Sarasota, Florida

The origin of the name is disputed and has fostered a number of theories. Two theories involve Hernando de Soto’s visit to the area in 1539. One holds that he named it after his daughter, Sara; however, he had no children. George F. Chapline created this story in 1906, including an ill-fated romance between Sara and a Seminole prince.https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/community-connection/hurricane-legend-protecting-sarasota-florida/67-549545cf-a550-465c-8195-0570b326d523 Another holds that it was named “Zara Soto”, Arabic for the “Radiance of Soto".https://www.londonbay.com/blog/explore-the-rich-history-of-sarasota-fl Other theories take into account the substantial beaches and indigenous mounds, with early Spanish explorers being reminded of the Sahara, combined with “zota” the indigenous word for "blue waters". https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/business/2021/10/24/jeff-lahurd-how-did-sarasota-get-its-name-hint-sahara/6105051001/ Others claim that it comes from "sara-de-cota," meaning "an area of land easily observed" in the language of the Calusa indigenous tribe.{{cite book|title=Sarasota Modern|author=Andrew Weaving|isbn=0-8478-2872-7|publisher=Rizzoli International Publications|date=2006|page=10}}

The area known today as Sarasota appeared on a sheepskin Spanish map from 1763 with the word {{lang|es|Zarazote}} over present-day Sarasota and Bradenton.{{cite web |title=The Origin of the Name, Sarasota |url=http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/history/articles/the-origin-of-the-name-sarasota/ |website=Sarasota History Alive! |access-date=August 22, 2018}} In 1776, a British map by Bernard Romans lists a "Boca Sarasota" in the local area.https://www.sarasotafl.gov/home/showpublisheddocument?id=2316 Maps in the 1700’s showed the area as “Sarazota” or “Porte Sarasote”.https://historicpreservationsarasota.com/sarasotahistory/ A fishing camp and trading post on Longboat Key was also called “Saraxota”. The name Sarasota appears on the first maps of the state of Florida in 1839, after having passed into the ownership of the United States.https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/323271

People from Sarasota are generally known as "Sarasotans”.

{{Main|History of Sarasota, Florida}}

Around 1883 to 1885, The Florida Mortgage and Investment Company of Edinburgh bought 60,000 acres for development in what is now Sarasota. Many Scottish people began to arrive in Sarasota in December 1885. The municipal government of Sarasota was established when it was incorporated as a town on October 14, 1902. John Hamilton Gillespie was the first Mayor of the town government.{{Cite web|title=Caledonian Club of Florida West, a Scottish social club|url=https://floridascots.org/|access-date=2020-11-14|website=Caledonian Club of Florida West|language=en-US}} When reincorporated with a city form of government on May 13, 1913, A. B. Edwards became the first mayor of the city government.

Sarasota has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa){{cite web |url = http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/ |title = World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated |date = November 6, 2008 |access-date = September 10, 2010 |publisher = University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna}} with hot, humid summers and cooler, milder winters. The high temperatures and high humidity in the summer regularly push the heat index over {{convert|100|F}}. There are distinct rainy and dry seasons, with the rainy season lasting from March to November and the dry season from December to February. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of {{convert|24.08|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|38.07|km2|abbr=on|order=flip}} is land and {{convert|9.39|sqmi|abbr=on}} is water.

The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is the name given to the many natural deep water sections as well as humanmade channels, canals, and cuts that link the entire Sarasota Bay system.{{cite book |last1=Antonini |first1=Gustavo A. |last2=Fann |first2=David A. |last3=Roat |first3=Paul |title=A Historical Geography of Southwest Florida Waterways: Anna Maria Sound to Lemon Bay |date=1989 |publisher=Omni Print Media Inc. |page=7 |url=https://ufdc.ufl.edu/uf00093670/00001}}

{{Weather box|width=auto

|location = Sarasota, Florida (Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1911–present

|single line = Y

|Jan avg record high F = 82.6

|Feb avg record high F = 83.6

|Mar avg record high F = 86.1

|Apr avg record high F = 89.7

|May avg record high F = 93.4

|Jun avg record high F = 94.9

|Jul avg record high F = 95.2

|Aug avg record high F = 95.3

|Sep avg record high F = 94.0

|Oct avg record high F = 91.3

|Nov avg record high F = 87.2

|Dec avg record high F = 83.6

|year avg record high F = 96.6

| Jan high F = 72.5

| Feb high F = 74.9

| Mar high F = 78.2

| Apr high F = 82.5

| May high F = 87.5

| Jun high F = 90.0

| Jul high F = 91.1

| Aug high F = 91.5

| Sep high F = 90.2

| Oct high F = 86.3

| Nov high F = 80.0

| Dec high F = 75.2

|year high F = 83.3

|Jan mean F = 62.4

|Feb mean F = 64.8

|Mar mean F = 68.1

|Apr mean F = 72.6

|May mean F = 77.8

|Jun mean F = 81.8

|Jul mean F = 83.1

|Aug mean F = 83.4

|Sep mean F = 82.2

|Oct mean F = 77.3

|Nov mean F = 70.1

|Dec mean F = 65.2

|year mean F = 74.1

| Jan low F = 52.3

| Feb low F = 54.6

| Mar low F = 58.1

| Apr low F = 62.7

| May low F = 68.2

| Jun low F = 73.6

| Jul low F = 75.2

| Aug low F = 75.3

| Sep low F = 74.1

| Oct low F = 68.3

| Nov low F = 60.1

| Dec low F = 55.2

|year low F = 64.8

|Jan avg record low F = 33.9

|Feb avg record low F = 37.5

|Mar avg record low F = 42.5

|Apr avg record low F = 49.2

|May avg record low F = 58.6

|Jun avg record low F = 68.3

|Jul avg record low F = 70.3

|Aug avg record low F = 71.7

|Sep avg record low F = 68.1

|Oct avg record low F = 55.3

|Nov avg record low F = 44.9

|Dec avg record low F = 38.9

|year avg record low F = 32.3

|Jan record high F = 91

|Feb record high F = 90

|Mar record high F = 91

|Apr record high F = 96

|May record high F = 98

|Jun record high F = 100

|Jul record high F = 101

|Aug record high F = 101

|Sep record high F = 98

|Oct record high F = 99

|Nov record high F = 92

|Dec record high F = 90

|year record high F =

|Jan record low F = 23

|Feb record low F = 21

|Mar record low F = 30

|Apr record low F = 37

|May record low F = 45

|Jun record low F = 52

|Jul record low F = 62

|Aug record low F = 60

|Sep record low F = 58

|Oct record low F = 40

|Nov record low F = 27

|Dec record low F = 20

|year record low F =

|precipitation colour = green

| Jan precipitation inch = 2.79

| Feb precipitation inch = 1.92

| Mar precipitation inch = 2.85

| Apr precipitation inch = 2.46

| May precipitation inch = 2.58

| Jun precipitation inch = 7.05

| Jul precipitation inch = 7.39

| Aug precipitation inch = 9.11

| Sep precipitation inch = 6.00

| Oct precipitation inch = 2.76

| Nov precipitation inch = 1.81

| Dec precipitation inch = 2.33

|year precipitation inch = 49.05

| unit precipitation days = 0.01 in

| Jan precipitation days = 8.5

| Feb precipitation days = 6.8

| Mar precipitation days = 6.4

| Apr precipitation days = 5.1

| May precipitation days = 6.0

| Jun precipitation days = 12.8

| Jul precipitation days = 15.6

| Aug precipitation days = 17.5

| Sep precipitation days = 13.7

| Oct precipitation days = 7.0

| Nov precipitation days = 5.6

| Dec precipitation days = 7.6

| year precipitation days = 112.6

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|source 1 = NOAA{{cite web

| url = https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=tbw

| title = NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| accessdate = May 23, 2021

