Diabetes and Neuropathy Treatment in Sarasota, FL
Living with neuropathy and diabetes is a challenge that millions of Americans face every day. Neuropathy - which comes in several forms and manifests in many ways - can affect any person. In the United States, neuropathy and diabetes often go hand-in-hand, with about 50% of people with diabetes suffering from the condition. In fact, the number of people with neuropathy is only increasing as diabetes becomes more common and the population ages.
People who suffer from these conditions must endure painful and disruptive symptoms, such as:
- Intense Bouts of Sharp, Burning Pain
- Numbness, Prickling, or Tingling in the Hands and Feet
- Decreased Muscle Strength and Paralysis
- Trouble with Balance and Coordination
- Unusually High Sensitivity to Touch
- Digestive and Bladder Control Issues
While some patients are at a greater risk of developing certain types of neuropathy, it doesn't discriminate between sex, race, age, or medical history. Fortunately, neuropathy and diabetes awareness are growing. By proxy, so are new and exciting treatment options that show dramatic improvements in both conditions.
If you've been suffering from the symptoms of diabetes or neuropathy and are in search of a truly effective solution, Sarasota Neuropathy Center can help. Unlike some clinics, our commitment is to offer more than temporary relief. As a diabetic and neuropathy treatment specialist in Sarasota, FL, we aim to rectify the distinct root causes underlying each patient's symptoms.
But to understand how we're able to accomplish that goal, you've got to first understand the nuances of neuropathy and diabetes.
There are several types of diabetes of which you should be aware:
Other types of diabetes can include:
- Monogenic Diabetes
- Cystic Fibrosis-Related Diabetes
- Secondary Diabetes
Service Areas
Neuropathy 101
Neuropathy is a medical condition that arises when the peripheral nerves, which are responsible for transmitting signals between the brain, spinal cord, and other parts of the body, fail to function correctly due to damage or disease. These nerves are essential for detecting sensations such as warmth, cold, and pain, as well as regulating muscle movement and carrying out automatic processes like digestion and heartbeat without our conscious involvement.
What Causes Neuropathy?
When patients speak with a nerve pain doctor for the first time, they have a lot of questions, and rightfully so. At Sarasota Neuropathy Center, one of the most frequently asked questions we hear centers around the factors causing neuropathy. If you're reading this article, chances are you have similar questions. While we can't pinpoint what's causing your neuropathy without proper testing, here are a few of the most common factors that can cause neuropathy to manifest:
Diabetes
Diabetes is one of the leading causes of diabetes in adults - especially when a person has dealt with high blood sugar levels over long periods of time. When diabetes harms your nerves, it can lead to diabetic neuropathy and create a recurring trigger for this type of nerve damage.
Lack of Vitamins
Your nerves require certain vitamins, including B1 (thiamine), B12, B6, and vitamin E, to function correctly. Without a balanced diet or supplementation, deficiencies in these vitamins can lead to nerve damage over time.
Autoimmune Disorders
In certain instances, a person's immune system accidentally attacks its own cells, including nerve tissues. When this happens, neuropathy often follows. Diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome come under this category, where the immune system's misguided attack on nerves causes dysfunction and pain.
Genetics
Neuropathy can be inherited in some families, meaning it is passed down from one generation to another. When this occurs, peripheral nerves can be affected by genetic forms of the condition, such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.
Infections in the Body
There are certain viruses and bacteria that have the ability to attack nerve tissues and also cause conditions that can result in nerve damage. Examples of such infections include Lyme disease, HIV, and hepatitis C. These illnesses have the potential to either initiate or worsen existing neuropathy.
Physical Trauma
Physical injuries, whether caused by accidents, repetitive movements, or falls, can lead to nerve damage. Such injuries can result in neuropathy, causing loss of function and painful sensations in the affected region of the body.
What are the Different Types of Neuropathy?
