Comedy

The Sarasota Comedy Festival has moved to May, and promises a week of laughs in a variety of venues, May 10-17. The event kicks off with a "Doo-Dah Parade" down Main Street the morning of May 10 and continues with a comedy film showcase at Burns Court, a FunnyBones luncheon May 12, humor workshops at the Radisson Lido Beach, stand-up comedy showcases May 13, 14 and 15 (celebrity guest host TBA), a golf tournament at Heritage Harbour, performances by famed Second City troupe members May 16 at the Opera House (and improv workshops with the pros the next day), and winds up with a "Funny Feud Finale" game show takeoff May 17. All to benefit the Child Protection Center; for more details call 365-1277 or go to www.comedy.org.

Art

If you're a fan of J.M.W. Turner, you'll want to stop by Art Center Sarasota sometime between May 7 and May 15. On view is Introducing J.M.W. Turner to Florida, an exhibition featuring some of the 19th-century artist's prints. The show is a trial run of sorts; Turner Museum founder Douglass Graham, formerly located in Denver, is hoping to excite enough interest to establish a permanent location for his collection somewhere in Sarasota, with an approach that mixes food, music and entertainment as well. For more information on the Turner Museum's past, present and future, fax Graham at 378-1885 or visit www.turnermuseum.org.

Art

Selby Gallery. Continuing through May 2: the Best of Ringling Annual Student Exhibition. Then celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sarasota's Petticoat Painters (one of the oldest continuously exhibiting women's art groups in the country) and a show of works by Shirley Clements and Nike Parton with a reception 5-7 p.m. May 9 (continues through May 30). Information: 359-7563.

ArtCenter Sarasota. On view through May 3: art by students in North County Public Schools. Running May 9-June 14 is the spring members show, with a reception set for May 15. Information: 365-2032.

Venice Art Center. Continuing through May 16: an exhibition of work by students in South Sarasota County public schools. Opening May 21 to run through June 18 (reception May 30) is a Winner's Circle exhibition; also a Solo Salon will feature mixed media by Elizabeth VanRiper. Information: 485-7136.

Sarasota County History Center. Legacy, photos by Arnold Berns of some Sarasota landmarks, ends May 17. Information: 861-1180.

Galleria Silecchia. Continuing through May 30: contemporary and traditional oils by Yuri Gorbachev. On view May 1-June 30: works by glass artist Joseph Rossano and metal sculptor David Gerstein. Information: 365-7414.

Sarasota Season of Sculpture. An exhibition of large-scale art works continues through May 31 along Sarasota's downtown bayfront. Information: 331-2008.

Museum of Fine Arts. This St. Petersburg museum continues The Power and Passion of Dance: The Carol Halsted Dance Photography Collection through June 15. Dancers include Isadora Duncan and Anna Pavlova; photographers range from Steichen and Stieglitz to Annie Liebowitz. Information: (727) 896-2667.

Apple & Carpenter Galleries. A Century of Artistic Inspiration features American and European paintings from 1850-1950, May 1-June 30. Information: 951-2314.

Palm Avenue Gallery. Oils on canvas by Michael Mailloux, accompanied by the artist's poems, are on display this month. Information: 953-5757.

Palm Avenue First Friday Walk. From 6 to 9 p.m. May 2. Information: 366-1146.

Santa Fe Trails. Works by watercolorist John A. White are highlighted this month. Information: 954-1972.

Selby Gardens. The gardens' annual juried photography exhibition displays nature shots by Florida's best amateurs and professionals, May 3-June 30. Information: 366-5731.

Tampa Museum of Art. Modern Art in Florida, on view May 11-July 6, focuses on the exchange of ideas among artists who traveled between or lived in the Hamptons and Sarasota. Artists represented include longtime Sarasotans Syd Solomon, John Chamberlain and Conrad Marca-Relli. Information: (813) 274-8130.

Towles Court Third Friday Gallery Walk. From 6 to 10 p.m. May 16 at the artists' colony near downtown. Information: 362-0960.

Ringling Museum of Art. Sacred Treasures: Early Italian Paintings from Southern Collections will be on view May 31-Aug. 10 in the West Galleries. Botticelli, Gaddi, Fra Angelico and Rossini are some of the artists featured, in works dating from 1285-1510. Information: 359-5700.

Children

The Sorcerer's Apprentice. A show based on the Fantasia sequence featuring Mickey Mouse and that devilish broomstick, part of Venice Little Theatre's Theatre for Young People program, May 1-20. Information: 488-1115.

Franklin the Turtle. It's Franklin's Class Concert, with friends Bear, Beaver, Fox and Snail. At 10:30 a.m. May 3 at the Van Wezel. Information: 953-3368.

Sarasota Youth Opera. The youth opera takes the stage with John Rutter's The Piper of Hamelin, based on the classic tale of a town that must pay the piper, one way or another. Performances are at 11 a.m. May 3 and 1:30 p.m. May 4 at the Sarasota Opera House; for tickets call 366-8450, ext. 1.

Miscellaneous

Animal Rescue Coalition Friends Furever. Pet adoptions, exhibitions, children's activities and a blessing of the animals are all set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 3 at Phillippi Estate. Information: 957-1955.

St. Armands Circle: Classic Corvettes on the Circle. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 3, this show, the third largest Corvette show in Florida, presents more than 200 of the collectors' cars in Circle Park. Also this month: the Sunset Stroll, from 6 to 9 p.m. May 9, offering performers Rex Willis, Reflections a la Carte and jazz sax man Boris. Information: 388-1554.

Music

Key Chorale. Hands Across the Sea offers music from the United States and Great Britain, by composers John Rutter, Ned Rorem, Andrew Carter and others. At 4 p.m. May 3 at St. Boniface Episcopal Church. Information: 921-4845.