}}{{cite web

| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USW00012871&format=pdf

| title = Summary of Monthly Normals 1991–2020

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| accessdate = May 23, 2021

}}}}

{{US Census population

|1910= 840

|1920= 2149

|1930= 8398

|1940= 11141

|1950= 18896

|1960= 34083

|1970= 40237

|1980= 48868

|1990= 50961

|2000= 52715

|2010= 51917

|2020= 54842

|footnote=Source

}}

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 54,842 people, 25,209 households, and 12,474 families residing in the city.{{Cite web|title=S1101 HOUSEHOLDS AND FAMILIES - 2020: Sarasota city, Florida|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=Sarasota+city;+Florida+&tid=ACSST5Y2020.S1101|website=United States Census Bureau}} Of that population in 2020, 3.9% were under 5 years old, 14.6% were under 18 years old, and 28.0% were 65 years and older. 52.5% of the population were female persons.{{cite web |title=QuickFacts Sarasota city, Florida |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/sarasotacityflorida/RHI525220 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=26 May 2022}}

As of 2020, 4,056 veterans lived in the city and 16.7% of the population were foreign born persons.

In 2020, the median gross rent was $1,177. 92.5% of the households had a computer and 84.2% of the households had a broadband internet subscription.

In 2020, 90.0% of the population over 25 years had completed a high school education, and 37.2% of the population over 25 years had a bachelor's degree or higher.

In 2020, the median household income was $56,093 with a per capita income of $43,387. 15.6% of the population lived below the poverty threshold.

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 51,917 people, 22,775 households, and 11,603 families residing in the city.{{Cite web|title=S1101 HOUSEHOLDS AND FAMILIES - 2010: Sarasota city, Florida|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=Sarasota+city;+Florida+&tid=ACSST5Y2010.S1101|website=United States Census Bureau}}

The municipal government of Sarasota was established when it was incorporated as a town on October 14, 1902. Sarasota was reincorporated as a city on May 13, 1913.{{cite web |title=Sarasota History |url=http://historicpreservationsarasota.org/sarasotahistory/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823011414/http://historicpreservationsarasota.org/sarasotahistory/ |archive-date=23 August 2018 |website=History & Preservation Coalition of Sarasota County |date=October 21, 2013 |access-date=August 22, 2018}} Thereafter, it was called the "City of Sarasota". Sarasota later was designated as the county seat when Sarasota County was carved out of Manatee County in 1921 during the creation of several new counties.

In 1945 the commission-manager government form{{cite web |url=https://www.sarasotafl.gov/government/city-commission |title=City Commission |website=City of Sarasota |access-date=November 4, 2024}} was adopted for the city and it is governed by a five-person commission elected by popular vote, two members of which serve in the ceremonial positions of "mayor" and "vice-mayor", as chosen by the commission every April. Two at-large commissioners are elected by all voters and the city is divided into three districts for which the residents of each elect one district representative to the five member commission. Liz Alpert was voted Mayor for 2024-2025 period.https://www.sarasotafl.gov/government/city-commission/mayor-alpert

Sarasota has an official seal which was adopted in 2022 replacing the original seal that was adopted in 1902. Sarasota's seal also has the city motto on it: "May Sarasota Prosper". The city seal consists of a silhouette of the Statue of David.{{Cite web |date=August 11, 2022 |title=City of Sarasota and DreamLarge finalize new City seal |url=https://www.sarasotafl.gov/Home/Components/News/News/3009/}}

Many aspects of the city are overseen by the county government ranging from the schools, the libraries, the bay, major waterways, county-designated roads, the airport, fire departments, property and ad valorem taxes, voting, the health department, extension services, stormwater control, mosquito control, the courts, and the jail.

The municipal government of Sarasota was established when it was incorporated as a town on October 14, 1902. Sarasota was then reincorporated as a city on May 13, 1913.

Since its incorporation, Sarasota has been governed by a commission–manager form of government. There are a total of five city commissioners: two that are elected "at large" and three from single-member districts. The mayor and vice mayor are selected from the five city commissioners.

Mayors of Sarasota, Florida include:{{Cite web |title=Former Mayors |url=https://www.sarasotafl.gov/government/city-commission/former-mayors |access-date=March 25, 2025 |website=City of Sarasota}}

• J. Hamilton Gillespie (1902 - 1907), property developer
• J. B. Chapline (1907 and 1908), a real estate agent
• G. W. Franklin (1908 and 1909), a furniture store owner
• J. Hamilton Gillespie (1909 and 1910)
• Hamden S. Smith (1910 and 1911), ice company owner
• Harry H. Higel (1911 to 1914), property developer and Great Floridian
• A. B. Edwards (1914 to 1916), realtor
• Harry H. Higel (1916 and 1917 second stint)
• G. W. Franklin 1917-1919
• A. B. Edwards (Arthur Britton Edwards){{Cite web|url=http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/index.php?src=directory&srctype=detail&refno=1529&view=history&back=history|title=A. B. Edwards | Sarasota History Alive!|website=www.sarasotahistoryalive.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://hsosc.com/mr-sarasota/|title=Mr. Sarasota|date=July 14, 2020}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/index.php?src=directory&srctype=detail&refno=1523&category=Articles&view=history&back=history|title=Arthur Britton Edwards "Roots" | Sarasota History Alive!|website=www.sarasotahistoryalive.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/history/2022/09/05/sarasotas-first-mayor-and-first-real-estate-agent-put-city-map/7942959001/|title=Sarasota's first mayor saw nearly a century of change | Sarasota History, Jeff LaHurd|first=Jeff|last=LaHurd|website=Sarasota Herald-Tribune}} 1919-1921
• E. J. Bacon 1921-1931
• E. A. Smith 1931-1937
• Verman Kimbrough 1937-1939
• E. A. Smith 1939-1945
• J. Douglas Arnest 1945-1948
• J. Fite Robertson 1948-1951
• John L. Early 1951-April, 1953
• Leroy T. Fenne April 1953- December 1953, owner of the Sarasota Hotel{{Cite web|url=http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/index.php?src=directory&srctype=detail&refno=1249&view=history&back=history|title=The Sarasota Hotel | Sarasota History Alive!|website=www.sarasotahistoryalive.com}}
• Ben Hopkins, Jr. 1953-1955
• John D. Kicklighter 1955-1956
• A. Ray Howard 1956-1957
• Frank L. Hoersting 1957-1958
• Col. Fred W. Dennis 1958-1959
• Frank Hoersting 1959-1960
• Marshall E. Marable 1960-1961
• John 0. Binns 1961-1962
• Herschel C. Hayo 1962-1964
• David Cohen 1964-1966
• Jack Betz 1966-1969
• D. William Overton 1969-1970
• Jack Betz (John C.) 1970-1971
• Gerald E. Ludwig 1971-1972
• Fred E. Soto 1972-1973
• J. "Tony" Saprito 1973-1975
• Elmer G. Berkel 1975-1976
• Ronald Norman 1976-1978
• Elmer G. Berkel 1978-1979
• Fred E. Soto 1979-1981
• Ronald W. Norman 1981-1982
• Rita J. Roehr 1982-1983
• Annie M. Bishopric 1983-1984
• Lou Ann Palmer{{Cite web|url=https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/136194|title=Florida Memory • Lou Ann Palmer.}} 1984-1985{{Cite web|url=https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/sarasota-mayor-gets-lifetime-achievement-award/67-391880125|title=Sarasota mayor gets "Lifetime Achievement" award|website=wtsp.com|date=15 August 2008 }}
• William G. Kline 1985-1986
• Kerry G. Kirschner 1986-1987
• Fredd G. Atkins 1987-1988
• Rita J. Roehr 1988-1989
• Lou Ann Palmer 1989-1990
• Kerry G. Kirschner 1990-1991
• Fredd G. Atkins 1991-1992
• Jack Gurney 1992-1993
• Gene M. Pillot 1993-1994
• Nora Patterson 1994-1995
• David Merrill 1995-1996
• Mollie C. Cardamone 1996-1997
• Gene M. Pillot 1997-1998
• Jerome Dupree 1998-1999
• Mollie C. Cardamone 1999-2000
• Gene M. Pillot 2000-2001
• Albert F. Hogle 2001-2001
• Carolyn J. Mason 2001-2003
• Lou Ann Palmer 2003-2004
• Richard F. Martin 2004-2005
• Mary Anne Servian 2005-2006
• Fredd G. Atkins 2006-2007
• Lou Ann Palmer 2007-2009
• Richard Clapp 2009–2010
• Kelly Kirschner 2010-2011
• Suzanne Atwell 2011-2013
• Shannon Snyder 2013-2014
• Willie Charles Shaw 2014-2017
• Shelli Freeland Eddie 2017-2018 a lawyer
• Liz Alpert 2018-2019, an attormey
• Jen Ahearn-Koch 2019-2020, a marketing consultant
• Hagen Brody 2020-2021{{Cite web|url=https://www.sarasotafl.gov/government/city-commission/former-mayors|title=Former Mayors | City of Sarasota|website=www.sarasotafl.gov}}
• Erik Arroyo 2021-2022{{cite web | url=https://www.sarasotafl.gov/government/city-commission/commissioner-arroyo | title=Commissioner Erik Arroyo | City of Sarasota }}
• Kyle Battie 2022, former television show host{{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/sarasota/2022/11/15/commissioner-kyle-battie-becomes-mayor-sarasota-florida-new-commissioners-sworn-in/10671016002/|title=Sarasota city commissioners select Kyle Battie as new mayor|first=Anne|last=Snabes|website=Sarasota Herald-Tribune}}
• Liz Alpert 2023-2024{{Cite web|url=https://www.yourobserver.com/news/2023/nov/16/sarasota-gets-new-mayor/|title=Sarasota gets a new mayor|date=November 16, 2023|website=Your Observer}}