Peripheral neuropathy is a condition that can affect one nerve, a group of related nerves, or multiple nerves in different parts of the body. The symptoms can vary depending on which type of nerve signals are affected. Keep reading for a closer look at the various types of neuropathies and how they affect you. If one of the categories below sounds familiar, make a mental note to discuss it with your diabetic and neuropathy treatment specialist in Sarasota, FL.
Peripheral Neuropathy:
Nerve Pain in Your Arms and Legs
Of all the different types of neuropathies, this is the kind that you're probably most familiar with, as it's the most common form treated in the U.S.It occurs most often when the nerves responsible for transmitting messages of touch and movement between your brain and your extremities don't function properly.
Symptoms can include:
- Sensations of Pins and Needles
- Numbness
- Soreness
- Cramping
- Shooting Pains
As the condition progresses, muscle weakness can occur, making it difficult to perform precise movements and walk without assistance. Balance problems are also common.
Focal Neuropathy:
Nerve Pain in a Specific Area
Focal neuropathy can sometimes result in damage to a single nerve or a cluster of nerves in a particular region, leading to localized pain or weakness. For instance, carpal tunnel syndrome can affect the wrist, causing numbness or weakness in the hand. Similarly, Bell's palsy can impact the face, resulting in droopiness or stiffness on one side of the face.
Other symptoms can include:
- Muscles Don't Work Correctly
- Sharp Pains
- Localized Pain and Weakness
Autonomic Neuropathy:
Nerve Pain That Controls Automatic Body Functions
This type of neuropathy affects the nerves that control involuntary bodily functions, such as heartbeat, digestion, and bladder control. When these nerves are damaged
You may experience symptoms such as:
- Dizziness When Standing Quickly
- Issues with Sexual Intercourse
- Constipation
- Issues Regulating Body Temperature
Compression Neuropathy:
Nerve Pain from Your Nerves Being Squeezed
This type of neuropathy happens when a nerve is pinched or squeezed. It happens most often when you are injured or have to repeat actions over and over again for work or sports purposes. Some examples include Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and sciatica. Symptoms can include:
Symptoms can include:
- Sharp Shooting Pain
- Weakness in the Affected Body Part
- Numbness
Whether you or someone you love are trying to live with neuropathy, you know that it can significantly alter lifestyles, making it difficult to perform day-to-day activities, work, or engage in hobbies. That's why it's so important to understand the underlying causes of your nerve pain, so that you can receive appropriate treatment and improve your quality of life. Taking care of the root problem, as well as managing the pain and other symptoms, is key to helping you stay active and comfortable. That's where working with a diabetic and neuropathy treatment specialist in Sarasota, FL, becomes crucial.
Addressing the Root Causes of Your Neuropathy
Sarasota Neuropathy Center is a nerve pain clinic that provides patients with a comprehensive, rewarding journey toward healing. It begins with a thorough evaluation that involves in-depth laboratory tests and analyses. This introductory step helps us identify the specific factors that contribute to your peripheral neuropathy. Our team of neuropathy treatment specialists then creates a personalized treatment plan tailored exclusively to your body and symptoms.
By providing you with a wide range of strategies aimed at addressing the root causes of your condition, you can achieve lasting relief and may even be able to reverse the effects of peripheral neuropathy.
Our advanced therapeutic options include:
Nerve Regeneration Equipment
We use cutting-edge machinery like laser light therapy and electromagnetic impulses to stimulate your nerves, encourage repair, and foster nerve tissue regeneration.
Vaso-Pulse Technology
This FDA-approved treatment sends signals through your feet and around your spine, which helps us highlight and rectify areas where nerve and vascular damage are present.
Antioxidants
By incorporating antioxidants into your treatment plan, we can better mitigate nerve damage and counteract oxidative stress.
Anti-Inflammatory Treatments
Inflammation exacerbates nerve damage and pain. Our neuropathy specialists use anti-inflammatory agents to help alleviate your symptoms
Minerals and Vitamins
Nutritional deficiencies impact nerve health. We supplement those deficiencies with vitamins and minerals to help nerve repair.
