WEEKEND BEST BET: Fourth of July on Longboat Key

This year’s Fourth of July celebration will start out with a bang: Fireworks will light up Sarasota Bay around 8:30 p.m. Saturday, July 2, kicking off this year’s Fourth of July festivities, with seating and dining specials available at Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant & Pub, 760 Broadway, and Moore’s Stone Crab Restaurant, 800 Broadway.

Call Mar Vista at 383-2391 or Moore’s at 383-1748.

The festivities march on with Longboat Key Freedom Fest at 9 a.m. Monday, July 4, at Bicentennial Park. Participants are invited to wear their best red, white and blue garb for a parade around Bay Isles Road. Then, the event continues with old-fashioned games and breakfast items such as pancakes, sausages, waffles and pastries, all of which will be available at the good, old-fashioned price of $1 each, along with a butterfly release by the Longboat Key Garden Club.

For information, call 383-2466.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].