Sarasota has many musical, dance, theatre, circus and other performing arts venues, including the Sarasota Ballet, Sarasota Opera, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, the Players Centre for Performing Arts, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, Urbanite Theatre, Sarasota Contemporary Dance, Sarasota Orchestra, La Musica, Jazz Club of Sarasota, Sarasota Youth Opera, Circus Arts Conservatory and many others.

File:Sarasota FL Asolo Rep Theatre01 (cropped).jpg]]

Theatrical venues include Florida Studio Theatre, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, The Players Theatre, Urbanite Theatre, and the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe.{{Cite web|title=Home - Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe -Live Theater|url=https://westcoastblacktheatre.org/|access-date=2020-07-22|website=westcoastblacktheatre.org}}

In 1925, A. B. Edwards built a theater that could be adapted for either vaudeville performances or movie screenings. Renowned stripper Sally Rand did her bubble bath and fan dance here. Tommy Dorsey, Will Rogers and Elvis Presley each performed at the Edward Theatre. It is now the Sarasota Opera House.{{cite web |url=http://www.mysuncoast.com/news/local/historic-suncoast-buildings-the-sarasota-opera-house/article_4017fd00-d563-11e3-825f-001a4bcf6878.html |title=Historic Suncoast Buildings: The Sarasota Opera House |website=Mysuncoast.com |access-date=October 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026064705/http://www.mysuncoast.com/news/local/historic-suncoast-buildings-the-sarasota-opera-house/article_4017fd00-d563-11e3-825f-001a4bcf6878.html |archive-date=October 26, 2018 |url-status=dead}} It remains at the intersection of Pineapple Avenue and Second Street, having been restored and used for performances by the Sarasota Opera and others. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In the early 1950s, the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art purchased a historic Italian theater, the "Asolo" (now called the Historic Asolo Theater). This theatre was originally built for Queen Caterina of Cyprus' palace in Asolo, Italy in 1798 but was dismantled in 1931.{{cite web |url=https://www.ringling.org/history-historic-asolo-theater |title=History of The Historic Asolo Theater |website=Ringling.org |access-date=October 28, 2018}} A. Everett "Chick" Austin, the museum's first director, arranged the purchase and reassembly of the theater for performances of plays and opera.

In the 1960s philanthropists Lewis and Eugenia Van Wezel enabled the city to build a performing arts hall on the bayfront. The auditorium, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's successor firm, Taliesin Associated Architects team under the direction of William Wesley Peters. Wright's widow, Olgivanna Lloyd Wright, who participated in the project, selected its purple color.

In 1989, Stuart Barger, a local architect, designed and oversaw the construction of another Asolo Theater, housed in the Florida State University Center for the Performing Arts. It is a multi-theater complex, located farther east on the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art property, being placed between Bay Shore Road and Tamiami Trail, and facing south toward Ringling Plaza. It was built around a rococo, historic Scottish theater previously called the Dunfermline Opera House, which had been shipped to Florida. The complex provides venues and facilities for students of Florida State University's MFA Acting program, the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. This was the administrative home of the Sarasota French Film Festival for several years.

Florida Studio Theatre's Keating Theatre, formerly the Sarasota Woman's Club, is amongst the oldest surviving buildings in Sarasota.  Founded in 1903, the Sarasota Woman's Club eventually set out to create a meeting place to house social events, activities, and forums. On January 1, 1915, the cornerstone was laid at the corner of Palm Avenue and Park Street (now Cocoanut). It served as the town's first library and hosted numerous clubs and public committee gatherings. The Woman's Club also maintained a census and birth registration, an area PTA, and a Red Cross Auxiliary.

The Sarasota Woman's Club relocated in 1976 and the building became slated for demolition. Marian McKenna, a patron, and supporter of the arts, did not want to see the building and her memories destroyed. She purchased the building and later sold it to Florida Studio Theatre.{{Cite web |last=floridastudiotheatre |date=2020-10-02 |title=How well do you know Sarasota's Contemporary Theatre? |url=https://floridastudiotheatre-stagedirections.org/2020/10/02/how-well-do-you-know-fst/ |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=FST Stage Directions |language=en}}

In 1985, the Sarasota Woman's Club building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. After completing more renovations to the historic building in 2003, the theatre was renamed the Keating Theatre in honor of Ed and Elaine Keating, and in 2004, additional lobby space was built in the theatre - the Bea Friedman Room. FST's Keating Theatre now seats 173 and remains a cultural center of Sarasota.

