The Pioneer Picnic, for residents of 50 years+, has been an event held in Sarasota for almost 40 years. It’s sponsored by the Rotary Club as a way to honor long-term residents, and the Historical Society Continue reading
Past Events
Look what we “found” for the Designer Tag Sale!
We’re received some great donations so far for the November 17 event: a trifecta of sales, headlined by the Designer Tag Sale with back-up by the Olde Bookseller Sale and the Back Porch Bonanza of Bargains! It’s going to be a great sale, so
Save the Date!
First up, Ringling Hotel Continue reading
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Beautiful evening on the Back Porch
The Grand Reopening for the Gift Shop event on Friday evening was great! Lots of refreshments, good conversation, and some serious shopping done.
Milton and Isabel Rauch, members, appear to Continue reading
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Rag rugs, stuffed cats, Florida tote bags (everyone need to tote Florida in a bag, right?) and more….
The public is invited to the Grand Re-Opening of the Historical Society of Sarasota County’s Gift Shop, which is literally filled to the rafters in the detached kitchen of the historic Bidwell-Wood House (1882). The shop will celebrate its opening for the new season with a
Wine & Cheese Reception
Fri., Oct. 5th from 5 – 8 p.m.
The Historical Society’s shop, as portrayed by Ginger Mermin, renowned artist and past Board member of the Society
on the Back Porch of the Bidwell House, where many “Classes on the Back Porch” will be held this upcoming Season. You’ll find the Historical Society at 1260 12th Street (between N. Trail and Cocoanut Ave.) in Pioneer Park.
Normal business hours for the Gift Shop will be 10:00 – 2:00 Mondays – Fridays and one Saturday per month, beginning on Nov. 17th, during the 2nd Designer Tag Sale held next door in the Crocker Memorial Church (1901). Each 2nd Tuesday of every month through April, the Shop will also be open from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. preceding the monthly “Conversations in the Crocker” meetings which are also open to the public.
Sarasota’s ”Best Kept Secret”, the Gift Shop, for the past 3 years, has been selling the art, crafts and books of over 75 local artisans, who fashion one-of-a-kind creations using timeless methods, such as hand-woven rag rugs and book marks and hand carved wooden items. But you’ll also find garden art assembled from recycled treasures, soft stuffed cats and Christmas ornaments, shell mirrors for every décor, festive Florida tote bags, photo cards of Sarasota clowns and environs, water colors, and Vintage looking home décor items, books by local authors and much more!
Proceeds from the Gift Shop help support the Historical Society, but up to 70% of the sale prices go to the Artisans, who volunteer their time one day per month in the shop. If you are ready to sell YOUR artistic, well-made creations, stop by the shop. We are always looking for new creative vendors. For more information, please call: 941-364-9076 or email hsosc@yahoo.com
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Conversations at the Crocker: A New Sarasota History Resource
Organized by the Historical Society of Sarasota County and sponsored by SARASOTA Magazine, Conversations at The Crocker is a brand-new series of year-long panel discussions, highlighting specific aspects of Sarasota’s past and examines pivotal events and people who have influenced today’s Sarasota.
The Old Gray Mayors Speak Out: The Premiere Conversation at The Crocker
We begin our series with The Old Gray Mayors: Past mayors of Sarasota offer their perspectives about city government past, present and future as part of a new panel series organized by the Historical Society of Sarasota County
The Old Gray Mayors are a group of former mayors of the City of Sarasota who informally gather for coffee every so often and discuss the old days of dilemmas and decisions, current problems confronting the city council and Sarasota’s prospects for effective local government in the future.
Wouldn’t you just love to be a fly on the wall? Well, now you can be.
Five Old Gray Mayors will participate in a lively and audience-interactive panel discussion on Tuesday, October 9, at the Crocker Memorial Church, 1260 12th Street (located in Pioneer Park, between Cocoanut Ave. and North Tamiami Trail), Sarasota. Our Conversation at the Crocker starts at 7 p.m. Community welcome. Historical Society members free; guests, $10.
Former Mayor Kelly Kirschner (young in years, but seasoned in wit and wisdom) is the moderator. Panelists joining him will be former Sarasota city mayors Elmer Berkel, Kerry Kirschner, Fredd Atkins and Mollie Cardamone. And look for other former mayors in the audience who might be willing to join in the question and answer period at the end of the panel discussion.
The Old Gray Mayors is the first in a series of year-long panel discussions. All Conversations take place at The Crocker Memorial Church (built in 1901) and proceeds from this panel discussion series help maintain the Historical Society’s two heritage properties at Pioneer Park – the Bidwell-Wood House (1882, Sarasota’s oldest private residence) and the Crocker Memorial Church. Docent led tours of both buildings are available an hour before each Conversation at The Crocker starts.
For information on upcoming Conversations at the Crocker held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, please see our Events page.
