WSLR and Fogartyville pay tribute to beloved programmer

SARASOTA — Known as Dr. Nik, William Pearson was an artist who was noteworthy for creating bicycles as public art that are installed throughout the area and elsewhere.

He was the “Puppet Doctor” who did puppet shows at farmer’s markets.

Pearson also was a volunteer programmer for WSLR-FM, hosting a bluegrass program on the low-power radio station.

When he died in April from leukemia, news reports and tributes poured in.

“His colorful bicycle sculptures are adorning street corners throughout Sarasota,” WSLR news director Johannes Werner said. “For years, he and his puppet theater were a mainstay on the downtown Farmers’ Market. And this is just the most visible art he produced. William Pearson was a creative presence in town for decades.”

Friend and collaborator Marc Zampella said, “Yeah, man, the dude, he just had his hands in so many different things. He was interested in lots of stuff — and that’s what made him so interesting to me is that he was interested.”

The contents of his storage locker were sold to a junk removal business. It rolled away from the unit with a truckload of colorful bicycles.

When a dedicated WSLR listener who had known Pearson saw the truck, she inquired to the driver about them and quickly contacted the radio station, because she knew WSLR was Pearson’s second home.

Within 30 minutes after the station mentioned the bikes on the air and posted about them on Facebook, listeners had donated the $1,000 needed to purchase them. The station bought them in tribute to Pearson, with plans to install them on its Rosemary District property.

This outreach by the radio station and the swift community response illustrates the impact WSLR — and its accompanying event space, Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center — have on Sarasota, general manager Jesse Coleman says.

“I think people see the value of this as a community space,” he said.