In 2003, FST purchased the Gompertz Theatre. The building was originally the Park-Seventh Movie House in the 1920s. Due to the Depression, the movie house shut its doors and became an empty venue. During its predominantly vacant period in the 1940s, the theatre hosted a variety of roadshows and performers, including Tom Mix and his Wonder Horse and the All Girls' Orchestra. During this time it was known as the Garden Theater, and later the Art Theater, before becoming known as the Palm Tree Playhouse in 1951. The Playhouse closed again in the 1960s. In the mid-1970s, Asolo Theatre purchased the space for production purposes and their Stage Two Theatre program. It was subsequently sold to Anita Katzman and reoccupied by Siesta Key Actors Theatre and Theatre Works in the 1980s. The building was acquired by Florida Studio Theatre and renamed the Gompertz Theatre in honor of Mrs. Leila Gompertz, who made the lead gift enabling the purchase.{{Cite web |title=Gompertz Theatre {{!}} Florida Studio Theatre |url=https://www.floridastudiotheatre.org/gompertz-theatre/ |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=www.floridastudiotheatre.org |language=en}}

Sarasota is the home of the Sarasota Orchestra, which was founded by Ruth Cotton Butler in 1949 and known for years as the Florida West Coast Symphony. It holds a three-week Sarasota Music Festival that is recognized internationally and boasts it attracts renowned teachers and the finest students of chamber music.

Sarasota also boasts a symphonic chorus, Key Chorale, and professional vocal ensemble, Choral Artists of Sarasota. The Jazz Club of Sarasota is one of the largest and most active jazz clubs in the United States and has promoted jazz events in Sarasota for 39 years.

Elvis Presley, Tommy Dorsey and Gregg Allman each played concerts in Sarasota.

Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Brian Johnson of AC/DC, Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers Band, Donald Dunn of the Blues Brothers and Graeme Edge of the Moody Blues have all settled in Sarasota.{{cite web |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20100617/who-lives-here |title=Who lives here? |website=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |access-date=October 28, 2018}}

File:Ca dZan - John Ringling Mansion from East 2.jpg, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art]]

Sarasota and the Cultural Coast are home to fine art, film-making, circus history and performance, and decorative arts. The Sarasota Art Museum and the Ringling Museum are both in Sarasota.

One of Sarasota's nicknames is "Circus City", or alternatively "The Circus Capital of the World",{{Cite web |last=ENGELBERGER |first=CLINTON |date=2023-06-21 |title=Why is Bradenton-Sarasota called the 'circus capital of the world?' |url=https://www.bradenton.com/news/local/article276356021.html |website=Bradenton Herald}} owing in part to John Ringling's decision to move the winter quarters of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus to Sarasota in 1927.{{Cite web |last=LaHurd |first=Jeff |title=Real History with Jeff LaHurd: Wealth on the line, Ringling made Sarasota the Circus City |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/business/real-estate/2022/03/07/jeff-lahurd-how-and-why-sarasota-became-circus-city/9333161002/ |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |language=en-US}} The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art houses the Circus Museum and the Tibbals Learning Center, established in 1948.

Sarasota is also home to The Circus Arts Conservatory, which is responsible for the tent show Circus Sarasota{{Cite web |title=Circus Sarasota Is Back Under the Big Top |url=https://www.sarasotamagazine.com/arts-and-entertainment/2022/02/review-circus-sarasota-2022 |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=Sarasota Magazine |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=February 11, 2022 |title=Circus Sarasota 2022 debuts under the big top Friday |url=https://www.wtsp.com/article/entertainment/circus-sarasota-2022-to-debut-under-the-big-top-friday/67-3a5b906a-34d7-42d5-a7a8-b35d44af19b6 |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=wtsp.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Circus Sarasota marks 25 years of fun and thrills under the big top |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/entertainment/arts/2023/02/06/circus-sarasota-marks-25-years-of-thrills-in-anniversary-big-top-show/69845540007/ |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |language=en-US}} and the "oldest youth circus", Sailor Circus.{{Cite web |last1=Mancini |first1=Mary Ellen |last2=Staff |first2=V. S. C. |title=The Oldest Youth Circus In America Lives In Sarasota {{!}} Visit Sarasota County |url=https://www.visitsarasota.com/article/oldest-youth-circus-america-lives-sarasota |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=www.visitsarasota.com |language=en}} In 2017, The Circus Arts Conservatory took part in the Smithsonian Folk Festival.{{Cite web |title=Circus Sarasota Entertains Thousands Each Season. But First, It Needs That Tent |url=https://www.sarasotamagazine.com/arts-and-entertainment/2020/01/circus-sarasota-entertains-thousands-each-season-but-first-it-needs-that-tent |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=Sarasota Magazine |language=en-US}}

The Showfolks Club, a social organization that also puts on an annual circus performance billed as "Sarasota’s longest running circus event", is located in Sarasota.{{Cite web |last=Tatangelo |first=Wade |title=Showfolks of Sarasota open house |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/entertainment/events/2017/04/12/showfolks-of-sarasota-open-house/21399728007/ |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2015-04-05 |title=Matriarch of 'Flying Wallendas' Family Dies at 87 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jenny-wallenda-grandmother-nik-wallenda-dies-87-n336166 |website=NBC News}}{{Cite web |title=PHOTOS: Showfolks Holiday Circus 2021 |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/picture-gallery/news/2021/12/11/photos-showfolks-holiday-circus-2021/6478149001/ |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Tatangelo |first=Wade |title=Showfolks Circus at Robarts |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/entertainment/events/2016/12/06/showfolks-circus-at-robarts/24407703007/ |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |language=en-US}}

The Circus Ring of Fame is a series of commemorative plaques in St. Armand's Circle, honoring prominent figures in circus history, similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.{{Cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Jessi |last2=Staff |first2=V. S. C. |title=Ring of Fame Honors Circus Greats and Celebrates Sarasota History {{!}} Visit Sarasota County |url=https://www.visitsarasota.com/article/ring-fame-honors-circus-greats-and-celebrates-sarasota-history |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=www.visitsarasota.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=February 3, 2023 |title=Sarasota's Circus Ring of Fame to welcome new class of inductees |url=https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/sarasotacounty/sarasota-circus-ring-of-fame-inductees/67-d6f466b4-ce0a-4775-844d-b5ae81952ab9 |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=wtsp.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Circus Ring of Fame Foundation to honor four new members of Circus Ring of Fame |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/2022/12/24/four-new-circus-ring-of-famers-to-be-honored-at-the-sarasota-big-top/69740061007/ |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=St Armands Circle {{!}} City of Sarasota |url=https://www.sarasotafl.gov/our-city/st-armands-circle |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=www.sarasotafl.gov |language=en}} Honorees include Paul Binder, Nik Wallenda, and the King Charles Troupe, among over 150 others.

Residents of Sarasota that have been associated with the circus include daredevil and Guinness World Record holder Bello Nock, himself an honoree of the Circus Ring of Fame, as well as aerialist and circus proprietor Dolly Jacobs, who cofounded The Circus Arts Conservatory.{{Cite web |date=2015-10-01 |title=Dolly Jacobs |url=https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/dolly-jacobs |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=www.arts.gov |language=en}}

In 1952, Cecil B. DeMille filmed and premiered The Greatest Show on Earth (with James Stewart, Charlton Heston, Betty Hutton) in Sarasota.

In 1998, two studio films were filmed in Sarasota: Alfonso Cuaron's Great Expectations, with Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hank Azaria, Anne Bancroft and Robert De Niro; and Volker Schlondorff's Palmetto, starring Woody Harrelson, Elisabeth Shue, and Gina Gershon.

