Florida resort guests flock to Longboat Key Club and Resort each year during the Sarasota Film Festival. In its 10th year, the festival is already making an impact in the worldwide film scene, with a hand-selected program of 150 independent, international and short films in competition.

In recent years, the festival has attracted Florida resort guests, as well as filmmakers and actors like mainstream Hollywood’s Richard Dreyfuss, Alan Alda and Sydney Pollack. Also present are many recognized actors from the indie genre, including William H. Macy and Todd Haynes.

Admissions in 2006 topped 45,000 for films and events, and even more are expected at the 2008 festival. The 2008 festival will last from April 4 - 13 at the Hollywood 20 Theater in downtown Sarasota. Throughout the festival, Florida resort guests will find many other exciting related events throughout the downtown area.

Tom Hall recently became the full-time director of programming for the Sarasota Film Festival. He has helped refocus the festival by widening the scope of competition films. “We’ve restructured the competition… It’s not just going to be American independent premieres.” Florida resort guests can enjoy films that include foreign titles and films already being distributed, in addition to traditional independent narrative features that have not yet premiered.

Aside from exposure to a variety of films, the festival gives film buffs a chance to attend seminars, as well as receptions and a Filmmakers Tribute Dinner, where Florida resort guests can rub shoulders with industry insiders, and more importantly, garner knowledge of the processes involved in filmmaking.

For more information on the Sarasota Film Festival, visit www.sarasotafilmfestival.com.

Florida Resort guests to Longboat Key Club and Resort, located on the island of Longboat Key off the coast of Sarasota, can enjoy performances from the only professional ballet company on Florida’s west coast: The Sarasota Ballet.

The Ballet boasts a repertoire that delights Florida Resort guests and includes the great classics, works of internationally recognized contemporary choreographers, and works from Florida artists like Todd Allen, Demetrius Klein and James Buckley.

The Ballet’s repertoire for Florida Resort guests also includes such beloved classics as Swan Lake and Giselle, and original works such as Madame Butterfly, Echo & Narcissus and Zal & Rudabeh – ballets that have received outstanding critical acclaim internationally…and, here, from Florida Resort guests.

The Ballet’s outreach programs reach deeply into the Florida Resort and local community to have a profound effect upon the lives of its children and their families. The “Sarasota Ballet Academy” and “Dance - The Next Generation” programs reach more than 5,000 children annually and introduce them to dance and familiarize them with career opportunities within the arts.

Each year the Company, Academy students and “Dance - The Next Generation” students share the art of ballet with Florida Resort guests and residents by performing in local events such as the Sarasota Reading Festival, Manatee Festival of the Arts, and Sarasota Arts Day.

One of the largest and most diverse nature areas in Florida, Myyaka River State park offers Sarasota hotel guests, such as those to Longboat Key Club & Resort, the opportunity to partake in sightseeing tours by airboat and tram.

Sarasota hotel visitors can learn about the ecology of the area and the interesting features of its many inhabitants during these inspiring, informational tours. During your Sarasota hotel vacation, you can see incredible wildlife, including alligators, bald eagles, sandhill cranes, ibis, egrets, deer, wild turkey, bobcats, and many other animals and birds.

The Myakka River, designated as a Florida Wild and Scenic River, flows through 58 square miles of wetlands, prairies, hammocks, and pinelands. Sarasota hotel visitors can view wildlife from a boardwalk that stretches out over the Upper Myakka Lake, then take to the treetops with a jaunt along the park’s canopy walkway.

The park´s river and two lakes provide ample opportunities for boating, freshwater fishing, canoeing, and kayaking. And for Sarasota hotel guests who are interested in some adventure, a boat ramp provides access to Upper Myakka Lake.

Hikers from our Sarasota hotel can explore trails that cross large expanses of rare Florida dry prairie. Scenic lake tours are offered daily on the world´s two largest airboats. Safari tram tours of the park´s backcountry are offered mid-December through May.

Many factors attract guests to the Longboat Key Club & Resort – a premier Florida resort.  St. Armand’s Circle, for example, is the perfect venue for an outdoor stroll, distinctive shopping and delicious cuisine.  And it is right nearby our beautiful resort in Florida.

Most who visit St. Armand’s Circle likely have little interest in its history or inception.  Visitors tend to simply be interested in all St. Armand’s Circle has to offer now.  However, this popular tourist destination has an interesting past.

