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Sarasota News Leader March 29, 2013 Page 31 a fair number of really unique meeting spaces Shirley also reported that his staff had underon these campuses," Geist pointed out. taken an informal survey of the county's arts and cultural organizations to determine the Additionally, the plan also calls for the VSC to number of tickets sold to visitors so far this work with the county and its municipalities year. on better signage, including a more attractive gateway to the community from Sarasota-Bra- Eight groups responded to the survey, he said, denton International Airport. with the following results thus far in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, 2012: • Elevate the visitor experience through enhanced visitor services. • 119,000 patrons had come from outside Sarasota County but from within the state, In almost every meeting conducted with counabout a 4.5 percent increase over the same ty residents to help develop the strategic plan, period in 2012. Geist said, he and VSC staff heard people say they wanted to be more involved in inviting • Slightly fewer than 200,000 patrons had and welcoming visitors to the area. "We didn't come from outside Florida but from anothhear it at all three years ago," he added, noting er state, compared to about 193,000 for the "a significant uptick in community pride." same period of 2012, a 3.4 percent increase. Geist also told the TDC, "We need one central • Slightly more than 10,000 patrons had come monster of a calendar of events [on the VSC from other countries, about a 4.7 percent website] that becomes the go-to for people in increase. this community" as well as tourists. He also pointed out that he had been at the Florida Legislature the previous day, when THE ARTS members of Sarasota's delegation had talked Following Geist's remarks, Jim Shirley, execu- of their pride in the arts in the Sarasota Countive director of the Arts and Cultural Alliance, ty Schools. Shirley noted that the school disoffered an update on some of his organiza- trict plans to seek a renewal in 2014 of its spetion's activities. cial 1 mill tax that helps fund those programs. Pointing to the variety of international festi- Finally, Shirley invited all the TDC members vals the county has hosted — featuring inter- to the YouthArts Fest on April 6, which the nationally known performers such as Mikhail Arts and Cultural Alliance will sponsor in Five Baryshnikov, Itzhak Perlman and Jose Carre- Points Park in downtown Sarasota. no, for example — Shirley said, "I can virtually guarantee you that maybe outside New York, Students from almost every district school will no other community in this nation has done be performing, he said, along with youngsters in youth programs associated with arts orgathat sort of thing and does it every year." nizations such as Sarasota Ballet and Sarasota Those festivals draw performers from all over Opera. the world, and their families and members of their communities learn about Sarasota About 10,000 people attended the event in through their participation, Shirley added. 2012, he added. %