“Key Player” Vera Higgs, “Sarasota Model Railroad Club”, “Sarasota Mayor” Mayor Lou Ann Palmer
A little dog that can count...a man who can play two horns at the same time...a woman who spends her life in the tops of trees. Which
is your uall-time favorite? Join us for a live episode as we
look back at four seasons of your favorite
features. Each feature has been handpicked by former story subjects and viewers
. Jack Perkins reunites with a few old friends during this two-hour WEDU pledge drive.
This month Jack Perkins learns about some speedy little birdies that can fly up to 150 mph! He also chats with a very talented Asian chef whose dishes will make your mouth water. The Sarasota Jazz club and New York Jazz Pianist Lenore Raphael let us listen in. Also we will meet Jesse White, founder of Sarasota Architectural Salvage.
Residents of Siesta Key gather outside the home of Ralph Styles and fall in. He holds a flag retirement ceremony each evening to honor all veterans of U.S.wars. George Earl Fox created extraordinary abstract paintings of the Gulf Coast that would become Sarasota County 's historic, now vanished, landmarks. And Jack visits Englewood where a high speed-hobby has been the buzz - radio controlled cars.
What could be more delightful than a pianist performing a concert on a Sunday afternoon? How about a dozen pianists performing on two pianos? Also, a tribute to dance and culture that is uniquely Robert de Warren as he crosses a successful ballet choreographer with a satirical sculpture. Join Jack as he discovers a new twist to one of the oldest games of mankind. He'll take you inside the arena at the Sarasota Polo Club. All this on the next episode of A Gulf Coast Journal.
This month, Jack Perkins talks with documentarian Ken Burns about John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil, a first baseman in Negro league baseball, the first African American Coach in Major League baseball, and a Sarasota County resident. Perkins also visits The Hermitage in Englewood - the only artists' retreat in the world that is located on a beach. Also, this month, introducing Maggie the Wonder Dog! This pooch can add, subtract, multiply and divide - and practice yoga??
This month, Jack Perkins visits with a treetop traveler, the Sarasota Opera Company and the Sarasota International Cricket Club.
April 2007
Volume:404
Watch This Episode
This month, Jack Perkins meets funnyman Dick Smothers, gets a coveted ticket to one of Sarasota's most unusual attractions, and meets up with a senior "Silver Fox" on the dance floor.
more...
Funny Man
He’s a composer, folk singer and comedy show straight man to his brother’s bumbling antics. But we found out that the real Dick Smothers is a genuinely funny guy who enjoys boating, ballroom dancing and living on the Gulf Coast. Jack talks with Dick about the rise and fall of The Smothers Brothers TV show, sibling rivalry and the secret to making people laugh at the same shtick for 50 years. Brother Tommy weighs in with his own opinion of who mom really liked best.
www.smothersbrothers.com
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Trashy Tour
What’s the hottest ticket in Sarasota County? The opera? The ballet? The symphony? Rubbish. That’s right, the most coveted event of the area is a tour of the county’s landfill. Find out why there’s a six month waiting list to hear tour guides talk trash.
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Silver Foxes
Not only could she have danced all night, she’s been dancing for a remarkable 82 years!!! Shirley Gawne is a fox, a “Silver Fox” of The Venice Little Theatre’s performing seniors. You’ll get the answer to an age-old question, how does she stay so young? Grab your dancing shoes and tune in to next month’s “A Gulf Coast Journal” because Shirley is very likely to inspire you to get up and do the tango.
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March 2007
Volume:403
Watch This Episode
This month, Perkins enjoys the sweet strains of classical guitar, follows a group of local weed wranglers and visits with an area writer whose words reach readers through unusual means.
more...
String Celebration
It's an instrument versatile enough to be found on street corners, in bars, and on stage, often with vocal or band accompaniment. But one group of enthusiasts believes the guitar is an instrument that deserves a spotlight of its own. GuitarSarasota invites viewers to celebrate the sounds of the classical guitar.
www.GuitarSarasota.org
Click here to download and listen to Napelon Coste’s Valse Favorite Op. 46 performed by Thomas Koch
Trail Blazers
Unruly weeds, saggy tree branches, harmful exotic plants—all top the Most Wanted list of the Venice Area Beautification Pepper Patrol Team. Each week this group of dedicated volunteers hits the dirt to move mulch, wrangle weeds and pulverize Pepper trees—all in the name of keeping the city’s landscape trim and tidy.