Immunomodulators
For neuropathies linked to autoimmune disorders, we employ immunomodulators that help regulate the immune system's activity to prevent it from attacking the body's own nerve tissues.
Lifestyle and Diet Changes
Changing your diet and incorporating exercise into your daily routine are two of the best ways to support nerve health.
Through a personalized, natural, and comprehensive treatment plan from Sarasota Neuropathy Center, reclaiming your life doesn't have to be a dream - it can be a true possibility.
Diabetes 101
Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by elevated levels of sugar in the blood. This happens when the body is unable to produce or use insulin effectively. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that helps regulate blood glucose levels by facilitating its absorption into cells for energy or storage.
There are several types of diabetes of which you should be aware:
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes is a condition in which the immune system attacks and destroys the beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, resulting in little to no insulin production. This condition usually develops in childhood or adolescence but can occur at any age. Patients who suffer from Type 1 Diabetes have to depend on daily insulin administration to manage their blood sugar levels.
The exact cause of this autoimmune reaction is not fully understood, although it is believed that genetic and environmental factors may contribute to it. Contact your diabetic and neuropathy treatment specialist in Sarasota, FL to learn more about this disease.
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 Diabetes is the most common form of diabetes and is mainly caused by lifestyle factors such as obesity, physical inactivity, and poor diet. In this condition, the body either doesn't produce enough insulin or the cells don't use insulin effectively, leading to high blood sugar levels. Unlike Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes can sometimes be managed or reversed with lifestyle changes, although some people may still need medications or insulin therapy.
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational Diabetes is a type of diabetes that occurs during pregnancy and typically goes away after giving birth. However, it can give an indication of a woman's future risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. The condition is caused by hormonal changes during pregnancy that make the body's cells more resistant to insulin. It's important to manage Gestational Diabetes to prevent complications for both mother and baby.
Other types of diabetes can include:
- Monogenic Diabetes
- Cystic Fibrosis-Related Diabetes
- Secondary Diabetes
Genetics
You can have genetic links to both Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes. These links make you predisposed to the condition.
Lifestyle
Poor diet, lack of exercise, and obesity all contribute to insulin resistance, which causes diabetes
Autoimmune
Your immune system mistakenly targets and eliminates insulin-producing beta cells in your pancreas, leading to insufficient insulin production and Type 1 Diabetes.
Insulin Resistance
The most prevalent type of diabetes - Type 2 Diabetes - arises when cells resist insulin's effect, causing a spike in blood sugar levels.
The Sarasota Neuropathy Approach to Diabetes Care
As a diabetic and neuropathy treatment specialist in Sarasota, FL, we are committed to offering a groundbreaking approach for Type 2 Diabetes, which focuses on reversing the condition by addressing the root causes rather than just managing the symptoms. Our innovative strategy goes beyond conventional treatment paradigms and delves into the underlying factors that contribute to Type 2 Diabetes.
We use a holistic methodology that includes comprehensive lifestyle interventions, nutritional counseling, and personalized medical oversight. This approach has consistently demonstrated remarkable efficacy in significantly reducing blood glucose levels among our patients.
Key highlights of our diabetes treatment include:
Book Appointment
The Path to Relief Starts with a Diabetic and Neuropathy Treatment Specialist in Sarasota, FL
At Sarasota Diabetes & Neuropathy Center, our mission is to empower you to overcome neuropathy, Type 2 Diabetes, or both by embarking on a transformative journey to wellness. By integrating advanced medical care with comprehensive lifestyle interventions, we help you achieve better health outcomes and a renewed sense of hope and control over your journey to a healthy life.
Latest News in Sarasota, FL
Sarasota, Manatee County power outages: After storms, track outages in Florida
C. A. Bridgeshttps://www.heraldtribune.com/story/weather/2024/05/15/sarasota-manatee-county-power-outage-map/73697368007/
After days of thunderstorms and tornadoes across North Florida the last few days it was Central Florida's turn Wednesday morning. A line of thunderstorms dumped rain across the state from Sarasota to Daytona Beach overnight Tuesday into the early hours, and ...
