Regal Movie Theaters may be closing across Tampa Bay,but true theatre venues are just starting to open up. And as COVID-19 concerns limit attendance – events are becoming even more exclusive.

Exclusive Events

Sarasota Opera is leading the way – presenting filmed as live opera events like Sleeping Beauty and Madame Butterfly in limited engagements. The company’s annual fall Taste of Downtown fundraiser for the Youth Opera programs shifted gears to a discount card, allowing several options for fine dining and nights out.

Nothing will stop the Opera House’s annual Opera Gala, celebrating the opening of the Winter Festival. Guests can safely enjoy a cocktail hour, silent auction, a spectacular three course dinner, a special performance by our Principal Artists, and live music for dancing come January 24.

And the annual Salute to the Stars Awards Luncheon will return as scheduled in March at the Sarasota Yacht Club.

Live Theatre

The Sarasota Polo Club & the Historic Asolo Theater are both presenting live shows to limited, masked audiences. Come dressed to the nines with an appropriately stylish face covering and enjoy the best live theater – properly distanced, and for the Polo Club, outdoors.

Black Tie Affairs

Both the Ringling Museum and Marie Selby Botanical Gardens are now open to the public. Selby will host their annual black tie gala, The Orchid Ball, in April of 2021. No official word yet, but you can be sure they’re planning ahead for their Lights in Bloom holiday exhibits, culminating, of course, with the annual black-tie New Year’s Eve celebration at the gardens.

In a sea of franchise establishments and low-key dive bars, it’s not hard to see how Bern’s Steak House stands out in the Hyde Park area or Tampa Bay in general.

Starting Small

Bern’s launched in 1956, when New York transplants, Bern and Gert Laxer, expanded their luncheonette by buying the Beer Haven Bar. While the Laxers were equal partners, they repurposed existing letters from the Beer Haven sign to Bern’s, planning to add Gert’s name later.

Unfortunately, the landlord, a teetotaler who had not approved the sale, threatened to terminate their lease. Extra money went into transforming the bar into a restaurant, becoming Bern’s Steak House. Over the years, Bern & Gert bought the adjoining shops, slowly expanding from a 40-seat dining room to one that could hold 350 or more.

In 1985, they used redwood wine casks to create 48 private rooms within the Harry Waugh Dessert Room. It features nearly 50 special desserts, wines and aperitif’s.

Aged to Perfection

But more than a unique space, Bern’s, now specializes in prime, cut to order steaks, served with organic vegetables grown on their own local farm. They boast the largest collection of wines in any restaurant. Add that to their world-famous dessert room, and Bern’s offers a unique “gastronomical adventure” with every experience.

Since the 1990’s, Bern’s has placed high on, or topped, nearly every list of the top restaurants in America. Rachael Ray, Wine Spectator and even former President George W. Bush have enjoyed and praised Bern’s culinary experience.

Similar to the American idea of the Sweet Sixteen party, the Quinceañera, also known as Quince Años, is part birthday party, part religious ceremony, and part coming-out party.

Traditionally, it marks the journey to adulthood, and, like many other ethnic festivities and milestone events, can include key elements that may or may not have been “updated” to the 21st century young lady.

Traditions Are Important

According to Wikipedia, “in a traditional Mexican quinceañera, young women and men have roles as formal damas and chambelanes, who perform special bends at the celebration, along with the quinceañera herself. There is also a ‘man of honor’ who accompanies the young woman. Potential suitors present gifts to her family to make up a dowry or bridal wealth. Prior to her being given away, the women of the community participate by instructing the quinceañera in her duties and responsibilities. They urge her to follow the correct path by remaining true to her people and their traditions throughout her life.”

Today’s Quinceañera has created new opportunities for event planners. In fact, the market has grown to the point where there are planners who know how to create just the right event for that special 15-year old, her family, her court and her guests. They also coordinating with her pastoral community in the event the party includes the traditional religious components. You can, of course, plan your own party, and you’ll find a ton of resources on the web to help.

¿Qué tan hermosa es Sarasota? How Beautiful is Sarasota?

With its cultural diversity, Sarasota presents a plethora of venues for the ideal Quinceañera. Choose from traditional to just plain fun, from formal to casual, from expensive to economical. There are a multitude of hotels, on the beach or downtown that provide excellent private rooms and ballrooms for any size party, of course….

But Wait, There’s More…

Why not make your young lady’s night super special with an elegant party at The Ringling? Combining the glitz of Gatsby and the glory of the venue, this one would be hard to top! Or maybe your 15-year old is a bit more down-to-earth? If she would like to commune with nature, how about the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens for a glorious gazebo amidst the Banyon trees? She can also party with the sharks and stingrays at the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium.

More and more employers today are utilizing background checks for their employees.

They improve the quality of candidates and reduce the chance of potential employees lying on their resume or job application.

For most jobs, that’s a credit check and a brief search of statewide employment history, criminal records, and the sex offender registry. That’s what the state of Florida defines as a level one background check.

Taking Safety Seriously

For positions that require a high level of responsibility or trust, dealing with the elderly, children, and other vulnerable groups, the state forces employers to take every precaution.