Venetian Area Beautification, Inc. Pepper Patrol
See Shells
You'll be amazed at the bounty that awaits under the sea! Come along as we go exploring with the Sarasota Shell Club on the mud and sand flats off the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Cockles & mollusks galore and so much more! Peggy Williams leads the way with her lifetime of shelling experience on every continent except Antarctica. Peggy will guide us through the nuances of shelling and show us her collection of over 30,000 gems from the 7 seas!
Ever wonder what you can do with all of those shells you collect? Award-winning shell artist, Sylvia Thompson shows us how to create floral arrangements that will boggle your mind with their beauty and life-like qualities.
As a special treat, Sylvia plays some songs of the sea for us on her clavinova as we watch the waves roll-in on "A Gulf Coast Journal" in March.
Sarasotashellclub.com
Unspoken Words
He may not have a voice, but his written words speak volumes. Over the last decade, Sarasota Herald-Tribune columnist Rich Brooks has lost most of the use of his body to Lou Gehrig’s disease, but his mind and wit are as sharp as ever. Rich shows Jack Perkins how new technology allows him to write his newspaper column without using his voice or fingers.
Read some of his articles:
February 2007
Volume:402
Watch This Episode
This month, Perkins meets two teen television producers, follows the ghost trail with a local writer and celebrates a Big Top Birthday.
more...
Channeled Energy: It's part Crossfire, part Monty Python. A thought-provoking TV show produced by two Pine View School students is making a name for itself among local peers and politicians.
Ghost Writer:By day, she's features editor for the Venice Gondolier newspaper. By night, Kim Cool works the graveyard shift, searching for specters that call the Gulf Coast home. See what spirited stories are housed in the Ca d'Zan Mansion and other popular places along the Gulf Coast.
Kim Cool:
www.historicvenicepress.com
Ca d’Zan Mansion:
www.ringling.org
Tough Act to Follow: Circus Sarasota celebrates 10 years in the city that bears its name. Unlike traveling circuses, this not-for-profit organization features once-a-year-performances with year-round benefits for its community.
Circus Sarasota:
www.circussarasota.org
In Perfect Harmony: Heard of barbershop quartets? How about a beauty shop chorus? Meet the Venetian Harmony, a group of women in perfect pitch. Their four-part harmony is candy for the ears.
January 2007
Volume:401
Watch This Episode
In this episode, host Jack Perkins shows us an artful martial art, introduces us to a masterful maestro and does some marketing.
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The Good Leif: He’s a powerhouse on the podium, a graceful and eloquent conductor respected by musicians. Leif Bjaland celebrates his 10th anniversary as artistic director of the Florida West Coast Symphony. Over the last decade, his engaging conducting style and artistic vision have heralded an era of musical excellence. Jack sits down with the dashing 50-year-old conductor to find out what’s next for the symphony.
www.fwcs.org
Fruitful Friendships: The Farmer’s Market has drawn thousands of people to downtown Sarasota each weekend for nearly 28 years. People come for fresh produce and bread and they come for something else… a sense of ‘community.’
Defensive Play: A Sarasota couple brings a taste of South America to the Gulf Coast. Capoeira Volta Ao Mundo is a martial arts academy with a Brazilian twist. Unlike tae kwon do or karate, capoeira is the only martial art that uses rhythm and music. Learn more about this artful game that is as much about singing and playing instruments as it is about dance and acrobatic play.
www.voltaaomundo.com
La Guia Del Golfo Sarasota’s Spanish speaking community is exploding. Over 25,000 latinos now reside here. Laguia Del Golfo is a Spanish magazine dedicated to serving these people who come from more than ten different countries. The magazine is the brain child of Louis Baron, who visited the United States from his native Columbia in 1999, and immigrated here the next year. His first year here led him to the conclusion “I said one day someone has to write a manual how to immigrate to the United States and know exactly what happening in this country. Some of the problems that we have are because we don’t know the system. We don’t know how to use the system. And i think that the task or the job we need to do is to educate people, educate our community to be part of the American community.”
Mr. Baron’s publications do just that. They have been so successful that La Guia Magazine has been named the best Spanish publication in the u.s. for 4 years in a row. This media company was also recognized as minority business of the year by the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce in 2006.