Selby Gardens Sunday Afternoon Outdoor Garden Music Series. Live outdoor music with professional local musicians, 1 to 3 p.m. May 4, 11 and 18. Information: 366-5731.

Evening Under the Stars. A Manatee Community College Foundation event featuring sounds of the Florida West Coast Symphony, at 8 p.m. May 10 outdoors at the Legacy Golf Club at Lakewood Ranch. Information: 752-5398 or 408-1418.

Florida String Quartet. The quartet rounds out its season with works by Shostakovich, Beethoven and Turina, at 4 p.m. May 11 at Holley Hall. Information: 953-3434.

Sarasota Folk Club. An Old-Time Jam is set for May 15 at 1625 Vereda Verde; also this month, the usual concert at the Sailing Squadron, starting with open mike at 7:15 p.m. May 19 and continuing with Brendan Nolan at 8 p.m. Information: 377-9256.

Festival Latino. Latin music and dance, at 7:30 p.m. May 23 and 24 at the Players of Sarasota. Information: 365-2494.

Sports

Girl Scouts Benefit Golf Tournament. Registration at 7 a.m., shotgun start at 8 a.m. May 3 at The Meadows Country Club. Cost $100 per player; format is four person scramble. For more info call 921-5358, ext. 253.

Pedal for Paws. A fund-raising bike-a-thon for the Humane Society of Sarasota, in celebration of Be Kind to Animals Week. Bring your bike and register at 7:30 a.m. May 4 at the Siesta Key Public Beach Pavilion. Refreshments, entertainment and T-shirts will be provided. Information: 374-5739.

The Meadows Cup. Two events, a 19th hole gala and a 100-hole challenge, highlight this event for Easter Seals, set for May 16 and 17 at The Meadows. Information: 355-7637, ext. 403.

Suncoast Sundown Criterium Bicycle Race and Sarasota County Bicycle Street Fest. This year's event moves to downtown Venice, with proceeds distributed to local charities and civic groups. The street fest promotes safe cycling; the race will draw more than 250 cyclists from around the world for a multi-lap race on a closed course on city streets. Information: 861-0920.

Sarasota Red Sox. Florida State League baseball continues at Ed Smith Stadium this month. Information: 365-4460.

Talks

Lettuce & Lectures. This Friends of Selby Library series offers Insight on the Stock Market by Jim Troup of Salomon Smith Barney, who'll discuss his book, Divorcing the Dow. At noon May 14 at Selby. Information: 365-5228.

Theater

Kiss Me, Kate. The Cole Porter musical winds up its run May 4 at the Golden Apple in Sarasota. Information: 366-5454.

42nd Street. You can still hear those tapping feet, through May 4 at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Information: (800) 955-1045.

How the Other Half Loves. An Alan Ayckbourn farce involving two houses, three couples and, of course, some philandering. Through May 18 at the Venice Golden Apple Dinner Theatre. Information: 484-7711.

Over the River and Through the Woods. The Joe DiPietro hit about a young Italian man and his four doting grandparents, through May 18 at the Lemon Bay Playhouse. Information: 475-6756.

The Corn Is Green. Emlyn Williams' semiautobiographical play about life and learning in a Welsh mining town continues through May 24 at the Asolo. Information: 351-8000.

Filumena. Can a Neapolitan ex-prostitute and her longtime lover/employer find happiness? Onstage through May 24 at the Asolo. Information: 351-8000.

The Philadelphia Story. Philip Barry's classic comedy about the Lords of the Main Line, onstage through May 25 at the Asolo. Information: 351-8000.

Who's on First? Vaudeville lives in this music and comedy revue, through May 31 at Florida Studio's Goldstein Cabaret. Information: 366-9000.

The Next Marilyn. Playwright Lynne Kaufman's latest, about a young film star torn between her leading man and her possessive director/boyfriend, through June 7 at Florida Studio Theatre. Information: 366-9000.

Ten Little Indians. Agatha Christie's perennial thriller about murder after murder in a deserted setting, May 1-18 at the Manatee Players Riverfront Theatre. Information: 748-5875.

Syncopation. Actor Kraig Swartz (of last year's Fully Committed) returns to the Asolo for this production in the Jane B. Cook Theatre, May 2-25 Allan Knee's play is set on the Lower East Side of New York in 1912, where two lonely people find each other as dance partners and perhaps more. Information: 351-8000.

The Dinner Party. Theatre Works presents the regional premiere of this new Neil Simon comedy about divorcing couples who bicker while dining in Paris. Onstage May 2-25. Information: 952-9170.

No, No, Nanette. Guys and girls tapping to Tea for Two, May 6-June 29 at the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre. Information: 366-5454.

Open Season. Michael McKeever's comedy about the clash of egos between an actress and her father, onstage at the Island Players May 8-18. Information: 778-5755.

Young Playwrights Festival/National Playwrights Festival. Florida Studio Theatre hosts its young playwrights May 10, with new works by older authors presented in staged play readings May 17, 24 and 31 on the mainstage. Information: 366-9000.

The Vagina Monologues. Eve Ensler's hit about that certain part of a woman's anatomy comes to the Van Wezel, May 13-18. Information; 953-3368.

The Miracle Worker. William Gibson's powerful play centering on the relationship of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan, onstage at Venice Little Theatre May 13-25. Information: 488-1115.

Parallel Lives. A world premiere of a show based on essays by St. Pete Times journalist Bill Maxwell and novelist Beverly Coyle, this is the memoir of two Florida teens caught amid racial issues of the 1950s and '60s. Onstage May 23-June 15 at American Stage in St. Petersburg. Information: (727) 823-PLAY.

Grease. Welcome back to Rydell High, at 8 p.m. May 28 and 29 at the Van Wezel. Information: 953-3368.