The Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau proudly supports the inaugural Ringling International Arts Festival as it kicks off Sarasota’s cultural season in grand style.
From October 7-11, 2009 the rich diversity of ideas and forms at play in the world today will be celebrated with performances in dance, music and theater-plus art exhibitions, museum tours and special events- in the theaters, galleries and gardens of the Florida State University cultural campus on Sarasota Bay. The Festival is a unique partnership between Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City and The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.
“The vast potential of the Ringling Museum’s extraordinary cultural facilities will be fully realized at the inaugural Ringling International Arts Festival,” said Dr. John Wetenhall, Executive Director of the Ringling Museum. “With the Art Museum, Ca d’Zan mansion and the Circus Museums as well as three, fully-equipped theaters, the Ringling Museum of Art/FSU Center for the Performing Arts can, through this festival, claim a place among the important art centers in the world.”
It all started with a dream of circus czar and savvy businessman John Ringing and his wife Mable. Since John and Mable made Sarasota their winter home during the bustling 1920s, Artists and art lovers, from the classical to the eclectic, have been attracted to city. They chose to build their winter home on beautiful Sarasota Bay and then completed construction on the Museum of Art in 1931. Upon his death in 1936, John Ringling left the Museum of Art to the people of Florida leaving a legacy for the arts. Today, his legacy has blossomed into a cultural dynasty of international appeal. From its doors has sprung a thriving cultural Mecca that rivals major metropolitan cities and attracts visitors worldwide.
Building on this rich and textured legacy the Ringling International Arts Festival is poised to bring further worldwide acclaim to Sarasota’s first-class arts and cultural community.
You are invited to be part of it all! Choose from single performance tickets ranging from $10-$30—a true bargain in these economic times- or Festival Passes to see four, six or eight shows. Purchase tickets now at www.ringlingartsfestival.org or call the Historic Asolo Theater Box Office at 941.360.7399.
With over 300,000 square feet of museum exhibitions to explore and dozens of performances to attend, we invite you to come early, come often, and stay for post-performance conversations over refreshments each night.
For more information visit www.ringlingartsfestival.org or follow us on our blog, Twitter and Facebook.
Photo credit: Compañia María Páges by Victoria Hidalgo, Meow Meow by Karl Giant, Robert Spano by J.D. Scott