Here in Florida, limo and taxi drivers, just like police officers and medical professionals, are required to pass a Level 2 Background Check. Potential drivers must submit fingerprints and their records are checked in both state and federal databases. Names and IDs are run through the National and Florida Crime Information Center databases. Then they are verified by the FBI, and checked through the Department of Justice Sex Offender Registry.

Did you ever get in a limo or taxi and have the driver ask you for directions to your destination?

Makes you wonder … who’s paying whom? Especially if you have never been to the venue, airport or address before!

Where are we???

Imagine…you arrive at the airport late at night, your company has arranged for a limo service to take you to your hotel. It is one where you have never stayed before. You are tired, it has been a long day – and your driver needs to pull up Google Maps or GPS to get you to your destination? Or, your bridal party heads off to that fabulous destination for the wedding of your dreams! But your driver has no clue where to find that section of the beach! You think, ‘well that’s not acceptable in terms of service!’ And we agree with you…that is definitely not good service. We don’t want our drivers to EVER be unprepared or uncertain of destinations when they pick up our valued clients.

Here to There?

If you have ever had the fortunate experience of travelling to London, you would have experienced the pleasure of hopping into one of the City’s famous black taxis to take you to Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square or perhaps Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guard. Did you know that limo and taxi drivers in London can’t even get licensed without passing what is ‘affectionately’ called “The Knowledge of London”?

One of the things we at Blue Ribbon Transportation pride ourselves in is our hiring of only the best of the best.

Recently, we were, unwittingly, party to an attempted scam and we thought it would be worthwhile to share the story in order to alert people to how some transportation or share ride companies could end up complicit in a crime. This was recounted by our owner and CEO, Erv Helmuth:

“Last week we received a call from someone named Victor who asked us to pick up a package in Sarasota and deliver the personal item to somewhere in Fort Myers. He agreed to pay for the long-distance transportation and stated he would pay a large tip!!

When I arrived at the address to pick up the item, an elderly woman opened the door looking very confused. She was on the phone with another party and said “this package needs to be delivered to Sarasota.” The person on the phone confirmed. At that moment I understood that she didn’t even know where this item had to be delivered.

Something just wasn’t right

I felt something was off, so went back to the vehicle and called the number that had originally requested the ride. After a few rings, a man answered with a thick foreign accent. I was able to understand that the package was to be delivered to Ft Myers.

When I got off my phone, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the whole thing was just too strange.

Every year, hundreds of drivers across Florida end up in in car accidents.

Of course, this isn’t isolated to the Sunshine state. But the state is often ranked as having some of the worst drivers in the United States. And lawyers say it is one of the worst states to be involved in a car accident.

Minimum Basic Requirements

Florida still only requires, for most drivers, proof of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and Property Damage Liability (PDL) automobile insurance.

PIP covers 80% of all reasonable and necessary medical expenses, up to $10,000, resulting from a covered injury, no matter who caused the crash. PDL coverage pays for damage to another person’s property caused by you or someone else driving your insured vehicle.

The state does not require drivers to carry Bodily Injury Liability (BIL). BIL pays for injuries you cause to another driver if you are at-fault in the accident.

And in way too many cases, drivers may allow their required coverages to lapse between their car registration renewals.

You’re engaged! What an exciting time …

and congratulations! But wait, you and your fiancé have decided that you don’t want to stick around the old homestead for your wedding. You would like to plan a destination wedding instead! Time to gather your best friends and closest family members in a place far from home, where you can celebrate for days or even a whole week!

Location, Location, Location

Of course, we think that Sarasota is the ideal location for you, but regardless of where you go, how do you start planning??? We’re already behind. Oh no!

Stop. Breath. Think about places that have special meaning to you and your fiancé. While you may think it is a grand idea to plan your wedding in that exotic and far-away place you always wanted to see… Maybe you should save that for your honeymoon. You won’t have the time to explore it during the days/week before your big day.

Maybe consider a place that’s easy for your guests to get to from wherever they are coming. Do they need to change planes five times or are there direct flights, for example.

DIY or Wedding Planner?

Once you have decided on a location, decide if you want to do all the planning yourself or hire a local wedding planner to help you. Either way, you have to start getting organized. Know your budget (other than travel).

According to recent surveys, destination weddings now represent 25% of the total wedding market.

Once upon a time, destination weddings were predominantly arranged for those brides and grooms who had been previously married… It was a way to get away, get married, and have a honeymoon all at the same time. But now? Brides and grooms love destination weddings for a lot of reasons.

Neutral Ground

While tradition dictates that the bride’s hometown location would host her wedding, more and more couples are either paying for their own weddings or are trying to be “fair” to their families. Choosing a location that may mean something to the happy couple, but that is on neither one’s home turf can eliminate a ton of familial conflicts and stresses.

Party Hardy!

One of the major benefits to destination weddings is that the wedding party and guests can spend more time together. Since most of these “faraway” events have captive audiences for a week, bridal showers, bachelor parties, day after brunches can all take place during the event week.

Oftentimes the events are arranged by the wedding planner. Then even the bride and her family can be treated as guests and enjoy the parties rather than host them themselves at their homes. Which leads us to why Sarasota, Siesta Key and Longboat Key are PERFECT destinations for any wedding.

It’s Not Just About the Beach

OK, so maybe the beach is the best way to start this conversation. After all, the local beaches have topped the list of the best beaches in Florida for years.