When John Ringling of the Ringling Bros. purchased a group of islands off Sarasota in the 1920s, he dreamed of a major tourist attraction with elegant shops, world-class restaurants, and the finest of Florida resorts. Although Ringling did not live to see it, his dream is reality today.

The land Ringling bought has become a destination for world-class visitors – and it is known as St. Armand’s Circle on Lido Key.  Within minutes of Longboat Key and our foremost Florida resort, St. Armand’s Circle is more than just a major tourist destination – it has character.

At St. Armand’s Circle, guests from our Florida resort find contemporary architecture of distinction, exclusive shops, galleries, exotic boutiques, sophisticated restaurants and nightlife all in one spot.  For our guests, it is possible to visit the center of St. Armand’s Circle.  Here, they find The Circus Ring of Fame, a “sidewalk of circus stars” and a lasting tribute to Ringling.

When you visit our resort in Florida, be sure to visit St. Armand’s Circle.  Consider Ringling’s influence – his plans and dreams for the area.  As a performer who sought to entertain and please, he would likely be proud.

For your next Florida vacation, choose Longboat Key over Anna Maria and Sanibel Islands. Visit Longboat Key on Florida’s gulf coast for spectacular beaches, sparkling, clear blue waters and an array of spectacular things to do.

On Florida’s west coast just north of Longboat Key, you’ll find Anna Maria Island. This island serves as a barrier between the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay. With beaches stretching for seven miles along the gulf coastline, Anna Maria Island closely resembles Longboat Key, where you’ll find Longboat Key Club and Resort, southwest Florida resort destination.

There is a canal network throughout Anna Maria Island that allows for interesting water recreation. On Anna Maria Island, there is also an island trolley system for transportation throughout the island’s three cities, which include Anna Maria City, Holmes Beach and Bradenton. The area offers residential, business, retail, condominium and resort areas.

At the southernmost tip of the Anna Maria Island (Bradenton Beach) you’ll discover the Longboat Key Bridge, which takes you to our gulf barrier island – the ideal Florida vacation location.

Adjacent to Sarasota – with incredible, distinct shopping and restaurants on St. Armand’s Circle – Longboat Key Club and Resort offers a peaceful sanctuary, where you’ll enjoy a private white-sand beach, a beautiful Gulf-side pool, two championship golf courses, our new Island House Spa, and four superb restaurants and lounges.

Watch a Gulf Coast sunset from the private balcony of your luxurious suite here on Longboat Key, and enjoy the ultimate Florida vacation. You’ll be near Anna Maria Island, Sarasota and Sanibel Island, another island along Florida’s gulf coast.

Sanibel Island is about 12 miles long and 4 miles wide, and it lies off the coast of Fort Myers, Florida. It exists south of our Florida vacation destination. However, our quiet, central location on Longboat Key truly provides the best shopping, resort lifestyle and beaches on Florida’s gulf coast, offering a widely preferred alternative to Anna Maria and Sanibel Islands for your next Florida vacation.

Longboat Key, where you’ll find Longboat Key Club and Resort, is a town rich in history and located on the west coast of Florida, just off the coast of Manatee and Sarasota counties.

On the island, guests to our Florida resort can delve into the area’s rich history compliments of the Longboat Key Historical Society, founded in 1980. In addition, Florida resort guests can explore the society’s museum, opened in 2005. Both the society and museum are headquartered at 6960 Gulf of Mexico Drive, just south of the historic Longbeach Village.

Florida resort guests discover the many ways history serves us when they encounter the local Historical Society. The society seeks to study the history of the town of Longboat Key and the state of Florida. It provides for the collection and display of papers, books, records, memorabilia and other items of historical interest. And it ensures the marking and preservation of local historic sites and buildings.

In general, the Historical Society informs and educates our Florida resort guests by providing the context and perspective that allow people to make thoughtful decisions about the future. According to the society, history has the power to delight and enrich us, intensifying the experience of being alive. Exhibits at the Longboat Key Historical Museum include Gordon Whitney’s Shell Collection; a Pictorial History of Longboat Key; bound copies of the Longboat Observer from 1978 to present; a plaque of the old south end bridge; post cards from the past; and various charts.

Open to Florida resort guests for their intellectual pleasure, the Historical Society also hosts various events and performances. Children and adults alike will find themselves inspired and informed.