After days of thunderstorms and tornadoes across North Florida the last few days it was Central Florida's turn Wednesday morning. A line of thunderstorms dumped rain across the state from Sarasota to Daytona Beach overnight Tuesday into the early hours, and a tornado watch was issued for 19 counties.
The tornado watch is in effect until 11 a.m. as "a few strong to severe storms" moved through the area Tuesday night.
Over a thousand residents lost power Wednesday morning but as of 7:09 a.m., there were just 60 customers without power in Manatee County.
Most of the power outages in the state Wednesday morning are in Leon County where three tornadoes devastated the area last Friday and more storms hit Monday, and in Volusia County.
Power outage map for Sarasota, Manatee County
If your power is out
You can report power outages at FPL online or call 1-866-263-9186 immediately to report a dangerous condition such as a downed power line.
Staying cool without power in Florida
Power outages are annoying and inconvenient in the best of times, but Florida is experiencing hot and sunny May days with temps in Tallahassee expected to get near 84 degrees Monday. If your power is still out, you need to take care of yourself.
The most important thing is to keep yourself cool. The signs of heat stroke aren't as obvious as other dangers, which is one reason some studies have said approximately 1,300 Americans die every year from extreme heat.
After the power comes back on
Finally! But to stay safe, do these things:
Contributing: Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida
SRQ airport pushes back against FAA, says land sale to New College of Florida is justified
Jesse Mendozahttps://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/politics/2024/05/15/sarasota-bradenton-airport-responds-to-faa-says-land-deal-justified/73586527007/
The Sarasota Bradenton International Airport is pushing back against a decision by the Federal Aviation Administration that nixed the sale of airport property to New College of Florida.Airport officials claim the FAA erred last month when ...
The Sarasota Bradenton International Airport is pushing back against a decision by the Federal Aviation Administration that nixed the sale of airport property to New College of Florida.
Airport officials claim the FAA erred last month when the administration rejected a $11.5 million sale of 30.94 acres of land to New College with claims that the authority was unaware that airport land was leased by the college, that the land could be necessary for future airport use, that the land valuation was subpar, that zoning for the property does not allow for college dormitories, and that the college's current lease does not meet FAA requirements.
The college already leases most of that land from the airport under a 99-year land lease that was signed before the FAA existed. New College pays $108,072 per year for 34.8 acres, and its lease ends on October 2057, but college officials insist the sale is a critical step in securing funding for the college to secure long-term plans that include building upgrades and new facilities.
In case you missed it:FAA rejects a major land deal between New College of Florida and Sarasota Airport
More:Why the FAA rejected the New College of Florida and Sarasota Bradenton Airport land swap
Previously:Officials detail plans for major land swap between New College and SRQ airport
Airport CEO Fredrick Piccolo rebutted the FAA's denial of the land sale with a 99-page response that included copies of claims raised by the FAA, 60 pages of records disproving many of them, with line item responses to each claim. He asked that the FAA reverse its decision and allow the land sale to proceed.
"These findings are without sound basis and materially incorrect on numerous facts, therefore the release should be approved by FAA and proceed," Piccolo wrote.
Was the FAA aware that New College leased land from SRQ Airport?
As a part of its April response to SRQ's land sale proposal, the FAA claimed the land was leased to New College without the administration's consent.
Piccolo's response includes numerous historical documents to the contrary. Historical records show that FAA representatives were present at public meetings in the 1960s on the lease agreement, news articles that show the FAA reviewed college plans, and multiple letters.
Does the SRQ Airport need land leased to New College for growth?
The FAA questioned whether the SRQ airport needs the land proposed for sale to New College for future expansion plans, and claims the airport's FAA-approved layout plan and master plan are outdated even though they were approved in 2021 because the data could be at least six years old.
