The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

Lots more in  The November Edition of the Friends of Sarasota County Parks News .

Greetings! Welcome to Sarasota County Community Connections.  Contact us if you have questions, ideas for articles, or feedback on the system, at  communityconnections@scgov. net.   Clerk's business offices closed to the public March 29 FRIDAY:  The Clerk of the Circuit Court's business offices at the Historic Courthouse in Sarasota and R.L. Anderson Administration Center in Venice will be closed to the public on Friday, March 29. Normal business hours will resume Monday, April 1. Summer Camp registration begins   MONDAY:  Registration for Sarasota County Parks and Recreation summer camps begins Monday, April 1. Summer camp programs are offered over 11 weeks for children entering grades 1 through 10. Join the 2013 Great American Cleanup Keep Sarasota County Beautiful needs volunteers for the 2013 Great American Cleanup April 27.  www.scgov.net wins 'Sunny Award'  Sarasota County's website,  www.scgov.net , has been named on...

Lots of things for folks of all ages - nature walks, talks, gardens, wildlife, bicycling, hikes, and classes on botany, history, and landscaping. Find out all about the activities for February in our parks - click here for the February Friends of Sarasota County Parks (FOSCP) News .

If you care about our parks, then you should know about this Giving Challenge to help the  Friends of Sarasota County Parks . On March 27, you can them in the  36-Hour Giving Challenge ! You can  check out our profile anytime . On Marcy 27, as close to 6 am as you can, Support the Friends by doing this: 1.  Go here . 2. Type "friends" into the search and locate our profile. (The link is not there yet, but will be at 6 am on Tuesday March 27). 3. Enter your  credit card info . 4. Accept our thanks - all contributions are fully tax deductible. COUNTDOWN WEBSITE

The latest FOSCP (Friends of Sarasota County Parks) Newsletter is out - read it here , and subscribe!

Click here to see a very comprehensive list of Nature Events for June in Sarasota.

Spring out to Snook Haven this Saturday, March 12: It Starts in Parks: This Saturday at Snook Haven , at River Road near I-75, it's the Friends of Sarasota County Parks' first ever Outdoors Fest. Visit the FOSCP Site for more about the event, the prizes and the purpose of FOSCP, a non-profit organization. Find us on Facebook and Twitter Update : Check out the just-added raffle prizes . Nearly 50 fantastic items will be won through our Chinese raffle. Any not picked up will go to Silent Auctions!

Come out to the Spring into Outdoors Snook Haven Fest on Saturday, March 12th and you'll not only have fun, but you could win a fantastic prize: A $1,800 Hobie Pedal Kayak : Or, a $700 64 Gig iPad: Or, a $400 DJB Charters Fishing Boat Cruise . Lots more prizes will be raffled or sold at auction, plus games for kids, a Cornhole tournament, food, music by the Gumbo Boogie Band , all happening at Snook Haven on the idyllic Myakka River. These are limited raffles. There are only 300 tickets in the whole world for this kayak, and only 250 each for the iPad and the Charter Boat, so chances of winning are VERY GOOD! Tickets will be on sale at the event, if any are left. Or, you can get them NOW at any of Evie's locations. Note: This is a Friends of Sarasota County Parks ( FOSCP ) event -- that's to say, it's a fundraiser that benefits all the public parks of Sarasota County. FOSCP is a 501(c)3, and donations are fully tax-deductible. *** Click for more about fun to be had ...

Check out the pictures from the birthday party for Urfer Family Park on the new Civics 101 blog . The event also marked the opening of the C.B. Wilson House, an historical landmark.

IF you're wondering what to do today... Celebrate Adult and Family Literacy Month at Oscar Scherer State Park Make reading second nature and celebrate Adult and Family Literacy Month at Oscar Scherer State Park, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.   on Saturday, Sept. 11.   Fun, free, family activities and free admission by showing a library card or library book or by donating a gently used book.  For more information click here.     By the way, this and more info comes to emails in the form of a very nicely designed weekly newsletter entitled Community Connections from the County - you can subscribe for free: Greetings!   Welcome to Sarasota County Community Connections eNewsletter. We hope that you will tell family, friends and neighbors about this great new free service provided by Sarasota County. Contact us if you have questions, ideas for featured articles, or feedback on the new system at e-mail   pubcom@scgov.net .  

We are pleased to offer our nature events for the month of September. Please read each press release below for the date, time, location, directions and registration information. Thank you volunteer guides and staff! Stay safe and stay cool! ON-LINE REGISTRATION  - Go to  www.scgov.net . Click Calendar of Events on the left. Click the 'All Events' drop down, choose 'Nature Walks' and click 'go'. Scan the calendar for the event and date of your choice and click. Towards the bottom of each nature walk event is information with either a bolded area to click for on-line registration, supplying your name, email and phone number or a contact person and phone number to call for registration.  (Please note: Your registration information will not be shared and will be used only for contact purposes for the event of inclement weather or walk cancelation only.) Please, remember to respect our fellow participants, animals, lands and air space.  To further enhance the experie...

Check out Paddle Sarasota, a clickable map that leads to more detailed maps of 12 kayak and canoe trails, along with detailed information about nearby sites and points of interest along each one. == The county's calendar has drop-down lists so you can find events by type. E.g., for nature walks, under the "All Events" tab just click on Nature Walks, click "Go" and here's the list for August. If you're looking for a wide array of recreational activities, click the tab to Parks and Rec, click "Go," and you get more than you can possible get to. == To check out the scene at Siesta Beach from home, click on the Siesta Beach Cam. == All the above and more - links to dog parks, park acquisitions, therapeutic recreation etc. etc. can be found on the county's Parks and Rec site .

Interested in parks and recreation in Sarasota County? Check out and bookmark Discover Natural Sarasota County - a superb site full of rich information on the embarrassment of riches in Sarasota.

Questions about Benderson Park? That's the park where the racing regattas took place this spring - plans call for the raceway to be expanded. Here's an opportunity to be informed on what could be a major economic attractor for the area: Nathan Benderson Park public meeting scheduled Benderson Park Sarasota County and Benderson Development will host a public meeting to provide background information on Nathan Benderson Park and seek public input on the park concept plan. Date : Thursday, June 24, 2010 Time : 6 p.m. Place : Meadows Community Association,          2004 Longmeadow, Sarasota For a map and more information,  click here .