News Leader THE SARASOTA. Inside. Old school journalism. 21st century delivery. FRACKING FRONTIER? FINALLY BACK IN THE BLACK?

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1 THE SARASOTA Vol. 2, No. 19 January 24, 2014 News Leader FRACKING FRONTIER? FINALLY BACK IN THE BLACK? CALM AND COMPOSED Inside Old school journalism. 21st century delivery.

2 PLAY ME A TUNE A group of pianists jams in Five Points Park to mark the opening evening of Street Keys. Photo by Norman Schimmel SARASOTA KEYS DRAWS A CROWD WITH ITS LAUNCH DOWNTOWN, AND INTEREST CONTINUES TO BUILD By Rachel Brown Hackney Editor The temperature may have been brisk, but Jim Shirley, executive director of the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, was delighted with the crowd that gathered for the kickoff of the Alliance s Sarasota Keys program, held in downtown Sarasota on the evening of Friday, Jan. 17. We did have a great turnout, Shirley told The Sarasota News Leader on Jan. 22. If the music is hot enough, you don t worry about the weather. As a jam session began in Five Points Park, Shirley said, he watched more and more people walk up, intrigued by the music and wanting to find out what was happening. That was exactly what he was hoping for, he added. Among the musicians participating in that concert were Rich Ridenour, Lee Dougherty Ross and Jesse Martins, according to the Sarasota Keys Facebook page. With the approval of the City Commission, the Alliance has placed six spinet pianos along the sidewalks of Main Street, Pineapple Avenue and Palm Avenue for daytime use. The pianos are open for the public to play, explore, learn, practice and most importantly, enjoy, an Alliance news release says.

3 Sarasota News Leader January 24, 2014 Page 85 Jim Shirley, executive director of the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, welcomes people to the Jan. 17 launch of Street Keys in Five Points Park as City Commissioner Suzanne Atwell listens. Photo by Norman Schimmel

4 Sarasota News Leader January 24, 2014 Page 86 The city commissioners split 3-2 on a Dec. 2 vote to allow the six-month pilot program. Mayor Shannon Snyder and Commissioners Suzanne Atwell and Paul Caragiulo were in the majority. Atwell told a reporter during the Jan. 17 Convocation of Governments at Sarasota County Technical Institute that she was excited about the project getting under way, adding with a laugh that she was brushing up on Chopsticks. Local businesses and individuals chipped in to sponsor and host the pianos, the Alliance release points out. Six Sarasota artists were selected, with the help of curator Tim Jaeger, to craft the pianos into works of public art, the release adds. The artists were Jack Dowd, Richard Capes, Gale Fulton-Ross, Steven Strenk, Cassia Kite and Lori Loveberry George. Kite and Jaeger partnered on one of the pianos. His observations from walking along Main Street this week, Shirley told the News Leader, indicate a warm public response. Some Gale Fulton-Ross was among the participating visual artists chosen for the project. The theme for her piano is Secret Life of a Circle. Photo by Norman Schimmel

5 Sarasota News Leader January 24, 2014 Page 87 Sarabeth Kalajian, director of libraries for Sarasota County, City Manager Tom Barwin and City Commissioner Susan Chapman also were among the crowd. Photo by Norman Schimmel County Commissioner Joe Barbetta and his wife, Mary, (left), join County Commissioner Carolyn Mason for the event. Photo by Norman Schimmel

6 Sarasota News Leader January 24, 2014 Page 88 people seeing the pianos for the first time are uncertain about why the musical instruments are out in the open, he noted, but people are taking advantage of this new opportunity. I saw a 3-year-old doing some playing the other day, Shirley said. That s what we want. While it remains unknown whether the City Commission will extend Sarasota Keys beyond this trial basis, Shirley added, I m just happy we re able to do it. The pianos are located at the Sarasota Opera House on Pineapple Avenue, across from Five Points Park; Louies Modern and the DiFilippo Kent Gallery on Palm Avenue; and Mattison s City Grille, Main Street Traders and the Bohemian Bliss Boutique along Main Street. % The playing of the piano in front of Louies Modern restaurant on Palm Avenue drew an audience later in the evening. Photo by Norman Schimmel