Piccolo indicated that the airport has commissioned an new layout plan for the FAA that would depict plans for a future 32-gate terminal and show that the expansion would not be affected by sale of the land to New College.
Was the appraisal of SRQ airport land subpar?
The FAA claims the land in question received a subpar appraisal that evaluated only 8.85 acres out of the 30.94 acres of airport property slated for sale to New College.
Piccolo asserts that the airport submitted documents from two appraisers, one commissioned by New College of Florida and another commissioned by the SRQ airport. He indicated that the appraisals were over $4 million apart. Still, the airport has commissioned a new appraisal of the property that will be supplied to the FAA once it is completed.
Does zoning allow New College to build dormitories?
The FAA indicated that a portion of the airport property where the PEI dormitory is located is zoned as Medical, Charitable and Institutional and does not allow for residential space. It also indicates that FAA guidance requires airport property to be zoned as airport or light industrial to remain consistent with federal grant assurances.
From the H-T archive:New College of Florida closes Pei dorms for mold, sends students to 4-star bayfront hotel
Piccolo responded to that claim indicating that the City of Sarasota zoning code specifically allows colleges in the zoning district, as well as student housing and health and sports facilities as accessory uses. He added that the New College lease was signed before the FAA existed, that it received FAA approval before the administration's regulations were created in 1973, replaced in 1989 and replaced again in 2009.
"The uses, including dormitory facilities, were approved by the FAA as evidenced by the 1960's official Federal Aviation Agency documents," Piccolo wrote. "To reverse that finding would constitute a taking of monumental proportions."
Does the New College 99-year lease meet FAA requirements?
The FAA indicated that the 99-year lease held by New College exceeds the administration's 25-year limit, and indicated that any lease that exceeds 50 years requires FAA approval. The administration also requires land to be leased or sold at fair market value, and indicated the New College lease rate of $108,072 per year could place the airport in conflict with federal grant assurances.
Piccolo re-iterated that that New College lease was executed in 1957, before the FAA and any of its regulations existed including those approved in 1982 that govern grant assurances. He indicated that the lease did receive FAA approval in the 1960s without objection to the length or terms of the lease.
"Even if it were true, it would appear to be in no one's interest to maintain the status quo," Piccolo wrote. "The submarket lease should be terminated, and the property should be sold tot he college for current fair market value."
Does the land sale benefit the airport?
The FAA also claims that New College is not paying fair market value for the leased land, creating a conflict with grant assurances for the airport. The lease also does not provide for re-appraisal or rate escalations, "which may constitute ongoing unlawful airport revenue diversion."
Piccolo asserts that the New College lease cannot be unilaterally changed nor terminated by law as assumed by the FAA in its calculations, and that it is the FAA's denial of the land sale that would force the airport to continue to lose revenue for 31 more years then bear the price of demolishing New College buildings.
Landmark Sarasota restaurant Hob Nob Drive In rumored to be closing
Business Observerhttps://www.businessobserverfl.com/news/2024/may/14/sarasota-restaurant-rumored-closing/
At noon on Tuesday, Hob Nob Drive In was packed.People were lined up outside the restaurant’s open walls, waiting to order a burger, or maybe a beer, and watch the traffic on U.S. 301 flow in and out of downtown Sarasota.But today there was a sense of urgency.The rumors, on Facebook and Reddit, had started a day earlier — The Hob Nob, a mixture of kitsch and the common man since 1957 — was closing.Elizabeth Henson was standing in line with her daughter, Danielle Winkler.“My first rea...
At noon on Tuesday, Hob Nob Drive In was packed.
People were lined up outside the restaurant’s open walls, waiting to order a burger, or maybe a beer, and watch the traffic on U.S. 301 flow in and out of downtown Sarasota.
But today there was a sense of urgency.
The rumors, on Facebook and Reddit, had started a day earlier — The Hob Nob, a mixture of kitsch and the common man since 1957 — was closing.