Out of Time (2003), a crime drama starring Denzel Washington and Eva Mendes used the Blackburn Point Bridge, Boca Grande and Cortez. In 2013, Taylor Hackford's action movie Parker, with Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte had scenes filmed at Ca' d'Zan in Sarasota.

File:Sphyrna tiburo mote marine.jpgs seen at the Mote Marine Laboratory]]

In June 2017, director Kevin Smith shot his 2022 film, KillRoy Was Here, in Sarasota.{{cite web|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/kevin-smith-horror-anthology-movie-killroy-was-here/|title=Kevin Smith's Monster Movie 'Killroy Was Here' Begins Filming At A Florida College|website=/Film|last=Giroux|first=Jack|date=June 15, 2017|access-date=September 7, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/kevin-smith-horror-movie-killroy-was-here-florida-1202467952/|title=Kevin Smith Filming Horror Movie 'Killroy Was Here' at Florida College|website=Variety|date=June 15, 2017|last=McNary|first=Dave|access-date=September 7, 2019}}

File:Fountain Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.JPG]]

Sarasota is home to Mote Marine Laboratory, a marine rescue, research facility, an aquarium, the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, the Sarasota Jungle Gardens and the Big Cat Habitat & Gulf Coast Sanctuary.

Since 1998, the city has hosted the Sarasota Film Festival annually. The festival attracts independent films from around the world. It claims to be one of Florida's largest film festivals. In 2009 the annual Ringling International Arts Festival, held its premier and held its closing event in the historic Asolo theater, which had been moved and rebuilt again. The historic Venetian theater now is housed in the reception building for the museum where it is used for special events as well as performances, informative purposes, and another seasonal film series hosted by the museum.

Florida Studio Theatre produces the annual Sarasota Improv Festival. Founded in 2009 by Rebecca Hopkins, FST's annual Sarasota Improv Festival brings together improvisers from across the country and worldwide. The Festival has become a destination event, drawing thousands across Florida and beyond. Past performers have come from as far as Mexico, Canada, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom to perform on Florida's Gulf Coast.

In 2010, the Sarasota Chalk Festival that is held yearly in the historic area of Burns Square became the first international street painting festival in the United States of America. Celebrating the sixteenth-century performance art of Italian street painting, the festival hosted Maestro Madonnaro Edgar Mueller from Germany, who created the first street painting that changed images from day to night.{{cite web |url=http://www.pelicanpressonline.com/afterhours/features/105871718.html |title=Ground-breaking Street Painting |author=Walter, Nick |date=October 27, 2010 |work=Pelican Press |publisher=JCPGroup |page=Features |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110614212534/http://www.pelicanpressonline.com/afterhours/features/105871718.html |archive-date=June 14, 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.pelicanpressonline.com/localnews/106623713.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110614212528/http://www.pelicanpressonline.com/localnews/106623713.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 14, 2011 |title=Students chalk up accomplishments |author=Toner, Moira |date=November 3, 2010 |work=Pelican Press |publisher=JCPGroup |page=Local News }}{{cite web |url=http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20101028/ARTICLE/10281004 |title=Street art goes global this year |author=Weingarten, Abby |date=October 28, 2010 |work=Sarasota Herald Tribune |page=E6}}{{cite web |url=http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20101028/ARTICLE/10281004 |title=Artists to make the pavement come alive in Sarasota |author=Ball, David |date=October 23, 2010 |work=Sarasota Herald Tribune |page=BN1 |access-date=December 7, 2010}} The festival has a different theme each year and has introduced new techniques in street art. Other applications of street art such as murals and "cellograff graffiti" have become companion events also produced by Avenida de Colores, Inc. The murals are part of the "Going Vertical" project, and although it sometimes coincides with the chalk festival, it is distinct from it and often continues throughout the year. Except for a few commissioned on public property in the Palm Avenue Parking Garage, the murals are on private property and are in many sections of Sarasota and Manatee County. {{As of|2014}} the Sarasota Chalk festival has relocated to Venice, south of Sarasota. The name Sarasota Chalk Festival remains the same.

It is also home to the Fabulous Arts Foundation, formerly the Harvey Milk Festival, an independent music festival in support of civil rights, focusing on the LGBTQ community.{{cite web |access-date=November 27, 2024 |title=FabAF - Queer Art & Advocacy |url=https://fabaf.org/ |website=Fabulous Arts Foundation}} It has been celebrated in May annually since 2010 on the weekend closest to Harvey Milk's birthday. It is currently the largest independent music festival in Sarasota{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}, with thousands of attendees throughout the free, public, multi-day event that also includes gallery showings, film, and other live performances.

A large number of homes and buildings are designed in the Italian style. Italian architecture and culture are present in the area including at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Ringling's home, Cà d'Zan, was mostly modeled on the Venetian.{{Cite web |title=The Legacy of Sarasota's Historic Architecture {{!}} Sarasota History Alive! |url=http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/index.php?src=directory&srctype=detail&refno=1242&category=Articles&view=history&back=history |access-date=2022-12-21 |website=www.sarasotahistoryalive.com |language=en-US}} Examples of those more typically seen in the same style are the residences of Edith RinglingBenz, Kafi, Sarasota History Alive! article - [http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/index.php?src=directory&view=history&category=Articles&srctype=detail&back=history&refno=1390 Edith Ringling residence] archived and of Hester Ringling Lancaster Sanford,Benz, Kafi, Sarasota History Alive! article - [http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/index.php?src=directory&view=history&srctype=detail&back=history&refno=1319 Hester Ringling Lancaster Sanford residence] archived that also are among the structures in the Caples–Ringling Estates Historic District. Italian inspired statues are also common and the copy of Michelangelo's David at the museum is used as the symbol of Sarasota.{{Cite web |title=Everything You Need to Know About The Ringling's "David" |url=https://www.sarasotamagazine.com/arts-and-entertainment/2017/05/inside-the-ringling-collection |access-date=2022-12-21 |website=Sarasota Magazine |language=en-US}}

The Sarasota School of Architecture developed as a variant of mid-century modernist architecture. It incorporates elements of both the Bauhaus and Frank Lloyd Wright's "organic" architecture. The style developed as an adaptation to the area's sub-tropical climate and used newly emerging materials that were manufactured or implemented following World War II.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

{{See also|List of historic sites in Sarasota, Florida}}

File:Sarasota FL County crths08.jpg]]

By the end of the twentieth century, many of Sarasota's more modest historical structures were demolished. Recently, two historic buildings, the Crocker Church and the Bidwell-Wood House (the oldest remaining structure in the city),Jennings, David, A Tale of Two Commissions, Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation, Inc. Newsletter, February 2005, volume twenty, number two, Box 1754, Sarasota, Florida 34230 – with illustrations of Crocker Church and Bidwell-Wood House by Kafi Benz first restored by Veronica Morgan and members of the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation that she founded, became city property. These structures were relocated to this park, despite protests from residents who objected to the loss of park area.

In the late 1970s, Sarasota County purchased the Terrace Hotel that Charles Ringling built and renovated it for use as a county government office building.LaHurd, Jeff, Sarasota, A History, The History Press, Charleston, South Carolina, IBSSN 1-59629-119-2 The adjacent courthouse that he donated to the new county in 1921 has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The courthouse complex was designed by Dwight James Baum.

In the next decade, the landmark hotel built by Owen Burns, the El Vernona, which had been turned into apartments, became endangered. By then, it was called the John Ringling Towers and was purchased by a phosphate miner, Gardinier, who wanted to turn it into his corporate headquarters. Plans were made to restore the building. The city commissioners initially supported the plan, but lobbying to undermine the project began, and one of the commissioners changed her vote. The project was denied at the final hearing.

