Insider's Guide 2020

From food, shopping and arts to family fun and outdoor thrills. From food, shopping and arts to family fun and outdoor thrills.

In this issue:

Arts & Entertainment

Art of Glass

New Works Highlight the Collection at The Ringling’s Kotler-Coville Glass Pavilion

Over the last decade or so, the popularity of glass as an art form has risen in Sarasota.

12/01/2020 By Kay Kipling

Eat & Drink

Risky Business

In a Time of Uncertainty, a Number of Local Chefs Have Opened New Eateries

They include Chef Dave Shiplett's Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen in Bradenton's Village of the Arts.

12/01/2020 By Cooper Levey-Baker

Health & Fitness

Reality Check

We Asked Locals How Their Jobs Have Been Affected Since Covid-19 Began

Here's what they had to say.

12/01/2020 By Kay Kipling

Home & Real Estate

What Your Money Can Buy

What $2 Million Will Buy You on Sarasota's Waterfront

Two St. Armands penthouses, a Golden Gate Point condo and a single-family home on Siesta Key.

12/01/2020 By Ilene Denton

Beachy Keen

How to Make Your Waterfront Condo Feel Like Home

A couple of interior design experts share their top tips.

12/01/2020 By Ilene Denton

News & City Life

10,000 Steps

Explore Your City With These Five Walking Adventures

Learn some history about the community, see the sights and feel better, too.

12/07/2020 By Cooper Levey-Baker, Susan Burns, Kay Kipling, Allison Forsyth, and Ilene Denton

Insider's Guide

Everything You Need to Know About Sarasota's Award-Winning Beaches

Everything you need to know about the greatest shores on Earth.

12/05/2020 By Pam Daniel

Things to Do

43 Socially Distant Ways to Have Fun in Sarasota—and Beyond

Our editors scanned the landscape to select some of their favorite things to do, see, eat and enjoy.

12/01/2020 By Sarasota Magazine Staff

Simply Fab

The Suncoast Science Center and Its Faulhaber Fab Lab Enliven the Study of Science

The science center is chockablock with 3D printers, mills for fine metal work and other gee-whiz machines.

12/01/2020 By Ilene Denton

If These Walls Could Talk

The Secrets and Scandals Inside Sarasota's Famous Mansions

Let’s take a look at seven homes, each with a special place in the story of our town.

12/01/2020 By Robert Plunket

Pop Quiz

Are You a Real Sarasotan?

Prove your insider chops with our quiz.

12/01/2020 By Ilene Denton and Kay Kipling

Go Figure

What the Census Revealed About Sarasota a Century Ago—and What It Asks Us Today

Sometimes, answers hide more than they reveal.

12/01/2020 By Rich Rescigno

10,000 Steps

Venice Walking Tour Offers a Peek Into the City's History

Slip on your sneakers and follow the handy self-guided tour brochure, produced by Venice MainStreet and the City of Venice.

12/01/2020 By Ilene Denton

10,000 Steps

Downtown Bradenton Offers Everything a Walker Might Want

The neighborhood offers a picturesque, easily accessible waterfront park; public art; and a charming historic district.

12/01/2020 Photography by Allison Forsyth

10,000 Steps

Indian Beach-Sapphires Shores Is One of the Most Eminently Walkable Neighborhoods in Town

Lovely, tree-lined Bay Shore Road runs parallel to Tamiami Trail for several interesting miles.

12/01/2020 By Kay Kipling

10,000 Steps

For a Gorgeous Walk That Combines History and Nature, Meander Through Lido Key

This walk is never too crowded and takes you through some of the most beautiful streets—and beaches—in Sarasota.

12/01/2020 By Susan Burns

Travel & Outdoors

The Flash

The Flash of Green at Sunset? It's Real

The brief phenomenon results from the refraction of sunlight.

12/01/2020 By Pam Daniel

Birds on the Beach

13 Birds You'll Spot on Local Beaches

The Audubon Society’s Kylie Wilson spots some shore-loving species.

12/01/2020 With Kylie Wilson

In Living Color

Florida's Flowering Trees Are a Splashy Sight to Behold

Who needs New England in October when you can enjoy a whole host of flowering trees that provide bright bursts of color year-round?

12/01/2020 By Ilene Denton

Research

Mote Marks 50 Years of Studying Dolphins in Sarasota Bay

The Sarasota Dolphin Research Program was founded at Mote Marine Laboratory in 1970.

12/01/2020 By Ilene Denton