Elizabeth Henson was standing in line with her daughter, Danielle Winkler.
“My first reaction was ‘No!” Henson said, adding she had been a patron of the Hob Nob for 30 years.
“All of my children and grandchildren have come here,” she said. “My grandson from Tampa was devastated,’ when he heard the news. No more root beer shakes.”
But whether the drive-in is closing or even when it may close, remains a mystery, at least to customers. When a patron at a table asked a woman they identified as the general manager if they were closing, she only replied, “I’m not sure,” and smiled.
Other servers were cagey as well. “I don’t know,” was their standard reply.
Calls to one of the owners, Cary Spicuzza, went unanswered.
Mary Kay Ryan, and her brother, Eddie Ryan, had been sitting at a table for a couple of hours.
“We got in the car and came here this morning,” she said. After going home, she said they had to come back, “in case it was true.”
Ryan said she had been coming to Hob Nob “since I was born. We always used to sit at the counter with my dad."
“Our parents used to bring us here after church in the '60s,” Eddie Ryan said.
“It’s sad,” said Ed Cheetham, a professor at Ringling College of Art and Design. “I would bring visiting artists here for lunch, to give them a taste of Sarasota.”
Cheetham said he wished the city could do something to take care of it, ”as a landmark.”
The lines to order continued until 1 p.m., when they ran out of burgers.
By 1:30, the manager announced, “We’re closed” to about 15 people waiting in line.
One patron, who the servers knew by name, asked them if they would be open Wednesday.
“We’ll be open,” the manager replied. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
This article originally appeared on sister site YourObserver.com.
The Squeaky Wheel Fringe Festival Returns to the Cook Theatre in June
Kay Kiplinghttps://www.sarasotamagazine.com/arts-and-entertainment/2024/05/squeaky-wheel-fringe-festival-sarasota
A wide range of acts will entertain over a six-day fest. May 14, 2024 The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and the Squeaky Wheel Fringe Festival gets a second season June 4-9 at Sarasota’s Cook Theatre, bringing audiences a six-day, 20-plus performance event featuring local, national and international artists.Squeaky Wheel founder and board member Megan Radish has a background in theater, spending eight years on the road regionally a...
A wide range of acts will entertain over a six-day fest.
May 14, 2024
The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and the Squeaky Wheel Fringe Festival gets a second season June 4-9 at Sarasota’s Cook Theatre, bringing audiences a six-day, 20-plus performance event featuring local, national and international artists.
Squeaky Wheel founder and board member Megan Radish has a background in theater, spending eight years on the road regionally as a theater technician, props artist and stage manager. But she’d never seen a fringe festival until about a decade ago. Her first reaction was, “What is this?” she says. Her second was, “I wanted to see more of it.”
Fringe fests have sprung up around the world, with the biggest and most established scene in Edinburgh, Scotland, where the fest can be weeks long and present hundreds of acts in multiple venues. But whether big or small, like Squeaky Wheel, the intent is to offer works that are, per Radish, “100 percent uncensored, with artists getting an opportunity to do things that move them. Everything we do is original. The artists write, they cast, do the sets, props, everything. Some people make their career going from festival to festival.”
Squeaky Wheel’s promotional materials say the fest provides “an inclusive and accepting artistic environment that is unafraid to be loud, push boundaries, and to challenge artists and audiences alike.” The result is a smorgasbord in its variety, with 100 percent of the base ticket price for each show going back to the artist. (The fest does add a small fee to the ticket price online to support itself.)
If you’ve seen shows like HBO’s Fleabag or the stage musical Six, you’ve seen shows that started in fringe at Edinburgh. Radish says the fledgling Squeaky Wheel fest is “kind of a rare breed in fringes, in that we are adjudicated. We put out a call for applicants and then have a team of local artists look at all the applications and arrange our festival. Most fringes are based on the lottery method; you just pull names out of a hat. Since we are newer and getting to know the audience and they are getting to know fringe, we thought adjudication was the way to go.” She adds that about 450 people showed up for performances in the first season last year.
