Siren Song of Sarasota
What is the lure of Sarasota? Is it the 35 miles of pure white sand beaches adorning six barrier islands? Is it the legacy of legendary circus founder John Ringling, who left an art museum, a hotel and a Venetian-style bay front home? Is it the upscale shopping? How about the warm, iridescent Gulf waters?
The answer, of course, is all the above. Who wouldn’t enjoy a city with the best sand beach in the world, a circus museum, and over thirty art galleries? Add to that a beach full of prehistoric sharks teeth and you’ve got an irresistibly fun oasis.
Start with Siesta Key, the eight-mile long barrier island off the coast of Sarasota that is home to numerous artists and writers. It has long been one of the Gulf coast’s most popular vacation destinations with a wide variety of cozy, family-owned accommodations. Siesta Key’s beach has the finest, whitest sand in the world. And they can prove it! In 1987, tourism professionals in the Sarasota and Bradenton area persuaded scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, to judge the "Great International White Sand Beach Challenge." The judges, after analyzing more than 30 entries from beaches around the world, named Siesta Key the winner and bestowed the title of “World’s Greatest White Sand Beach”, which it still holds to this day. To take advantage of those great beaches, there are many recreational opportunities at Siesta Key including beach walking, fishing, boating, kayaking, snorkeling, scuba diving and sail boarding.
Adding to Sarasota’s allure is Venice Beach, where you’ll find troves of pre-historic sharks teeth waiting to be scooped up from the Gulf surf. There are more shark teeth in the waters here than anywhere else in the world. Does anyone get too old to enjoy finding a real sharks tooth?
Need something a little ritzier? Try St. Armands Key and Longboat Key, situated just offshore and bordered by the Gulf on the west and Sarasota Bay on the east. Upscale shopping, dining and living are the dominant traits in these tropical paradise inspired isles. Beautiful St. Armands Circle has over 150 shops, galleries and restaurants that are so inspiring that they lure international visitors.
Just after 1900, John Ringling moved to Sarasota. In 1927, he made it the winter home of his famous traveling circus, The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Ringling left a grand legacy in Sarasota, including the Ringling Museum, which blends the zeal of the 1920’s with an artistic elegance typically reserved for royalty. Housing the best baroque artwork in the United States, the Museum of Art features 21 galleries, each adorned with unique décor, from a glittering gold room providing shelter to Flemish cabinets with scenes from the Old Testament to muted burgundy walls that cradle a portrait of St. Jerome.
After the museum, visit the seashell-shaped Van Wezel Performing Hall, designed by William Wesley Peters of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. The Hall hosts both local artistic endeavors such as the Jazz Club of Sarasota, as well as grandiose productions. Constructed to achieve acoustical excellence, Van Wezel entertains residents and guests alike with masterpieces from the internationally acclaimed Broadway show Riverdance to intimate performances by Itzhak Perlman, the reigning virtuoso of the violin.
A different kind of entertainment awaits at Myakka River State Park, host to North America’s first canopy trail. The canopy trail is a walkway system erected to let visitors explore the treetops by walking high above the ground among the arms of ancient oaks and gazing out more than three miles to Upper Myakka Lake. You can also travel among the tree limbs a little closer to sea level at Lido Key, where in the 1950’s the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers created tunnels in the mangrove forest bordering Lido Key. The tunnels were created to rid the island of mosquitoes by encouraging inhospitable salt water to mix in with fresh water, preventing a nesting habitat. More than 50 years later, nature-seekers visiting South Lido Park can still navigate the tunnels by kayak and see the mangrove forests from a whole new perspective.
Perfect sand and beaches, sharks teeth, museums, performing halls, nature trails . . . with its unique blend of attractions, it’s easy to see why Sarasota is so alluring.
