AMISH IN SARASOTA, FLORIDA
Posted on 02/13/2022 8:42:09 AM PST by SeekAndFind
AMISH IN SARASOTA, FLORIDA
As with elsewhere in Florida, snowbirds are a regular sight here.
But intermixed with the more stereotypical visitors to Sarasota, a city and county on the Gulf of Mexico coast in southwest Florida, is a large community of Amish.
Like other snowbirds, the Amish come from locales with cold winters. Think central Ohio, northern Indiana and, of course, the unofficial Amish capital of Lancaster County in Pennsylvania.
At the height of the season, about 5,000 winter-weary Amish and Mennonites call Pinecraft, an enclave about 20 minutes from the popular St. Armand’s Circle, home. In the summer, the population numbers just 50.
Most of the Amish arrive after taking a 22-hour ride on chartered buses that are collectively called the Amish Express. By contrast, Mennonites often drive themselves — an illustration of how the two Protestant traditions differ, despite a shared cultural and religious heritage.
To discover everything about this fascinating community of snowbirds, I took the uncreatively named Amish Experience tour from guide Kendra Cross.
Cross, a native of Indiana, isn’t Amish but has a connection to the denomination, which arose out of the Anabaptists in the 17th century, through her Amish grandmother. Today, she attends a Mennonite church.
Her tour runs about two hours and stops at a couple of Amish-centric businesses, including Alma Sue’s Quilt Shop and the Carlisle Inn, a family-friendly hotel located next to the popular restaurant Der Dutchman.
“The Amish are Christian, but their culture is Amish,” Cross made a point of telling the group of about 20 tourgoers as an old-fashioned trolley navigated the streets of Pinecraft. “Their culture is separate and not of the world.”
The biggest houses in Pinecraft are around 800 square feet. Some have architectural details complete with driveways and white picket fences; others are plain block houses. Most sell for about $300,000, Cross said.
“We want to respect the culture and the fact that this is their community,” she said. “We don’t want to be commercialized like Lancaster County.”
What struck me was just how normal that community looked.
Married couples rode tricycles and electric scooters in the direction of Sarasota’s world-class beaches, a large crowd of spectators gathered around a beach volleyball match at Pinecraft Park and several Amish or Mennonites sunbathed at the pool of the Carlisle Inn. Over at my hotel, the Hyatt Regency, I did a double take at two bikini-clad girls talking in Pennsylvania Dutch and drinking what were presumably virgin cocktails. Then again, I suppose what happens in Sarasota stays in Sarasota.
The Amish Experience tour runs every Thursday through May 12. Tickets cost $44.99 for adults and $29.99 for children under 12.
Eat at Yoder’s Restaurant & Amish Village or Der Dutchman . Both restaurants are closed Sundays.
Stay at the Carlisle Inn and Conference Center.
Churchgoers may want to attend the Sunday service at the Mennonite Tourist Church, 3440 Bahia Vista St. in Sarasota, at 9:30 a.m. Alternative churches outside the Amish and Mennonite traditions include First Sarasota (Southern Baptist) and the Church of the Redeemer (Episcopal).
I can recommend Yoders.......great food!!
If you're ever in town and want a great home-cooked meal, be sure to visit Der Dutchman on Bahia Vista Street. You won't leave hungry.
Yoder’s is usually a quality place to stop regardless of what they are selling in Amish country.
My folks lived in Chester County, PA on the eastern edge of the Amish country. We took many trips to the Amish country with grandma and grandpa when our kids were little. After Dad passed, Mom enjoyed long drives through the backroads of Lancaster County. We had quite a few meals at the Shady Maple Smorgasbord in East Earl, PA. I remember the first time we stopped there I was highly skeptical of the "food factory" feeling of the place, but it was super - really good food and a fun place. Good memories!
They’ve been coming down for a long time, and in fact some of them have furniture businesses (they build furniture) based in Florida. I don’t think there are any large permanent communities at this point, though.
Watch for buggies...
I’ve bought several Amish made handicrafts through the years... ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDNG QUALITY.
Much better than the trash being peddled at WalMart.
By the time your buggy gets there, isn’t it time to turn around and go home?
Do they get there by horse-and-buggy?
“I’ve bought several Amish made handicrafts through the years... ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDNG QUALITY.”
Yes, same here. The Iowa Amana Colonies sell high quality woolen and furniture goods.
We’ve got fine Amish furniture in our son’s bedroom (he grew up and moved out). It is sturdy, all wood, excellent hardware, and shows zero signs of wear after 15 years. Great value for the money!
FAR better than anything out of China, for sure.
I read somewhere that with their large families, and present birthrates projected into the future, Amish population could become 50% of the US population in 100 years.
IMHO, why not? Our present materialist, financialized, secular, post-modern society may simply extinguish itself. God will always bless His faithful.
I knew there was an Amish community in Sarasota but I too, didn’t know they were snowbirds.
Not all are snowbirds.....my daughter’s college roommate was Amish from Sarasota and she was a permanent resident.
They are truly lovely people
There are some Florida Mennonites that have a business of shuttling the Amish from the north to Florida. (Many Mennonites on U-Tube)
The Amish are a cult. They are NOT Christian.
I know it well.
What? No horse and buggy from PA?
My in laws alive there. Lots of Mennonites and great pies at those places.
I think they were sick of putting snow tires on the bicycles and winter wheels on the buggies up north. Easier life in Florida.
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