The material is all over the board—a blend of dance, spoken word, plays, musicals, improv, etc. One of this year’s performances, I’m Fine, is a dance theater piece from Sarasota-based Moving Ethos.
“We thought the fringe festival would be a perfect place for it,” says the company’s artistic director and co-founder, Leah Verier-Dunn. She’s the director-choreographer of I’m Fine, which she’s been working on with collaborators for quite some time. She says the piece is loosely focused on ideas of grief and how everyone seems to process that differently.
“The initial seed started many years ago when my brother passed away suddenly from cancer,” she explains. “I started to feel very curious about grief processes. And then we went into Covid, a massive worldwide shutdown, and I was curious to watch how people dealt with this really hard thing. There’s a lot of avoidance, pretending, putting on a face, where it seems the only way to survive is to say, ‘I’m fine’ and just keep going.”
There are lots of other shows on the fringe schedule, including The Lonely Death of L. Harris, an improv piece from New York; Ed’s Shed, a mashup of puppetry, poetry, standup and more from Tarpon Springs; My Year of Saying No, a one-woman play from Palm Harbor; and Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me But Banjos Saved My Life, a one-man musical show from Vancouver, British Columbia. Some audience members will see multiple shows over the festival run; others may pop in for just one or two depending on their likes.
Tickets are available now online at squeakywheeltheatre.org., where you can also find the full lineup of shows.
Save the date for Sarasota's inaugural Living Arts Fest in November
Your Observerhttps://www.yourobserver.com/news/2024/may/13/sarasota-living-arts-fest/
If you’re new to Sarasota, you can be forgiven for assuming Jeffery Kin is running for political office. Kin seems to attend every premiere, community event and fundraiser, not just in Sarasota, but up and down Florida’s Gulf Coast.The erstwhile actor is indefatigable. What’s more, he’s relentlessly cheerful.After someone recently tried to rain on his parade, Kin announced on Facebook that one of his favorite songs is “Don’t Steal My Sunshine,” and linked to a video of the 1990s ditty b...
If you’re new to Sarasota, you can be forgiven for assuming Jeffery Kin is running for political office. Kin seems to attend every premiere, community event and fundraiser, not just in Sarasota, but up and down Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The erstwhile actor is indefatigable. What’s more, he’s relentlessly cheerful.
After someone recently tried to rain on his parade, Kin announced on Facebook that one of his favorite songs is “Don’t Steal My Sunshine,” and linked to a video of the 1990s ditty by the Canadian indie rock band Len.
No one could ever take away the bright light emanating from Kin, though a recent bout of food poisoning knocked him off his game for about a day.
That may not sound like a very long time. But in the world of Jeffery Kin, a day is jam-packed full of business meetings and social engagements from morning until night.
What is Kin up to anyway? It’s no secret Kin is executive director and CEO of Sarasota Rising, an “arts initiative” he founded in 2021 after resigning as artistic director of The Players Centre for Performing Arts, the community theater now known as The Sarasota Players.
Armed with funding from private donors, Visit Sarasota and the Sarasota Downtown Improvement District, as well as the participation of area cultural organizations, Kin is committed to launching an arts festival this November, a time described as “shoulder season” on Sarasota Rising’s website. That’s when season is getting started but is not yet in full swing.
What has been dubbed the Living Arts Festival is scheduled for Nov. 10-17 in a number of locations, not just in Sarasota, but in places like Venice and even as far as Englewood. “I’m taking a broad view of our brand, the Cultural Coast,” Kin says.
In its first year, the Living Arts Festival is being marketed to locals and residents of other parts of Florida, who, it is hoped, will come to Sarasota to enjoy the arts fest.
Sarasota has a good track record with festivals, including the Sarasota Music Festival and the Sarasota Film Festival. It also has an impressive roster of formidable cultural institutions, including the Sarasota Orchestra, the Sarasota Ballet, the Sarasota Opera and The Ringling Museum.
