Sarasota Blues Fest
The Sarasota Blues Fest was an annual music festival held at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida. In addition to all day live entertainment, the festival has vendors selling a wide array of food, drink and crafts. History. The Sarasota Blues Fest was started in 1991 by the Sarasota Blues Society. They went bankrupt in 1992. Concert producer Barbara Strauss took over the Sarasota Blues Fest in 1993. The festival is now incorporated by Strauss's company, Sovereign Ventures, Inc. The festival was originally held at the Sarasota County Fairgrounds but moved to Ed Smith Stadium Complex  in 2006. In 2011 The Sarasota Blues Fest and all rights to the name and property was purchased by ExtremeTix Inc., a Houston-based Ticketing Solutions and Event Services company. Charity. Partial proceeds from the event go to a charity. Past recipients of donations have included United Cerebral Palsy, Police Athletic League Sailor Circus Capital Campaign, United Way, Florida Center for Child and Family Development & All Faiths Food Bank.