Port Charlotte

8 Let’s Go! E/N/C/V June 13-19, 2012
Venice is crafty this weekend
BY KIM COOL
FEATURES EDITOR
Saturday, there will be two craft shows in
Venice — one indoors at the Venice
Community Center and one outdoors on
Miami Avenue.
The indoor show at Venice Community Center
will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday,
featuring the work of many area artists and
writers. There will be handmade greeting cards,
handmade jewelry, books, photos and paintings
plus all manner of crafts from woodworking and
pottery to handmade glass and hand-sewn or
knitted items.
There also will be some home-baked goods
for sale.
The Venice Community Center is located at 326
S. Nokomis Ave., on Venice’s Cultural Campus,
which also includes the library, Venice Art Center
“Belize Breeze” by Steve Vaughn of Winterpark.
and the triangle Inn, home of the Venice
Archives and Area Historical Collection.
The out-of-doors show on Miami Avenue, the
20th annual Miami Craft fair will be open from
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
The two-day event will feature still
more handmade products by crafters from as
many as 30 states plus a companion green
market.
The green market will feature rare and exotic
plants plus handmade soaps and body products
as well as several lines of gourmet seasonings,
sauce mixes and more.
It is organized by American Craft Endeavors
and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Venice
MainStreet.
There is more information at www.artfestival.com.
Both festivals are free.
PHOTOS PROVIDED
“Shimmering Starfish” by Linda Mayes of Venice.
“Great White Egret Preening” by Lou DiVita of
Sarasota.
Take a ride at the Riding Star Ranch
BY JON BAUMANN
SUN CORRESPONDENT
Riding Star Ranch, located at 7701 Cleveland
Drive, approximately 10 minutes east
of downtown Punta Gorda, offers trail
riding, private lessons and various camps.
“We’re an entry point for non-horse owners.
We’re more of a stable that caters to non-horse
owners rather than the equestrian world itself,”
explained Dawn Schmertmann, executive director
and driving force behind the ranch.
“All of our students, that come here to learn
to ride, they learn everything from bareback to
English to Western. The whole goal is to get them
in here, show them what the world of horses is,
what different options they have.”
The latest featured activity is summer camp
which runs from Monday and ending with a
sleepover on June 22, where bonfires and
s’mores are a part of the fun.
Riding memberships are popular for those who
want some training and some horse time. For the
monthly cost of $150, you receive weekly lessons
and unlimited riding on the weekend, with youngsters
getting first choice of the 20-plus horses
on the premises on Saturdays while adults have
priority on Sundays.
“I just know that there’s no place else for
people to come into the horse world and be able
to experience everything,” Schmertmann said.
“Our ranch is non-discipline specific. We have all
different breeds of horses.”
If you don’t want to ride a horse, you can still
be around the horses through the many different
volunteer opportunities on the ranch.
“We have over 20 core volunteers but we can
always use more,” Schmertmann explained. “I’d
like to find somebody that can do a monthly or
quarterly newsletter. I have so many people that
want to be on a mailing list but I just don’t have
the time.”
The ranch is also beginning to build a core of
businesses in the surrounding area through the
use of tax deductible sponsorships, company barbecues
and picnics. It’s a way to support the work
Riding Star Ranch does with horses, through
rescue efforts of those abandoned, and rehabilitation
of the animals to useful purposes in life.
Riding Star Ranch is a non-profit facility which
partners with the Boys & Girls Club, the Girl
Scouts and the YMCA, among others.
“My passion is the horses. I know it’s a healthy
activity for the kids,” said Schmertmann. “It gives
them something to do.”
For more information, visit
www.ridingstarranch.org.
SUN PHOTO BY JON BAUMANN
Dawn Schmertmann poses with the first horse
she ever owned, 33-year-old Mocha.
Florida Studio Theatre’s summer season opens today
BY KIM COOL
FEATURES EDITOR
Summer at Florida Studio Theatre will be
more interesting than usual.
Progress continues on the theater’s addition
of more stages, a new restaurant, an elevator,
more seats and, most anticipated of all — expanded
bathrooms at the building housing the Gompertz.
The season begins today with “Das Barbecü”
by Jim Luigs and Scott Warrender, in the theater’s
Keating Main Stage. With music by Warrender,
the show is set in present-day Texas. The story
is told in flashbacks and song by five actors
portraying a total of 30 “outrageous characters,”
according to the theater’s release.
The cast includes FST regulars Stacey Harris,
Joanna Parson and Stephen Hope, who are most
often seen in the Goldstein Cabaret (“Laughing
Matters 2001” and “I Love You, You’re Perfect Now
‘Cinderella’ comes alive
at Broadway Palm
PROVIDED BY THE BROADWAY PALM DINNER
THEATRE
Wicked stepsisters, a fairy Godmother, a
pumpkin and the perfect glass slipper
bring Rodgers and Hammerstein’s
“Cinderella” to life at The Broadway Palm
Dinner Theatre through June 23.
With great warmth, more than a touch of
hilarity, magical characters, irresistible romance
and unforgettable songs, the hearts of
children and adults alike still soar when
the slipper fits.
Performances are Wednesday through Sunday
evenings with selected matinees.
Ticket prices range from $18 to $39 with group
discounts available for parties of 20 or more.
For more information, call 239-278-4422 or
www.BroadwayPalm.com.
The Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre is located
at 1380 Colonial Blvd., Fort Myers.
Change”), with newcomers Billie Wildrick and
Joshua Carter. The show is being directed by
former figure skating champion Dennis Courtney,
who has directed many shows at FST, as well as
on Broadway and other stages.
“Das Barbecü” plays through July 9.
Following that show on the Keating stage is the
Pulitzer Prize-winning “Talley’s Folly” by Lanford Wilson.
The story concerns a romantic interlude involving
Jewish accountant Matt Friedman and Sally Tally
on the Fourth of July near the end of World War II.
The regional premiere of the show was presented at
FST in 1982. The work opens July 25 with previews,
and continues through Aug. 26.
The third and final show of the summer season
is “Perfect Wedding,” a British comedy by Robin
Hawdon. This show is expected to come with a
bonus, as it is scheduled as the first production in
the renovated Gompertz Theatre. While construction
was slightly behind schedule as of mid-May,
it is expected to open on schedule Aug. 8, and
will continue through Sept. 9. The story concerns
a bridegroom who seems to have started the
honeymoon a day early, and with someone other
than his intended.
A three-show subscription begins at $29 for
preview shows and reaches $45 for regular performances,
with single-show tickets at $19-$38.
Order online at www.floridastudiotheatre.org, or
call 941-366-9000.
Florida Studio Theatre is located at 1241 N.
Palm Ave., Sarasota.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY CHRIS BENNION, VIA
FLORIDA STUDIO THEATRE
Joshua Carter and Billie Wildrick in Florida
Studio Theatre’s “Das Barbecü.”
Saturday, June 30th
Hosted by Port Charlotte Golf Club
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3rd Annual
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$50 Per Person to Enter
Entry fee includes breakfast at
the course, 3 free beers, and
dinner provided by John Hall’s
Goal Post following the
tournament
The fun begins with
breakfast at 7:30am
followed by a shotgun
start at 8am.
Please contact Carrie Dillow at
John Hall’s Goal Post for more
information, or stop by John
Hall’s Goal Post to register
p ho n e:(94 1) 979-993 3
em a il:ca rrie@ sm ug g lers.co m
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