Your local guide to Sarasota County's weekly events calendar, Siesta Key and Venice beaches, barrier island resorts, waterfront dining, and researched field guides across 7,281 places.
99% Pure Quartz Sand & Sunset Drum Circles
Lemon Ave, Venice, Ringling & Live Stage
Siesta Key Cottages, Longboat & Casey Key
Venice Pier, New Pass & Siesta Village
Weekly farmers markets in Downtown Sarasota, Venice, and Englewood, sunset drum circles on Siesta Key and Nokomis Beach, free Monday admission at The Ringling, and mainstage performing arts.
Founded in 1979 along North Lemon Avenue and Main Street, featuring more than 70 local agricultural growers, Gulf seafood purveyors, artisan bakers, orchid nurseries, and live acoustic street musicians.
Weekly open-air community percussion and sunset gathering on the 99% pure quartz sand of Siesta Beach just south of the main pavilion between Lifeguard Stands 3 and 4.
Complimentary Monday admission to the State Art Museum of Florida’s 21 Renaissance and Baroque galleries, the Center for Asian Art, and the 66-acre Sarasota Bayfront estate gardens and banyan groves.
Open-air Saturday morning market along City Hall Avenue in John Nolen’s historic Venice Island district, offering Florida citrus, local honey, fresh-caught seafood, and prepared coastal fare.
Twice-weekly coastal drum circle and sunset watch adjacent to the historic 1950s Jack West-designed Nokomis Beach Plaza pavilion on southern Casey Key.
Fifteen acres of Sarasota Bayfront gardens dedicated to epiphytic orchids, bromeliads, gesneriads, and ferns, paired with the 30-acre Historic Spanish Point archaeological and pioneer campus in Osprey.
Explore 35 miles of Gulf beaches, world-championship rowing and kayaking waterways, historic museums, performing arts halls, and nature preserves.
Siesta Beach, Nokomis Beach, Caspersen shark-tooth shores, Lido Key, and Manasota Key.
The Ringling, Sarasota Art Museum, Sarasota Orchestra, Venice Theatre, and fine art galleries.
North Jetty Park, Nathan Benderson Park regatta course, Blackburn Point, and bayfront marinas.
Celery Fields birding boardwalks, Jelks Preserve on the Myakka River, and coastal trails.
Visitor guide for Manasota Key and Manasota Beach, Florida — shark tooth hunting, beach conditions, parking, things to do, and local businesses.
Nathan Benderson Park Conservancy is dedicated to overseeing and promoting Nathan Benderson Park as a top-tier recreational destination, enriching the lives of our community and contributing to the economic growth of the region.
One of the largest most active in the United States. Venice Theatre founded in 1950.
Committed to delivering superb artisan craftsmanship, while offering a wide variety of creative ideas.
Compare Gulf-front resorts and courtyard cottages across Siesta Key, Longboat Key, Casey Key, Venice Island, Englewood, and Downtown Sarasota—backed by official Florida DBPR lodging records.
Immerse yourself in the charm and modern design of the newly renovated Casey Key Resorts, located just south of Sarasota, Florida. Two unique locations offer stylish, comfortable accommodations and a complimentary $20 breakfast credit per stay.
Steps from Siesta Key Beach, this family-run boutique hotel offers 6 comfortable suites, a heated pool, and pet-friendly rooms near Siesta Key Village shops.
Historic boutique hotel in Sarasota's Arts District, featuring In-Room Kitchens rooms, private en suites, and The Reserve by Chef Antonio restaurant.
If you're looking for beachfront hotels in Sarasota, FL, our private cottages offer waterfront views.
Offering an outdoor pool, this Sarasota Cadillac Motel is 6 minutes’ drive from Sarasota.
We're here to assist with your stay and questions about our beachfront community.
From Gulf-front pier dining in Venice and oyster bars on Siesta Key to Sarasota Bay dockside tables and scratch breakfast kitchens—complete with Florida DBPR seat capacities and inspection records.
Dubz BBQ is a full‑service restaurant and bar located at 4391 Aiden Lane Suite 4391 in North Port, Florida.
The Breakfast Company serves breakfast and lunch at its Sarasota location. The Breakfast Company is open daily for breakfast and lunch.
Made-to-order gourmet sandwiches, salads and all-day breakfast in downtown Sarasota since 2005. Free downtown delivery, no minimum.
Captain Curt's is a family-owned Siesta Key destination established 1979 in Sarasota, Florida.
Chart House Seafood Restaurants feature unique cuisine and dazzling waterfront views.
Upscale dining in a casual atmosphere with an unparalleled view. 1600 Harbor Drive S, Venice FL 34285.
Read our researched guides on Siesta Key’s Appalachian quartz sand, Miocene shark-tooth beds in Venice, the Sarasota School of Architecture, barrier island lodging comparisons, and seasonal Gulf stone crab.
Quartz sand geology, public access points, parking, and fossil beds across 35 miles of Gulf shoreline.
View Pillar→PILLAR 02Sarasota School of Architecture, museums, performing arts stages, mangrove paddling, and trails.
View Pillar→PILLAR 03Comparing Siesta Key cottages, Longboat Key resorts, Casey Key motels, and Downtown hotels.
View Pillar→PILLAR 04Dock-and-dine restaurants, seasonal Florida stone crab and grouper guides, and DBPR public records.
View Pillar→Unlike coral and shell beaches that absorb solar heat, Siesta Key’s shoreline is composed of 99% pure quartz crystal grains eroded from the Appalachian Mountains over millions of years.
Thirty-five miles of Gulf coastline in Sarasota County are shielded by a chain of barrier islands separated by tidal passes: Longboat Key, Lido Key, Siesta Key, Casey Key, Venice Island, and Manasota Key.
Venice sits directly atop the Peace River Formation of the Hawthorn Group—an exposed Miocene-to-Pliocene marine fossil layer that washes thousands of black fossilized shark teeth onto the beach daily.
Between 1941 and 1966, architects Ralph Twitchell, Paul Rudolph, Victor Lundy, Gene Leedy, and Jack West pioneered a climate-responsive modernist style built for Florida’s Gulf Coast.
When circus impresario John Ringling established his winter headquarters and art collection on Sarasota Bay in the 1920s, he laid the foundation for a year-round performing and visual arts capital.
From the 75-foot observation hill at Celery Fields to red mangrove kayak tunnels on Lido Key and riverside trails at Jelks Preserve, Sarasota County maintains more than 55,000 acres of parks and preserves.
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