The View From Here

Dear friends:

MS&C June Newsletter: The Art of Exceptional Service

Two of the most storied names in the rich and colorful history of Sarasota are, of course, John and Mable Ringling. If you primarily associate the name Ringling with the legendary three-ring circus, that’s just fine. We’re enormously proud to have been the longtime winter headquarters of The Greatest Show on Earth.

But John Ringling was much more than a larger-than-life circus impresario. His is also the name behind the most spectacular residential developments in this city’s history. Without John Ringling, there would be no Bird Key, no St. Armands or Lido Keys; and who knows what Longboat Key would have become without his visionary handiwork. He took on the impossible and made it happen.

The Ringlings were also connoisseurs of fine art and theirs is one of the greatest collections of art and sculpture in the world, now magnificently ensconced at The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Florida’s official state museum. More than a traditional museum, it is also home to the 275-seat Historic Asolo Theatre and allied to the adjacent Florida State University Center for the Performing Arts, which houses the 500-seat Mertz Theatre a nd 161-seat Cook Theatre.

Come October, these marvelous venues will spring to life as never before as the setting for the first-ever Ringling International Arts Festival, a collaboration of original theatre, dance and music being mounted jointly by New York’s Baryshnikov Arts Center and The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Read about it in this month’s newsletter; then get your tickets right away.

This month you’ll also read about another legendary local institution that bears the Ringling legacy; and likewise thrives on the world stage, The Ringling College of Art & Design. We had lunch recently with the college’s dynamic and visionary leader, Dr. Larry Thompson , and he brought us up-to-date about all the goings-on at this world-class beehive of creativity and learning.

We hope you find this edition of Saunders@Home entertaining and informative. Read on and enjoy!

Cordially,

We would love to hear your comments and suggestions as to what you would like to read in the weeks and months ahead. Please email them to me, care of editor@michaelsaunders.com. Meanwhile enjoy our fifteenth issue.

Did You Know? Our office in the lobby of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Sarasota is staffed by an elite team of real estate professionals with extensive knowledge and expertise in our area’s three Ritz-Carlton properties. Contact 941.364-8884 or visit michaelsaunders.com for more information.