The Sarasota Experience | WEDU Documentaries

The story of #Sarasota, Florida, is the story of America, from its indigenous population to its time as a sleepy fishing village, to the transformative city it is today. The Sarasota Experience, a WEDU PBS and @triforcepictures3622 documentary, tells the region's celebrated and little-known stories. From the first Scottish settlers to the Civil Rights movement to the area's efforts to protect Florida's environment, this film traces the evolution of community and explores what the future might hold. #SRQ #Documentary

About the Film

Music composed and performed by Danielle Furst “An original variation of Dvorak’s 9th Symphony”
Follow Danielle Furst on Instagram at @musicfurst

Key Moments
1. Burns Court Performance | Opening 00:42
2. Sarasota's History 03:40
3. Development | Ringling & Spring Training 13:40
4. Transportation, Land Boom, Hub of Architecture 18:55
5. Community | African American experience, Arts & Philanthropy, Diversity, Cost of Living 29:08
6. The Future of Sarasota 50:09
7. Closing Credits | Ben Jacobs original song 56:05

[epicpandemic]

Ben Jacobs song at the end was awesome

[virginiahoffman]

So nice to see Rick Garfinkle in this; what a talented architect and great Sarasota citizen.

[normabenanzer]

I absolutely ❤Sarasota! Been vacationing there for decades. Yes I see changes every year, but I also feel the old Sarasota with every step I take there ❤

[fivepetalhealing]

This was fun and informative. Loved seeing so many familiar faces!

[drmarkrieke]

Glad to find it on YouTube. An Outstanding and memorable production. Highly recommended. Hope everyone can see it.

[GREGHOLUB]

From someone that lived here for 3 years I did enjoy this cost of living is what made us leave only thing they can really do is increase wages in the area other than that there is no real solution that I see fixing that issue.

[katrinreal]

Thank you for sharing the history and also an honest assessment of the challenges we are facing in Sarasota today!

[rodentsports]

As a proud Sarasotan who makes sports videos on my YouTube channel out here in Sarasota, I am proud to be able to live and work in such an amazing place.

[LanceR]

Awesome production and as much of this areas history that I have read I’m still learning. Even though I’m a Bradenton resident I still call this whole area including Sarasota home. Thank you for showing on YouTube.❤

[mspencer]

Brilliant..although Carolyn Mason, the only African American person elected to Sarasota County Commission in 100 years was not included. A brilliant woman who is still extremely active in the community.

[ikreateu]

Great video although focused primarily on the city limits and Lido Key area. I loved the historical input and that they addressed the need to consider the fast sweeping changes in affordability and inclusion for everyone. They didn’t mention the fact that the powers that be are allowing the overdevelopment to erase the skyline with luxury condos and apartments that most local incomes cannot afford while almost neglecting the southern side towards Siesta Key which is hosting two huge yet almost vacant malls and many other vacant business buildings on Tamiami Trail. Other than spectacular addition of the new Bay Park (north as well), the city and county planners seem to have ignored the idea of balanced development of Sarasota hoped for by the commenters in the ending and are more focused on big pockets and influence like in the past shown here.

[cpcjrsrq]

Lots of great photography and history. Many personal friends featured in this telling of one of America’s most-loved towns (still a potentially great city, but a work in progress). This beautiful film tells a lot of our rich history. Unfortunately, about halfway through, it gets completely bogged down by this past election cycle’s blue team political moralizing by some tone-deaf self-anointed moral superiors who, after lecturing us about those whom they deplore, claim to really just want everyone to get along. I wish the film had explored how today’s moralists compare to their historic counterparts — the people who closed Booker High and enforced Sarasota’s not-so-long-ago Jim Crow laws “to protect the community values”. That would have been very thought provoking. The filmmaker could have avoided alienating half the audience on another topic by inserting the bit about the peninsula being washed over in geologic time earlier in the film, addressing resiliency, and by editing out the bits complaining about “those bad people we deplore are preventing us from using our magic to change the geological pace of weather”. I love Sarasota. But, she hasn’t fundamentally changed in the 20 years that I’ve lived here. I’m not sure she ever will.