Washington Post Highlights Mable Ringling's Rose Garden

Mable Ringling's rose garden at 100 years old, is the oldest tended rose garden in Florida.

While Ringling In Bloom is attacting folks finding their way through flowers this weekend, a Washington Post travel piece is telling visitors to stop and smell the roses, too. Freelance travel writer and blogger Judy Wells' piece published Thursday, Feb. 28, spotlights the handy work of Mable Ringling of the famous circus family, who has an exquisite rose garden on the grounds of the Ca' d'Zan at the Ringling Museum of Art. What is amazing is that thise garden turns 100 this year, which makes it the oldest maintained rose garden in the Sunshine State, according to the Washington Post. Curator Lauretta Bestpitch filled in the writer with some key details of Mable Ring's gardening history: "The original garden was a bit smaller than the …

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Top Headlines: Ringling Walmart Update, Sex Offender Sting, SRQ Airport Flash Mob

OK, so you had a busy week. We understand. Let us catch you up on all the highlights from Sarasota Patch!

City Commission decided to finish meeting at the later date because of the length of Tuesday's meeting. The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office has arrested 30 people in Operation Intercept II. Goodwill Manasota's 30,000-square-foot store opened Tuesday evening to shoppers. A collection of Herb Ritts' iconic photography will be on display until May 19 at the Ringling Museum of Art. Musicians from Sarasota Orchestra disguised themselves as passengers, flight attendants and even a pilot and surprised airport visitors with an impromptu performance last month. Sign up for the Sarasota Patch email newsletter to get our top headlines delivered straight to your inbox so you won't miss a thing!

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'Parker' Movie Showtimes In Sarasota

"Parker" is in theaters this weekend

Sarasota will get some play on the silver screen this weekend when the action movie Parker opens nationwide. Some interior scenes were shot in the Ca' d'Zan mansion at the Ringling Museum in September 2011. The movie also hired local extras, so you might see someone you know. (Related: How Ca' d'Zan Became A Star In Movie 'Parker') The movie, predominately set in Palm Beach, stars Jennifer Lopez, Jason Statham, Michael Chiklis and Nick Nolte where Statham plays a professional thief named Parker who doesn't steal from the poor, but his team does him one over by stealing his loot and leaves him for dead. Here's the key plot from Fandango.com: "Determined to make sure they regret it, Parker tracks them to Palm Beach, playground of the rich …

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Narrative Dance Series To Be Staged At Ringling Museum

New Stages: Narrative in Motion brings a four-part series of experimental dance storytelling to the Historic Asolo Theater.

A four-part series at the Historic Asolo Theater will combine storytelling and dance in a theatrical setting. New Stages: Narrative in Motion continues the Ringling Museum of Art's Art of Our Time initiative and features performances by Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Bill Bowers, Circle of Eleven, and the Kate Weare Company. The first performances begin in January. These dance performances uses the power of language, gesture combined with poetry, media and music to explore diversity. “The presentation of contemporary art at the Ringling dates back to its first executive director, A. Everett Chick Austin, Jr., who helped transformed the arts in America in the twentieth century and the Museum with the addition of the Historic Asolo Theater and …

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Paolo Veronese Exhibit Shows How Renaissance Artist Is Like A Celebrity Chef

Paolo Veronese: A Master and His Workshop in Renaissance Venice opens Friday at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.

Paolo Veronese is like the Gordon Ramsey of Renaissance artists but without the attitude. Imagine Veronese getting an order placed, then calling out instructions to his staff to get to work, much like a celebrity chef making sure his well trained culinary team can execute a menu to perfection and being able to show off in the process. "A Renaissance artist workshop is a bit like a fancy restaurant run by a celebrity chef," said Frederick Ilchman, Curator of Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston during a walk-through of a new Veronese exhibit that opens Friday at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. "…Paolo Veronese was supervising a hell of activity, and he had family members and a bunch of his assistance following his recipes…

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Coville Photography Exhibit Opens At Ringling Museum

Photographs explore the 20th and early 21st centuries thanks to a large photography donation.

A stunning collection of 75 photographs opens Friday as an exhibit at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. The Warren J. and Margot Coville Photography Collection Exhibition, looks at some key moments in the 20th and early 21st centuries from renowned photographers including Berenice Abbott, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Barbara Morgan and Andre Kertesz. One of the highlights of the exhibit is one photograph taken by Walter Rosenblum of hospital workers in the South Bronx in 1979. The museum's curator of modern and contemporary art, Dr. Matthew McLendon, tells SRQ magazine what this collection says: “With contemporary art there’s an anxiety to it that it really is the mirror of our society without the benefit of …

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Bronze Sculpture Stolen From Ringling Museum

John and Mable Ringling Museum Of Art is asking for the return of the sculpture "Endogenae" to the museum.

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art suffered an Election Day art heist and today officials are asking for the return of the bronze sculpture. Museum officials announced Thursday morning that sculpture Endogenae was cut from its pedestal and removed from the museum grounds and the theft was reported to Sarasota Police on Tuesday. The 20th century bronze sculpture was completed by American Artist A. Arlie Sinaiko, who died in 1984. “Endogenae has long been on display on the Museum grounds and this theft is unprecedented,” said Steven High, executive director for The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. “The work was damaged when it was taken and so has no acceptable value. We are most concerned with the sculpture’s return to the …

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Weekend Things To Do

Ringling International Arts Festival Returns

This fourth annual arts event features international performers at Ringling Museum.

The Ringling International Arts Festival (RIAF), an artistic collaboration between the New York City-based Baryshnikov Arts Center and Sarasota’s own The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, will start its fourth year of performances beginning today. All of the performances will take place on the grounds of the beautiful Ringling estate, in and around the museums and performance galleries through Saturday. One of the hallmarks of the internationally-known festival is its ability to appeal to the tastes of a wide variety of aficionados of music, theatre, dance and film. “As an emerging center for the practice, study and presentation of contemporary art, the art of our time, the Ringling Museum is taking bold steps to bring to Southwest …

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Participate 2012

UPDATE: Romney Addresses Medicare At Sarasota Campaign Stop

Gov. Mitt Romney focuses on Medicare and Medicaid in Sarasota, Florida, after a tough week.

Updated 11:59 p.m. Gov. Mitt Romney greeted a raucous crowd of supporters at a rally Thursday afternoon hoping to rebound from a week of controversy. The Republican presidential candidate addressed the crowd at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the the shadows of the statue of David and the glistening Sarasota Bay. "We're going to take back America," Romney said. "Keep America Strong!" He continued that "this is a critical election you know that. This is about the soul of America." Romney also focused on Medicare protection at the rally—a key issue for the many senior Floridians. "I will save Medicare and protect it for our seniors for today and our seniors for tomorrow," Romney said. Romney said Medicare investments means $1.4 …

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