Festival sARTée, Ringling International Arts Festival, and Anna Maria Island’s ArtsHOP Entertain
 
BRADENTON, Fla. (August 29, 2011) – The second annual Festival sARTée (sar-tay) 2011,running concurrently with theRingling International Arts Festival 2011 (RIAF),delivers a vibrant lineup of spectacular local, national and international arts and cultural acts to the Bradenton and Sarasota areas in October 2011.  Rounding out the area’s impressive fall arts season is Anna Maria Island’s fifth annual ArtsHOP cultural weekend, November 11-13. 

            Festival sARTée is a 16-day festival held October 8-23, featuring more than 50 theater, opera, cultural, visual arts, film and dance events.  Highlights include “The Sound of Music” performances at the award-winning Manatee Players in Bradenton, October 8 and 9; ArtSlam 2011, a juried public outdoor art competition in Downtown Bradenton, October 15; the Enviro-Art Competition Dinner at Ortygia Ristorante in the Village of the Arts, where attendees decide the results of a five-month long natural/recycled art competition on October 21; and the destination’s latest hands-on cooking demonstration, “Chic and Easy Around the Ranch” with FOOD Network Host Mary Nolan at Polo Grill and Bar in Lakewood Ranch, October 22.  For a complete listing of events, visit www.sartee.com.

            Presented by festival organizers the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and the Baryshnikov Arts Center, the Ringling International Arts Festival 2011 is in its third year, and will beheld at the Ringling Center for the Arts in Sarasota.  Held October 11-16, this festival features contemporary and innovative dance, musical and theatrical works by established and emerging artists, including headlining acts from Europe, and North and South America.  The opening night kicks off with the energizing sights and sounds of New York City’s Asphalt Orchestra, followed by more than 45 festival stage productions over the course of the festival.  Highlights includeDoug Elkins & Friends’ “Fräulein Maria”, a dance production based on “The Sound of Music”, “HAMLET” performed by The Wooster Group, and a performance by MeklitHadero, an Ethiopian-born singer likened to Norah Jones.  For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.ringlingartsfestival.org.

Anna Maria Island Cultural Connection’s fifth annual arts and cultural weekend, ArtsHOP, kicks off November 11 with an Island-Wide Gallery Walk featuring local island-style art, live demonstrations and hands-on experiences.  Running through November 13, ArtsHOP activities include a performance of “Charles Lindberg – The Lone Eagle” from the Island Players Friday and Saturday evenings; a Traditional Small Maritime Craft Show on historic Pine Avenue in Anna Maria; A Little Autumn B&B classical music performance by the Anna Maria Island Concert Chorus & Orchestra; and weekend-long Anna Maria Island Butterfly Garden Arts and Crafts Fair in Holmes Beach.  For more information, visit www.islandartshop.com.
 
About Anna Maria Island & Longboat Key        Located between Sarasota and Tampa Bay on Florida’s southwest coast, Anna Maria Island & Longboat Key, and their coastal companions, Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch, are treasured for their authentic Old Florida charm, breath-taking scenery, funky dining and shopping districts, and miles of sugar-white sands. The Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau is the official destination marketing organization for Manatee County, Florida. Tourism is Manatee County’s leading industry, employing nearly 18,000 residents, generating a direct annual economic impact of more than $470 million in the local economy and producing more than $6 million in bed-tax collections in 2010.  For more information, call (941) 729-9177, ext. 243 or visit www.AMILBK.com.   We also invite you to follow us on Facebook at “Anna Maria Island & Longboat Key” and Twitter @VisitBradenton.  

-Anna Maria Island & Longboat Key-


For Media Info:
Gentry Baumline-Robinson
Hayworth Creative Public Relations
386-677-7000/gentry@hayworthcreative.com
 
Tara Donovan, PR & Social Media Manager
Bradenton Area CVB
941-729-9177 ext. 243/tara.donovan@bacvb.com