Remarkable preservation success occurred during the 1990s when the community exhibition hall, the Municipal Auditorium, designed by Thomas Reed Martin and Clarence A. Martin, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and meticulously restored to its depression recovery era, 1937 WPA community project, completion status, and its architectural glory—both inside and out. The city boasts that 100,000 people use it every year and it is a boon to the community for recreation, lawn sports, as well as being heavily attended for auctions, concerts, conventions, flea markets, galas, graduations, lectures, orchid and flower shows, and a full range of trade shows of interest to the community. Later the Federal Building, designed by George Albee Freeman (the designer of Seagate for industrialist Powell Crosley Jr.) and Louis A. Simon, which initially had served as the post office was restored as well.

Most of the luxurious historic residences from the 1920s boom period along the northern shore of Sarasota Bay also have survived. This string of homes, built on large parcels of elevated land along the widest point of the bay, is anchored by the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art at its center.

Many significant structures from the comparatively recent "Sarasota School of Architecture" period of the mid-twentieth century, however, have not survived. Since they do not qualify under the age criteria set for historic preservation nominations, their historical aspect often escapes public recognition. Others frequently are threatened by demolition plans for new development without consideration of their cultural and historical importance to the community instead of motivating the implementation of plans to retain the buildings and integrate them into new plans.

In 2006, the Sarasota County School Board slated one of Paul Rudolph's largest Sarasota projects, Riverview High School, for demolition. The board decided despite protests by many community members, including architects, historic preservationists, and urban planners. Others supported the demolition as they believed the structure was no longer functional. The issue was divisive. The World Monuments Fund included the school on its 2008 Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites in the category Main Street Modern.

Following a March 2007 charrette led by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a proposal was advanced to renovate and preserve Rudolph's buildings. The school board decided to allow a year to consider implementing the innovative plan proposed to preserve the buildings, which would include building a parking garage with playing fields above it rather than demolishing the structures. In early June 2008, the school board voted in a 3–2 decision to allow the demolition; School board members Shirley Brown, Caroline Zucker and Frank Kovatch voted against preserving the historic high school.{{Cite web |url=http://www.sarasota.k12.fl.us/Agenda2/June%2017,%202008%20Board%20Meeting%20on%20Tuesday,%20June%2017,%202008/91C1D8DA-C2A9-4C96-B192-147632B7E9B4Minutes.htm |title=June 17, 2008 Board Meeting|work=School Board of Sarasota County |access-date=December 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417214354/http://www.sarasota.k12.fl.us/Agenda2/June%2017,%202008%20Board%20Meeting%20on%20Tuesday,%20June%2017,%202008/91C1D8DA-C2A9-4C96-B192-147632B7E9B4Minutes.htm |archive-date=April 17, 2016 |url-status=dead}} This decision was that school would be demolished and that a parking lot would replace it. One year later, in June 2009, Riverview High School was demolished.{{cite web |url=http://www.docomomo-us.org/news/florida_rudolphs_riverview_high_school_demolished |title=Rudolph's Riverview High School Demolished |author=Joyce Owens |date=July 11, 2009 |work=originally published on News-press.com |publisher=Do.co.mo.mo-us.org |access-date=August 27, 2010}}

In December 2019, a former Sarasota High School facility was transformed into the Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College.{{Cite web|title=StackPath|url=https://www.asumag.com/planning-design/renovation/article/21114366/93yearold-school-building-converted-to-art-museum-in-sarasota-fla|website=www.asumag.com|date=December 10, 2019 |access-date=2020-04-30}} The 93-year-old building was renovated to include 80,000 square feet for the museum's campus with about 15,000 square feet for exhibitions, costing about $30 million according to the president of Ringling College, Larry Thompson.

The Sarasota neighborhood of Pinecraft is home to a relatively liberal Amish-Mennonite community which is unusual compared to other Amish communities as it consists mainly of elderly who moved to Florida because of its mild climate, of Amish people who are on holiday and of Amish who do not fit in easily in other communities.Kraybill, Donald B., Karen M. Johnson-Weiner and Steven M. Nolt: The Amish, Philadelphia, 2013, pages 241-243. Breaking Amish: Brave New World, a television series of scripted reality is set in Pinecraft. It is a spin-off of Breaking Amish.

The Rosemary District was an African American community and is home to the Boulevard of the Arts. Newtown is predominantly and historically African American.

Public education is provided and managed by the Sarasota County Public Schools school district.

Elementary schools in Sarasota include the following:

{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}

• Alta Vista Elementary School
• Ashton Elementary School
• Bay Haven School of Basics Plus
• Brentwood Elementary School
• Emma E. Booker Elementary
• Fruitville Elementary School
• Gocio Elementary School
• Gulf Gate Elementary School
• Lakeview Elementary School
• Laurel Nokomis School
• Phillippi Shores Elementary School
• Southside Elementary School
• Tatum Ridge Elementary School
• Tuttle Elementary School
• Wilkinson Elementary School

{{div col end}}

Middle schools include Booker Middle School, Brookside Middle School, Laurel Nokomis School, McIntosh Middle School, and Sarasota Middle School.

High schools include Booker High School, Pine View School for the Gifted, Riverview High School, Sarasota High School, Suncoast Polytechnical High School, Sarasota Military Academy, and Oak Park School.

Sarasota was also home to the Flint School, a preparatory school for boating.

• Ascension Lutheran School
• The Classical Academy of Sarasota
• Sarasota Christian School
• Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School
• Out-of-Door Academy

File:Palm court 1995.jpg.]]

Sarasota is home to New College of Florida, a public liberal arts college and the honors college for the State University System of Florida.

Additional colleges in Sarasota include Keiser University of Sarasota (a private, not for profit university); FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training (Florida State University's MFA Acting Conservatory in conjunction with the Asolo Repertory Theatre); Ringling College of Art and Design, a school of visual arts and design; and satellite campuses of Eckerd College, based in St. Petersburg, Florida; and Florida State University College of Medicine, based in Tallahassee, Florida. Other colleges in the city include East West College of Natural Medicine, an accredited college of acupuncture and Chinese medicine.

Nearby educational institutions with regional draw include State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, and a commuter branch of the University of South Florida, with the main campus located in Tampa.

{{See also|List of television stations in Florida|List of radio stations in Florida}}

Sarasota is part of the Nielsen-designated Tampa-Saint Petersburg-Sarasota television market.{{cite web |url=http://www.mediainfocenter.org/compare/top50/#tv |title=Top 50 TV markets ranked by households |publisher=Northwestern University Media Management Center |access-date=September 3, 2007 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807070323/http://www.mediainfocenter.org/compare/top50/#tv |archive-date=August 7, 2007}} The local television stations are ABC-affiliate WWSB and the SNN: Suncoast News Network, a continuous local cable news operation run by Comcast, Frontier FiOS and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. WWSB is the only network station with studios in Sarasota. Other network and public television programming serving the community is offered by Fort Myers and Tampa television stations. Comcast provides cable television service. DirecTV and Dish Network direct broadcast satellite television including Tampa Bay Area local and national channels to Sarasota residents.

Sarasota made national headlines in July 1974 when WWSB (then called WXLT) news anchor Christine Chubbuck shot herself live on-air.