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Turn your gently-used treasures into shingles!
The Bidwell-Wood House, our county’s oldest residence, is in danger from the challenging Florida climate. Without a new roof, we could lose this 1882 home, built when this area was a sandy wilderness. The Historical Society of Sarasota County, located in Pioneer Park at 1260 12th Street (between Tamiami Trail and Cocoanut Avenue), curates and protects both the Crocker Memorial Church and the House, two of Sarasota’s most historic buildings.
One of our fund-raisers that is easy to support is our upcoming
Designer Tag Sale on Saturday Nov. 17, starting at 8am.
This sale, held in Continue reading
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Back Porch Classes: this isn’t your granddaughter’s school
If you have never had the
JOY of participating in our “Back Porch” classes
Click to read about Maggie
this is NOT the “adult ed” or “college elective” you expect.
Our classes are full of fun, camaraderie, inspiration and personal growth, and we’re tickled to announce our first class for the 2012-2013 season:
Painting like Crazy
by the ever-popular Continue reading
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Neighborhoods + Neighborhoods = Community
The Historical Society is proud to be a Sponsor of
Neighborhood Expo
featuring neighborhoods throughout Sarasota County, presented by SCOPE, “Connecting & inspiring citizens to create a better community.”
Slide shows, specialty dishes, and panel discussions
Thursday, September 13 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.
at the Crocker Memorial Church in Pioneer Park, 1260 12th Street, just off Tamiami Trail. See map.
More information on this event from Scope.
Click to visit SCOPE
To RSVP and/or to host a neighborhood table, please contact Allison Pinto at (941) 365-8751 or apinto@scopexcel.org
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Something to do this weekend!
Just in case you have some spare time this weekend, you might want to do a little… Continue reading
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Don’t buy a thing… until August 25
Save 10-25% at Macy’s Southgate, be entered for a chance to win a $500 shopping spree? Help Continue reading
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Join us in honoring tradition at our Annual Meeting
Once a year, the Historical Society has a pot-luck “dinner on the grounds,” just as our forebears did. At the same time, we come together to elect our public servants, as did our grandparents and great-grandparents.
And so we Continue reading
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LeBarge Historic Cruise – Spring 2012
LeBarge Historical Cruise March 2012
Members of the Advisory Board and the Board of Directors attending the Historic Cruise on March 11, 2012. From left: Brenda Lee Hickmann – Advisory Board and Committee Head for the Cruise / Linda Garcia – Board Member and Site Manager / Veronica Morgan – Advisory Board and the preservationist that saved our buildings from destruction! / Jane Kirschner-Tuccillo – Board Member and Immediate Past President. Jane’s husband John Tuccillo got the greatest seat up with the mermaid! It was a beautiful day and Larry Kelleher did a great job story telling as we traveled north all the way to the Ca’d’Zan in honor of the Ringlings 100th anniversary of arriving in Sarasota. We do these tours twice a year as a major fund raiser for the Historical Society of Sarasota County. The next one is scheduled for November 4, 2012….hope you can plan to join us. We leave from the bayfront at 11am and return at 1pm and a continental breakfast is included in the price of the ticket. Please sign up as a follower on the right side of this page if you have not done so already to get all the new posts as they happen in your email.
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From Renaissance to Ragtime: Concert in the Crocker Church
The Historical Society of Sarasota County will host a concert performed by members of the Sarasota Earlye Musicke Consort, a group that performs music from Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque eras in the Crocker Memorial Church, located in Pioneer Park, at 1260 12th Street, on Tuesday, April 10th at 7:00 PM.
The Program will include music from the 1500’s, Glen Miller’s era, as well as Glen Shannon’s timeframe, performed on recorders, viol and harpsichord. This musical group, under the direction of Charlotte Trautwein, has been filling the church with their delightful music, every Tuesday during their rehearsals. The concert is free and open to the public. Donations are always greatly appreciated, of course.
There will be guided tours of the Bidwell House (1882) and the Crocker Church (1901) at 6:00 PM, and the Gift Shop, filled with hand-crafted works by our local artisans, will also open at 6:00 PM. The historical complex is on 12th Street, between N. Trail and Cocoanut Ave.
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Thank you to all our supporters!
What an incredible outpouring of support for our community!
In 36 hours, almost 11,000 donors participated!
In 36 hours on March 27 and March 28, keyboards clicked and smartphones did whatever they do… and almost 11,000 responded to the 36-Hour Challenge. We were honored to be Continue reading
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Report from the Front Lines of the 36-Hour Challenge
Good morning to my Historical Society friends and peers,
Click the coffee cup to donate now!
It’s 6:15 am, the sky is dark and the coffee’s still too hot to drink. But 18 (YAY! EIGHTEEN!) of our supporters have donated Continue reading
The Historical Society of Sarasota County 