re actually quite cute, Hirsch says); and Tampa Bay Tall ‘n Terrific (women have to be five feet 10 inches or more, men, six feet two inches or taller).
    "They have a yardstick, just like the amusement rides,” says Hirsch. “That just cracks me up.”
Kim Hackett blogs about civic issues and politics on City Beat, at sarasotamagazine.com.