Arbitron has identified the Sarasota-Bradenton radio market as the seventy-third largest market in the country,{{cite web |url=http://www.arbitron.com/radio_stations/mm001050.asp |title=Arbitron Radio Market Rankings: Spring 2007 |publisher=Arbitron |access-date=September 3, 2007}} and the sixth largest in the state of Florida. There are eight radio stations in the city: WSMR (89.1FM, classical music), WSLR-LP (96.5FM, variety-talk and community issues), WKZM (104.3FM, religious; repeating WKES Lakeland), WSRZ (107.9FM, oldies), WLSS (930AM, talk), WSRQ (1220AM, 98.9FM, 106.9FM, talk), WTMY (1280AM, talk), WTZB (105.9FM, rock music; commonly known as The Buzz) and WSDV (1450AM, adult standards). WHPT (102.5 FM, Hot Talk) and WRUB (106.5FM, Spanish) are licensed to Sarasota and have broadcasting facilities in the Sarasota / Bradenton area, but have studios in the Tampa Bay area and are focused on that region.

The community also is served by most radio stations from the Tampa Bay radio market, as well as some stations from the nearby Fort Myers radio market.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is the daily newspaper published in the city and the weekly newspaper is the Sarasota Observer. From neighboring Manatee County, the Bradenton Herald also is distributed daily in the area and The Bradenton Times is an electronic weekly newspaper that covers Sarasota topics as well. Sarasota Magazine also served the community.

Sarasota is home to the Sarasota Paradise, an amateur team who play in the USL League Two, founded in 2023, the team plays it games at Charlie Cleland Stadium at Ihrig Field.

In 1937 the Municipal Auditorium-Recreation Club was built with funds provided by the Works Progress Administration, the municipal government, and local residents and business owners. It became a center for sports, entertainment, and recreation. The sports activities have ranged from badminton, basketball, boating, lawn bowling, and shuffleboard, to tennis. The auditorium hosts clubs for cards, dancing, games, gardening, and numerous hobbies as well as having become the community meeting place for commercial and educational shows and the venue for local schools and charities to hold events and dances. Tourists are attracted to exhibitions provided by local businesses as well as vendors from national circuits. This building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places because of its architecture and for providing the enormous range of community activities that are scheduled at it every week.

Sarasota is home to Ed Smith Stadium where the Baltimore Orioles have held spring training since 2010.[https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2010/02/04/get-the-most-out-of-spring-training-2010/28942132007/ Echeverria Jr., Steve. "Get the most out of Spring Training 2010," Herald-Tribune (Sarasota, FL), Thursday, March 4, 2010.] Retrieved October 5, 2022. The Orioles also have minor league facilities at the Buck O'Neil Baseball Complex at Twin Lakes Park.[https://www.sarasotamagazine.com/news-and-profiles/2011/02/5-questions-12 Denton, Beau. "5 Questions: Play Ball," Sarasota (magazine), February 2011.] Retrieved October 5, 2022. Previously, Ed Smith Stadium was the spring training home of the Cincinnati Reds and the minor league Sarasota Reds.

File:Sarasota golf 1905 SHC 83d40m crop editWp4wikip.JPG

The warm climate helped the Sarasota area become a popular golf destination. John Hamilton Gillespie was an early pioneer of the game in Sarasota. The Sara Bay course in the Whitfield area was designed by golf architect Donald Ross. Bobby Jones was associated with the community course in Sarasota. Many courses dot the area, including the one originally laid out for the hotel John Ringling planned on the southern tip of Longboat Key.

Sport fishing attracts enthusiasts to Sarasota as a result of the action that the bay offers. Tarpon was the biggest draw, but gigantic gar as well as many other species abounded to attract the notable Owen Burns and Powel Crosley.

The Sarasota Marathon started in 2005. In 2010, declining sponsorship and marathon registration led organizers to change the event to a half marathon. The race begins and ends near the John and Mable Ringling Museum.{{cite web |url=http://www.runthenation.com/marathon/2008_Sarasota_Marathon |title=2008 Sarasota Marathon |access-date=January 8, 2009}}

File:Lido Beach Pool, Sarasota, Florida (1946).jpg

Sarasota is home to two swim teams. The Sarasota Sharks have won national championships. A newer team, the Sarasota Tsunami, was founded by the former Sharks head coach and is also nationally competitive. The teams maintain a rivalry.{{Cite web |url=https://www.teamunify.com/Home.jsp?team=flsysst |title=Sarasota Sharks |website=Teamunify.com |access-date=August 25, 2018}}

The Sarasota Sailing Squadron is a highly active facility that has hosted many nationally renowned regattas for both dinghies and larger vessels.[http://www.sarasotasailingsquadron.com/2006OptiStory.htm 2006 Opti Nationals]. Sarasotasailingsquadron.com (July 30, 2006). Retrieved July 17, 2013.

In 2013, Sarasota became the home of the Sarasota Thunder, which was to play in the Ultimate Indoor Football League, but the team folded.{{Cite web |url=http://preps.heraldtribune.com/2012/08/12/football-sarasota-thunder-coming-in-2013/ |title=Sarasota Thunder coming in 2013 – HT Preps |date=August 12, 2012 |website=HT Preps|access-date=August 25, 2018 }}

In 2014, Sarasota hosted the modern pentathlon World Cup Final.{{Cite web |url=https://www.visitsarasota.com/news-release/sarasota-bradenton-host-olympic-sport-modern-pentathlon |title=Sarasota-Bradenton to host the Olympic sport of Modern Pentathlon |date=December 3, 2013 |website=Visit Sarasota Florida Beaches and Beyond {{!}} Official Travel Guide|access-date=August 25, 2018}}

Nathan Benderson Park contains a lake with a specialized 2,000 meter eight-lane rowing course. It was the venue for the World Rowing Championships in 2017, held on September 23 – October 1, 2017.{{cite web |url=http://www.mysuncoast.com/news/local/council-approves-benderson-park-for-world-rowing-championships/article_38b90e7e-fe0d-11e2-9210-001a4bcf6878.html |title=Council approves Benderson Park for 2017 World Rowing Championships |work=Sarasota News | Mysuncoast.com and ABC 7 |date=August 5, 2013 |publisher=MySuncoast |access-date=August 6, 2013 |last1=Winitz |first1=Max }} The park has been the site of USRowing's Youth National Championship Regatta in June 2015, 2017, 2021, 2022 and 2023 and has hosted the NCAA women's rowing national championship (Division I, Division II and Division III) in 2018, 2021 and 2022. The park has also hosted trials of the men's and women's U.S. teams for the Summer Olympic Games of 2016 and 2020.

Sarasota and Bradenton together held the 2021 U-18 Baseball World Cup.{{cite web |title=Press Conference: "The XXX WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup will be blessed by Florida hospitality" |url=https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2021-u18-baseball-world-cup/news/-the-xxx-wbsc-u-18-baseball-world-cup-will-be-blessed-by-florida-hospitality- |website=WBSC |publisher=World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) |access-date=10 September 2022}}

Sarasota is home of the Whiskey Obsession Festival, the largest whiskey festival in Florida. Established in 2013, the festival features several hundred whiskies from around the world. Dozens of professional brand ambassadors and distillers participate in the festival by engaging in panel discussions, leading classes, and tastings.{{Cite web |url=https://www.whiskeyobsessionfestival.com/ |title=Whiskey Obsession Festival |website=Whiskeyobsessionfestival.com |access-date=August 25, 2018}}

Sarasota is home to the Sarasota Ski-A-Rees, an amateur water ski show team. They began in 1957. Present day, they perform weekly free water ski shows (seasonally) for the public on Ken Thompson Park. The team competes in regional tournaments annually and won the National Show Ski Championships in 2017.

File:Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport FL 31 Dec 1998.jpg

The major airport in the area is Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) which is shared by Sarasota and Manatee counties.{{cite web |url=http://www.manateechamber.com/manatee-county-transportation-information.aspx |title=By Air, Sea and Road |access-date=September 10, 2010 |publisher=Manatee Chamber of Commerce}} Since being opened in 1941, it has been the area's major airport. Before this, Lowe's Field functioned as the main airport for the Sarasota Area from 1929 to 1941.{{Cite web |url=http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/history/markers/municipal-airport-lowe-field/ |title=Municipal Airport/Lowe Field {{!}} Sarasota History Alive!|website=Sarasotahistoryalive.com |access-date=2018-08-08}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.airfieldsfreeman.com/FL/Airfields_FL_TampaS.htm |title=Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Florida, Southern Tampa area |website=Airfields-freeman.com|access-date=2018-07-23}}

Five airlines offer service out of the airport to locations primarily in the United States and Canada. The airport serves more than 1,300,000 passengers per year. The airport holds full port of entry status providing U.S. Customs inspections for international travelers. St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport and Tampa International Airport are located about an hour north from Sarasota, and Southwest Florida International Airport in Ft. Myers an hour and 45 min south of Sarasota. All 3 offer a wider range of national and international flights.

Sarasota County Area Transit has a bus service called Breeze which offers service throughout the county and also offers limited connections with Manatee County Area Transit. Sarasota County has joined the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority to plan and build future transportation infrastructure including light rail, commuter rail and longer range bus service.

A key issue is providing Sarasota with access to the Florida High Speed Rail. The Seaboard Coast Line ran intercity train service to the city until 1971.{{cite web |url=http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/history/markers/atlantic-coast-line-railroad-depot/ |title=Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Depot - Sarasota History Alive! |website=Sarasota History Alive! |access-date=October 28, 2018}} There is no Amtrak train which stops in Sarasota, but Amtrak provides Amtrak Thruway at Sarasota Station, located approximately {{convert|2|miles}} from the city limits of Sarasota, to the nearest Amtrak terminal in Tampa.{{cite web |access-date=July 8, 2019 |title=Sarasota, FL (SRA) |url=https://www.amtrak.com/stations/sra |website=Amtrak}} A freight-only rail line operated by Seminole Gulf Railway does serve industries in Sarasota. The Seaboard Coast Line ran the last passenger train, the West Coast Champion, to the company's depot on 1971."Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Depot". Sarasota History Alive!. http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/history/markers/atlantic-coast-line-railroad-depot/ Retrieved March 29, 2021.

As a city located on the Gulf of Mexico, water transportation is a key consideration. The Intracoastal Waterway is a {{convert|3000|mi|km|adj=on}} waterway providing water access to and from the Atlantic coast for tugs, barges, and leisure boats. Port Manatee and the Port of Tampa both provide nearby deep water ports. Port Manatee provides cargo service primarily while the Port of Tampa is more diverse. Port Manatee formerly even had a cruise line, Regal Cruise Line from 1993–2003. It was seized by U.S Marshals on April 18, 2003, for not being maintained.{{Cite web |url=http://www.cruiseserver.net/travelpage/cruiselines/regal.asp |title=Cruise Line & Ship Profiles |website=Cruiseserver.net |access-date=2018-09-22}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/article201140084.html |title=Port Manatee has been without cruise service for 15 years. He's trying to bring it back |last=Jones |first=James A. Sr. |work=Bradenton Herald|access-date=2018-09-22 |year=2018 }} The waterway enters Sarasota Bay which provides access to downtown Sarasota at the city pier.

Because of its location on the Gulf of Mexico and its proximity to several other large metropolitan areas, road transportation is critical to the Sarasota area. The major roads in the area include:

• 24px I-75 – the only freeway in the area, I-75 is located {{convert|5|miles|spell=in}} east from the center of Sarasota and is a major interstate leading south to Miami and north to Tampa
• 24px U.S. 41 Tamiami Trail – a major north-south route through Sarasota enters the city from the south before heading west at the south end of U.S. 301; after briefly following Bayfront Drive the Trail heads north again paralleling the coast
• 24px U.S. 301 – heading north from its intersection with U.S. 41, U.S. 301 follows Washington Boulevard running parallel to U.S. 41 until the two roads merge again in Manatee County
• 24px SR 780 – Fruitville Road (Third Street) – a main east-west thoroughfare linking U.S. 41, U.S. 301, and Interstate 75
• 24px SR 789 – starts out as John Ringling Causeway before heading to Bird Key and Lido Key, SR 789 turns north and becomes Gulf of Mexico Drive, a major road on the islands between Sarasota and Bradenton

{{See also|List of sister cities in Florida}}

The U.S. sister city program began in 1956 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed a people-to-people, citizen diplomacy initiative. The Sarasota chapter was established in 1963. A sister city, county, or state relationship is a broad-based, long-term partnership between two communities in two countries. A relationship is officially recognized after the highest elected or appointed official from both communities sign off on an agreement to become sister cities.{{cite web |access-date=January 31, 2021 |title=What Is a Sister City? |website=Sister Cities International |url=http://sistercities.org/about-us/what-is-a-sister-city-3/}}

Sarasota's sister cities are:{{cite web |title=Our Sister Cities|url=https://sarasotasistercities.org/#|publisher=Sister Cities Association of Sarasota|access-date=February 1, 2021}}

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• {{flagicon|FRA}} Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales, France (1994)
• {{flagicon|RUS}} Vladimir, Vladimir Oblast, Russia (1994) (suspended){{cite web|url=https://sarasotasistercities.org/vladimir-russia/|title=The Sarasota Sister Cities relationship with Vladimir, Russia is currently suspended by the Sarasota City Commission due to the aggression by Russia with its invasion of Ukraine.|publisher=Sister Cities Association of Sarasota|accessdate=2023-10-20}}
• {{flagicon|ISR}} Tel Mond, Central District, Israel (1999)
• {{flagicon|SCO}} Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, UK (2001)
• {{flagicon|CHN}} Siming District, Xiamen, Fujian, China (2007)
• {{flagicon|MEX}} Mérida, Yucatán, México (2010)

{{div col end}}

• {{flagicon|SUI}} Rapperswil-Jona, Kanton St. Gallen, Switzerland (2017){{cite web |title=Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland|url=https://sarasotasistercities.org/busseto-italy/|publisher=Sister Cities Association of Sarasota|access-date=February 1, 2021}}
• {{flagicon|ITA}} Busseto, Emilia-Romagna, Italy (2020){{cite web |title=Busseto, Italy|url=https://sarasotasistercities.org/busseto-italy/|publisher=Sister Cities Association of Sarasota|access-date=February 1, 2021}}

• List of people from Sarasota
• Newtown

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{{Commons category|Sarasota, Florida}}

• {{wikivoyage inline|Sarasota}}
• {{official website|http://www.sarasotafl.gov/}}

{{Sarasota, Florida}}

{{Sarasota County, Florida}}

{{Florida county seats}}

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Category:Cities in Florida

Category:Cities in Sarasota County, Florida

Category:County seats in Florida

Category:Sarasota metropolitan area

Category:Populated coastal places in Florida on the Gulf of Mexico