What it doesn’t have is an interdisciplinary arts festival along the lines of the successful Spoleto Festival USA, held each year in Charleston, South Carolina.
When it’s pointed out that Sarasota’s arts groups tend to be “siloed,” management jargon for when departments within the same organization don’t communicate with each other and pursue their own agendas, Kin replies, “Silos? I love that term. I’m a farm boy from Ohio.”
Kin doesn’t disagree that historically there hasn’t been a lot of coordination among Sarasota’s arts groups, but he says COVID changed that.
Working with the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, then under the leadership of Jim Shirley, Sarasota’s arts groups began conferring with each other to adopt a uniform standard to protecting performers, audience members and others from contracting the disease.
“Every week, we’d have a Zoom call among arts groups leaders to talk about what was happening,” says Kin, who was on those calls as artistic director of The Players. “There really was a silver lining to the pandemic because it opened up channels of communication that still exist today.”
There are lots of silver linings in Kin’s playbook. When he learned that Selby Five Points Park was booked on the days the festival was eyeing it for an event, Kin switched to the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium lawn. This way, if it rains, the festival event can be moved inside. It’s also easier to park next to the auditorium than it is around Five Points.
Kin is still enlisting partners for the Living Arts Festival. Some of those who have committed aren’t the usual suspects. For instance, the Venice Symphony is on board. “We asked them and they said yes,” Kin says by way of explanation.
Because many of Sarasota’s arts organizations each have their own ticketing system, they will sell their tickets or wristbands to the events they stage as part of the Living Arts Festival and keep that ticket revenue, Kin says.
Kin is finding potential festival partners in unexpected places. At a recent breakfast meeting at Project Coffee in the Rosemary District, Kin met Elizabeth Doud, the Currie-Kohlmann Curator of Performance at The Ringling.
As fate would have it, Doud is kicking off her 2024-25 season, most of which takes place within the Historic Asolo Theater, with an outdoor Eco Fest. Some of those dates coincide with Kin’s Living Arts Festival.
Over coffee, Doud and Kin kicked around the idea of cross-pollination, especially since The Ringing’s Eco Fest will be free, to bring in younger and underserved audiences to what is being billed as a fun yet educational event.
“We’re doing it as a test to see who we can attract with a free event,” Doud says.
After a brief chat, Kin and Doud exchanged business cards and agreed to explore the possibility of having their respective festivals collaborate. Another meeting, another opportunity to put the Living Arts Festival on the map.
Moments earlier, Kin had run into Summer Dawn Wallace, artistic director of Urbanite Theatre, the edgy black-box venue located downtown. Kin wished Wallace luck in her training for two marathons later this year and they agreed to talk about Urbanite’s participation in the Living Arts Festival.
Just the previous day — or was it the day before that? — Kin had met with Kinsey Robb, executive director of Art Center Sarasota, which holds juried art shows and gives artists an opportunity to display and sell their works in its galleries. Kin wants the Living Arts Festival to include visual as well as performing arts.
Toward that end, he’s working to recycle some of the art shown in the Embracing Our Differences exhibition in Bayfront Park earlier this year.
Founded in 2004, Embracing Our Differences received more than 16,000 entries from 125 countries and 44 states in response to its 2024 call for artwork and quotations celebrating inclusion, kindness and respect.
If all goes according to Kin’s plan, some of the winning billboard-sized artwork from Embracing Our Differences will get an encore viewing in the Living Arts Festival.
It’s not a criticism to say Kin’s baby is a work in progress. But there are bound to be plenty of silver linings along the way as Kin and his team of mainly volunteers put the schedule together for the inaugural Living Arts Festival.
Some of those volunteers were with him at The Players and showed up for a meeting at Sarasota Rising’s Main Street offices last month bearing homemade chicken salad and baked goods.
There’s no denying Kin inspires loyalty among his followers, who are willing to go the distance for him.
So whatever you do, don’t try to steal his sunshine.