Southwest Getaways 2008 - (Page 4) shorts By Amy Nance WHAT’S NEW IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Fresh Reasons to Visit Sarasota and Her Islands Banyan Theater Company launches its season in summer, with plays starting in June. Block off April 4-13 for the celebrated Sarasota Film Festival, whose astute jury members include critics from The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly. The judges consider some of the most respected movies of the year, the stars come out to play and the festival offers such film fetes as the World Cinema Celebration. Can’t make it in April? This year, the festival provides free classic Moonlight Movies all year long at various locations. See the fascinating G. Wiz Science Museum, where you and the kids can admire “Tutankhamun: The Boy King,” running through May 11 at the museum. Both The Longboat Key Club Resort and downtown Sarasota’s Hyatt Regency benefit from substantial renovations, so if you’re in town, retire to those stylish digs. Information at: Hotel Ranola, 941-951-0111, www.hotelranola.com; John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 941-359-5700, www.ringling.org; Banyan Theater Company, 941-358-5330, www.banyantheatercompany.com; Sarasota Film Festival, 941-364-9514, www.sarasotafilmfestival.com; G. Wiz Science Museum, 941-309-4949, www.gwiz.org; Longboat Key Club Resort, 941-383-8821, www.longboatkeyclub.com; Hyatt Regency, 941-953-1234, sarasota.hyatt.com. Left, Joe Pantoliano, Joseph Greco, Devon Gearhart and Marcia Gay Harden, from Canvas at Sarasota Film Festival in 2007. New in Anna Maria, Palmetto, Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch Moonlight Movies. Sandbar Restaurant in Anna Maria. Two popular establishments, the Sandbar Restaurant and Gulf Drive Café, charm with glamorous renovations. Both are adding wedding gazebos and dressing up with new decks and other updates. Wedding or not, swing by Matt and Dom’s Pastry Café. They are also becoming known for their petits fours and pastries. Where to stay? Check in at Bradenton’s The Londoner, a justopened 1926 bed-and-breakfast complete with wrap-around veranda and flat-screen TVs in each of the seven well-appointed guest rooms. Throw a speed-themed party and take go-karts for a spin around a mile-long, winding track at Andersen RacePark in Palmetto. Professional drivers offer instruction. Afterward, take a tour of the 8,000-square-foot shop, where Indy Pro Series, Star Mazda and F2000 race cars are prepared. Opening later in the year, the Holiday Inn at Sarasota Bradenton International Convention Center will cater to event-goers at the convention center in Manatee County. Information at: Sandbar Restaurant, 941-778-0444, www.sandbar-restaurant.com; Gulf Drive Café, 941-778-1919; Matt and Dom’s Pastry Café, 941-778-3909, www.madpastrycafe.com; The Londoner B&B, 941-795-4657, thelondonerinn.com; Holiday Inn at Sarasota Bradenton International Convention Center, 941-355-9161, www.sbicc.net; Andersen RacePark, 941-723-3900, www.andersenracepark.com Head to Florida’s cultural coast in 2008 for a worldly and stylish retreat. The newly opened Hotel Ranola, a trendy boutique hotel located in downtown Sarasota, offers culture vultures a place to roost in the middle of everything. Sarasota has plenty of cool reasons to visit this spring and summer. Running from the end of May through Aug. 10, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art presents “Phantasmagoria: Spectors of Absence,” a not-to-be-missed exhibit devoted to the mysterious world of vapor. And in its seventh year, the Right, image from the exhibition Phantasmagoria. “Experiencing Cinema” by artist Rosângela Rennò, 2004. DVD, fog machine and photo projection on wall. Courtesy of Galleria Vermelho, Sao Paulo. 4 VISITFLORIDA.com/southwest http://www.hotelranola.com http://www.ringling.org http://www.banyantheatercompany.com http://www.sarasotalmfestival.com http://www.gwiz.org http://www.longboatkeyclub.com http://www.sarasota.hyatt.com http://www.sandbar-restaurant.com http://www.madpastrycafe.com http://www.thelondonerinn.com http://www.sbicc.net http://www.andersenracepark.com http://VISITFLORIDA.com/southwest
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