The second annual Festival sARTée (sar-tay) 2011, running concurrently with the Ringling International Arts Festival 2011 (RIAF), delivers a vibrant lineup of spectacular local, national and international arts and cultural acts to the Bradenton and Sarasota areas in October 2011.
Rounding out the area's impressive fall arts season is Anna Maria Island's fifth annual ArtsHOP cultural weekend, November 11-13.
Festival sARTée is a 16-day festival held from October 8 to 23, featuring more than 50 theater, opera, cultural, visual arts, film and dance events. Highlights include "The Sound of Music" performances at the award-winning Manatee Players in Bradenton, October 8 and 9; ArtSlam 2011, a juried public outdoor art competition in Downtown Bradenton, October 15; and the Enviro-Art Competition Dinner at Ortygia Ristorante in the Village of the Arts, where attendees decide the results of a five-month long natural/recycled art competition on October 21.
Presented by festival organizers the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and the Baryshnikov Arts Center, the Ringling International Arts Festival 2011 is in its third year, and will be held at the Ringling Center for the Arts in Sarasota. Held from October 11 to 16, this festival features contemporary and innovative dance, musical and theatrical works by established and emerging artists, including headlining acts from Europe, and North and South America.
Running through November 13, Anna Maria Island Cultural Connection's fifth annual arts and cultural weekend, ArtsHOP, kicks off November 11 with an Island-Wide Gallery Walk featuring local island-style art, live demonstrations and hands-on experiences.
Located between Sarasota and Tampa Bay on Florida's southwest coast, Anna Maria Island & Longboat Key, and their coastal companions, Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch, are treasured for their authentic Old Florida charm, breath-taking scenery, funky dining and shopping districts, and miles of sugar-white sands. Visit www.AMILBK.com for more information.
For more information about top events in Florida take a look at the Top Events USA selection of the annual main festivals and events in Florida.