Around Town
The greater Sarasota-Bradenton area is renowned for its thriving arts scene, white sand Gulf beaches and acres of protected wetlands and state parks. You can spend a day at the Sarasota Folk Festival, watch a play featuring conservatory students, take in your favorite band, indulge in dozens of Indie films at the Sarasota Film Festival, drink cappuccino at the cozy downtown bookstore, or simply go out with friends for sushi or ribs.
Sarasota has been called the state’s cultural coast, and with good reason. Here, you will discover several live theater companies, a resident symphony orchestra, professional ballet and opera companies, vocal chorales, jazz groups and bands. We have tons of festivals for every inclination, from the Hispanic Latino Festival to the Medieval Fair. Right next door to campus is the world-renowned John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, which has recently undergone a multi-million dollar renovation that includes a new visitor center and the restoration of an historic theater from Italy. For more world-class museums and entertainment, St. Petersburg and Tampa are less than 50 miles away.
The beaches here are beyond compare. To the north, Anna Maria Island has many public beaches and a very distinctive, funky culture. A few miles to the south, there is beautiful Lido Beach, adjacent to the super-trendy and totally fun St. Armands Circle, where you can eat rice and beans at the Colombia or get ice cream. Further south is the most magnificent beach of all, Siesta Beach, with its wide swath of pedal-soft, pearly-white sand that has contributed to its top international ranking.
Myakka State Park, about 15 miles from campus, is Florida’s largest state park, and it’s a good place to view birds, alligators and other wildlife. There is a fresh water lake, river, wetlands, pine flatwoods and prairie. There’s also canoeing, picnicking, hiking and camping, as there is at Oscar Scherer State Park as well. Mote Marine Laboratory on City Island offers an informative introduction to Gulf Marine life. Many New College students intern at Mote Marine.
Water sports of all kinds are readily accessible – right off our campus into the bay, or at many other locations around town. And sometimes it’s fun just to hang out in our thriving downtown, located just two miles from campus. You can watch the children play near the dolphin sculpture at a bayside park, broaden your horizons at our monumental Season of Sculpture, explore the aisles at Whole Foods Market, or simply enjoy a great sunset on a swing made for two.
