Sarasota's debut of Fresh Friday dodges the stormy weather

Rain fell and thunder rumbled across Sarasota on Friday —  bad news when trying to launch a new monthly event series. 

The city's first edition of Fresh Friday persevered though, attracting more than 500 people who danced and mingled the night away around Lemon Avenue and State Street. 

A handful of vendors were on hand passing out pizza, sushi and other food for guests. Two DJs were also on site playing music while the Highway 75 got people rocking out and dancing  with live performances. 

Joseph Grano, president of the Next-Mark marketing and communications company promoting the event on behalf of the city, was relieved to see people respond to the event. He and staff had been planning Fresh Friday for the past three weeks after the city approved funding  in early October.

Lakewood Ranch's Music on Main, which was scheduled to resume Friday night for the first time since March 2020, was canceled because of the weather. 

"It's the best day ever (now that) we pulled it off," Grano said. "The weather took a flip, but here we are."

The next Fresh Friday will take place the first week of December and will have a holiday kickoff theme.