- April 19, 2024
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On Jan. 1, we changed out our calendars and were gifted another 365 days. Now, we must figure out how to fill them. Fortunately, much of the year’s calendar is already set. Here are 10 events to attend in 2018.
The annual half marathon is back with a new addition: a 10K route, in addition to the original half marathon.
“We heard the call and we’ve delivered,” said event director Ryan McCarthy, who explained that the 13-mile half marathon was too much for some people who wanted to participate. So organizers added a shorter race to include more people.
Known for live music along the roundabout route and a beer stop at the end, the event returns Feb. 4.
This annual parade is one of Sarasota’s finest displays of patriotism. On May 28, it starts at Osprey Avenue and extends down Main Street to Gulfstream Avenue; it’s followed by the Memorial Day Ceremony hosted by the Sarasota Patriotic Observance Committee.
This year, parade organizer Dan Kennedy said he’s hoping to arrange another Air Force flyover for the festivities.
Thunder by the Bay is bringing the motorcycles back to Sarasota in 2018, after spending 2017 in Lakewood Ranch.
The event is also changing up its regular date, from early January to Feb. 15-18.
Thunder by the Bay was last held in Sarasota in 2016, but some downtown business owners said the festival hurt their business. Now, it will be mostly contained at the Sarasota County Fairgrounds, with a Bikes on Main block party Feb. 16.
An estimated 25,000 people attended the 2017 festival.
The Ringling College Library Association’s lecture series is one of the biggest fundraisers in the area. It brings great speakers, leaders and thinkers from across the world to Sarasota to share their stories, and has raised more than $8 million since it started 30 years ago.
The first lecture of 2018 is by John Brennan, a former director of the CIA, on Jan. 22. Brennan is followed by author and historian Jon Meacham Feb. 12.
Financial journalist Michael Lewis comes March 5; Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee on March 19; and Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani on April 9.
Get tickets and more information on the speakers at rclassociation.org.
Get a healthy dose of art, and education, at this Nov. 9 event.
As returning and first-time sculptors carefully shape their sand in the masters competition, amateurs tend to the details of their masterpieces and crowds meander through Siesta Key’s temporary art gallery.
“Every year I am in awe,” said event chair Maria Bankemper. “It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve seen it.”
Although last year’s show was met with a sudden downpour just after the sun went down, this is an event you don’t want to miss — rain or shine.
“Being the No. 1 beach, we feel like we need to have the No. 1 fireworks,” Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ann Frescura said.
The Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce raises money to host a fireworks display on the beach on July 4, and this year will be the 28th annual show.
If you haven’t been to the Sarasota Farmers Market yet, 2018 is your year.
Bring your dog, bring your friends and bring your appetite to the weekly gathering. With live music, chairs and tables to hang out at and special events throughout the year, there’s a little something for everyone here.
Catch it Saturday mornings on Lemon Avenue near Main Street.
Good music and a good cause wait at Giving Hunger the Blues and Jazz on the Bay — an annual jazz festival that raises money for the Mayor’s Feed the Hungry program.
Head to the Van Wezel in the fall to catch a wide variety of musicians, and help a local group fight food insecurity in the county.
Now in it's 26th year, Say "I Do" Again is a huge vow renewal ceremony on Siesta Key. On Valentines Day, you can grab your partner and get married -again- with hundreds of other couples that spread out along the beach under the pavilion at sunset- no wedding gown or tuxedo required.
This Sarasota staple didn’t take place in 2017, thanks to a shift in dates that moved it from the end of the year to the beginning. But on May 1 and 2, the 24-hour fundraising challenge is back.
It gives about 600 area nonprofits a full day to raise money, which the Community Foundation of Sarasota and its five local philanthropic partners will match. In 2016, the event raised $13.4 million.
Keep an eye out for more information, and watch the funding roll in.
