Put on Your SunHAT and Open Your Mind at The Ringling Eco-Fest

By Scott Ferguson | November 2024

Sarasota’s cultural gem called simply The Ringling is known for its diverse collections, reflecting the interests and legacy of John and Mable Ringling. It is celebrated for its classical art; circus history and artifacts; the architecture of Ca’ d’Zan, the home of the Ringlings; and the beautiful gardens on its 66-acre grounds.

In addition to the many reasons to visit The Ringling, the venue will highlight the natural environment at its site on Sarasota Bay during the SunHAT Eco-Performance Fest, Nov. 13-18.

The event is designed to explore themes of ecology, climate and environmentalism through a series of live performances, walks, talks and a special dinner. The festival will take place in The Ringling’s indoor and outdoor spaces, presenting a dynamic program blending dance, music and other forms of performance. The goal is to stimulate the audience’s imagination and inspire conversations around critical environmental challenges facing Florida and the world.

The festival is dubbed “SunHAT” in part because HAT is an acronym for the Historic Asolo Theater, which serves as the venue for one of the performances. The intimate theater imported from Italy is the former home of the Asolo Repertory Theatre.

“SunHAT is a play on words, representing being outdoors and wearing a hat that’s protective, a kind of all-weather accessory,” explains Elizabeth Doud, The Currie-Kohlmann Curator of Performance at The Ringling. “And the ‘Sun’ part of the title is because we’re in Florida. We think SunHAT is a fun way to express the idea of an event happening outdoors as an extension of the HAT, because a lot of the festival is going to be outside. We have five main performances, with three of those happening outdoors.”

Doud, who is the creator and main organizer of the SunHAT Eco-Performance Fest, holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Miami and a PhD in Performing Arts from the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil.

“I did my PhD research in the role of the performing arts in the climate movement,” says Doud. “Over the last 10 years, as an artist myself and as an event producer and academic, I think the visual arts has done a great job creating projects that respond to questions and issues around climate and environmentalism. There’s been remarkable work conceptually and aesthetically around these topics. But the performing arts has had a more difficult time finding ways to tell the stories of ecological issues and climate change.”

With SunHAT, Doud and her colleagues are bringing together a number of different ways of exploring these issues creatively through the performing arts. The festival will feature presentations by a range of artists. Admission is pay-what-you-will (99¢ and above, with the exception of the Mushroom Dinner and the Nature Provides Herb Walk), with the aim of making the events accessible to the broader community. The event is an effort to position the performing arts as a powerful medium for sparking awareness, reflection and activism about environmental issues.

Here are some highlights of the SunHAT Fest (all events are Pay-What-You-Wish unless otherwise noted):

Nov. 13 & 14, 5:30 p.m.: You Look Like a Fun Guy is an outdoor dance and theater presentation from Dance Heginbotham. It is inspired by mushrooms, their relationship to avant-garde composer John Cage, their powers to facilitate transformation, and their tastiness. The performance on Nov. 13 is a prelude to the Mushroom Dinner.

Nov. 13, 6:45 p.m.: Mushroom Dinner with Artist Talkback by John Heginbotham, The Ringling Grillroom, $75. This artsy feast is made possible by the creative culinary force of Chef Leonardo Pileggi and the urban farm magic of Sarasota’s Petrichor Mushrooms. Savor a multi-course mushroom-based meal, paired with wines by guest sommelier.

Nov. 14, 10:30 a.m.: Nature Provides: Exploring the Edible and Medicinal Landscape, $15 ($12.50 Ringling members).Herbalist and Acupuncture Physician Bob Linde will present an indoor/outdoor talk on the common understanding of food/nature/medicine that mixes bioregional plants with traditional knowledge.

Nov. 14, 7 p.m.: DJ Cavem.Eco Hip-hop artist and vegan chef DJ Cavem coined the term Eco-Hip Hop in 2007, and it has since sprouted into a global movement. An activist, educator and vegan chef, Cavem’s mission is to rap about climate change, food justice, and plant-based foods.

Nov. 15, 16 & 17, 4:30 p.m., and Nov. 18, 11 p.m.: Sakasaka by Compagnie Zolobe, Historic Asolo Theater. Using only a mop, a bench and buckets, three clowns from, Madagascar will have you laughing out loud as they continually try to drink a cup of water. Expect the unexpected as the clown trio takes the audience on many adventures. Sakasaka, which means “thirsty” in Malagasy, is a wordless, physical comedy with live music that highlights the global issue of water scarcity and the importance of protecting this precious resource.

Nov. 16, 3 p.m.: SunHAT Keynote with Moira Finucane. Taking place under the Banyans, this performative address invites the audience to reflect and respond to provocations of Art versus Extinction, drawn from an eponymous suite of works the artist has developed over the last 10 years. Finucane shares a poetic analysis of the priorities and rhetorical strategies of storytelling around climate change, ecology and environmental justice. Her brave and visionary artistic and social practices bring wildness and intellectual rigor that are inclusive and inspirational. 

Nov. 15 & 16, 7:30 p.m.: Morning/Mourning by Gelsey Bell. This experimental opera inhabits a world in which all humans have disappeared from Earth. An ensemble of five vocalist/multi-instrumentalists witnesses and guides the audience through the changes on Earth, as forests grow back, new species evolve, and the human-made world erodes away. Inspired by the book The World Without Us (2007) by Alan Weisman, the piece explores our current human relations with nature.

Nov. 16 & 17, 5:15 p.m.: Invisible Rivers by Mondo Bizarro.Performed on and near Sarasota Bay, this unique collaboration between Louisiana-based Mondo Bizarro and the Land Memory Bank & Seed Exchange combines art and education to involve citizen audiences. Part procession, part performance-art talk, Invisible Rivers uses music, theater and boatbuilding to showcase the experiences of the rapidly changing coastal region of southeast Louisiana.

“We have so many things happening on the campus during the festival,” says Doud. “Our hope is that you’ll want to see every single aspect of SunHat. That’s the way the schedule is broken down. If you really want to go all in and come to the whole shebang, you’ll be able to do that. Whether you’re a ‘tree-hugger,’ an environmental enthusiast, an artist or a lover of the arts, or you just want to experience something different and thought-provoking, we hope you’ll join us.”

The SunHAT Eco-Performance Fest is funded in part by a grant from South Arts, the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project and National Theater Project, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information, to see videos about the events and to purchase tickets for performances and the Mushroom Dinner, visit www.Ringling.org/SunHAT-Festival/.

NOTE: The locations of SunHAT festival events on The Ringling campus are subject to change. Check the website for the latest updates.