🍦 A Proper Irish Pub Pulls Into Lakewood Ranch

Best Things To Do in SRQ: 7/23 - 7/26

Author

Carson B
July 21, 2026

Happy Tuesday!

Lakewood Ranch is getting its first genuine Irish pub, and it opens Wednesday — that's this week's Spotlight, and it's a good one. Everywhere else on the calendar there's plenty to get into, the Bishop running laser shows set to the Beatles and Aerosmith, and a Go-Go's musical opening down in Venice. Here's the rundown.

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In today’s edition of the Sarasota Scoop:

Thanks for reading,

Carson

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📰 Local Headline Roundup

Our Little Airport Is Thinking Big

SRQ is turning into a genuine aircraft-manufacturing hub. Swiss planemaker Pilatus is setting up an assembly line and hiring 175 people, French trainer-maker Elixir is coming in through a Cirrus partnership, and Manatee Technical College is opening an aviation school right on the grounds.

Turns Out a Lot of People Want What We've Got

The 2026 PODS Moving Trends Report ranks Sarasota No. 9 among the U.S. cities people are moving to, back in the top 10 after sitting out the list last year. No mystery why, really.

A New Piece of Public Art Is Headed to Payne Park

Artist Michael DiCarlo's "Swing," an eight-foot stainless-steel sculpture inspired by the motion and spirit of play, gets its official unveiling July 30 in the Payne Park Tennis Center courtyard. One more reason to slow down on your next lap around the park.

🔦 Spotlight: Delany's Public House

Lakewood Ranch has spent years building the kind of Main Street that fills up on a Friday night, and this week it gets something it hasn't had before: a proper Irish pub. Delany's Public House opens Wednesday, and the people behind it did not cut a single corner on the "authentic" part. Tory Delany, her husband Darren Shore, and their partner Kevin O'Hanlon are all Ireland natives, and they built the room to feel like the real thing — a bar and furniture crafted by Irish-born woodworkers, antiques shipped over from the old country, and a few of the small enclosed booths called snugs that you'd find in a pub back home.

The commitment runs all the way into the kitchen. The sausages, the bacon, the breads, the cheeses — much of it comes straight from Ireland, which is not something most places flying the shamrock can claim. The plate to know is the bangers and mash, done with Guinness gravy over Irish-butter mashed potatoes, and there's a proper pour to go with it. There's a stage for live music, too, so it's built to be the kind of place you settle into rather than pop by.

If you've been missing a real pub — the warm, unhurried, nobody's-rushing-you-out kind — this one is worth the drive out to the Ranch. Doors open at 2 p.m. Wednesday, July 23, at 8110 Lakewood Main Street, and they'll be pouring late into the night the rest of the week.

The scoop: Delany's Public House, Lakewood Ranch.

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Thursday, July 23

Summer Circus Spectacular

📍 Historic Asolo Theater at The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota
🕦 11:00 AM & 2:00 PM (through Aug 8)
🔗 The Ringling

FCL Braves vs. FCL Pirates

📍 CoolToday Park, 18800 West Villages Pkwy, North Port
🕦 12:00 PM (free admission)
🔗 CoolToday Park

JJ Curry

📍 McCurdy's Comedy Theatre, 1923 Ringling Blvd, Sarasota
🕦 7:00 PM (through Sun Jul 26; 6:30 & 8:50 PM Fri & Sat)
🔗 McCurdy's Comedy

Laser Light Nights: Laser Beatles

📍 Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, 201 10th St W, Bradenton
🕦 6:00 PM (doors 5:30 PM)
🔗 Bishop Museum

The Galentines

📍 Motorworks Brewing, 1014 9th St W, Bradenton
🕦 7:00 PM — 10:00 PM
🔗 Motorworks Brewing

Aloha Sharks

📍 Mattison's City Grille, 1 N Lemon Ave, Sarasota
🕦 7:30 PM — 10:30 PM
🔗 Mattison's

Friday, July 24

Head Over Heels

📍 Venice Theatre, 140 W Tampa Ave, Venice
🕦 7:30 PM (through Aug 8)
🔗 Venice Theatre

Venice MainStreet Friday Night Concert: Ken Wanovich

📍 Centennial Park, 200 W Venice Ave, Venice
🕦 7:00 PM — 9:00 PM (free)
🔗 Venice MainStreet

Laser Light Nights: Laser Aerosmith

📍 Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, 201 10th St W, Bradenton
🕦 6:00 PM (doors 5:30 PM)
🔗 Bishop Museum

Trey Wanvig Band

📍 Motorworks Brewing, 1014 9th St W, Bradenton
🕦 7:00 PM — 10:30 PM
🔗 Motorworks Brewing

Saturday, July 25

Bubbles Under the Banyans: Spheres Bubble Show

📍 Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 1534 Mound St, Sarasota
🕦 10:00 AM — 12:00 PM
🔗 Selby Gardens

HuMangrove: Tania Vergara Dance-Theater

📍 Selby Library, 1331 First St, Sarasota
🕦 12:00 PM — 1:00 PM (free)
🔗 Sarasota Libraries

250th Celebration: Patriotic Bingo

📍 North Port Library, 13800 Tamiami Trail, North Port
🕦 2:00 PM — 4:00 PM (free)
🔗 Sarasota Libraries

Bradenton Marauders vs. Dunedin Blue Jays

📍 LECOM Park, 1611 9th St W, Bradenton
🕦 6:30 PM
🔗 Bradenton Marauders

Deep Blu

📍 Sharky's on the Pier, 1600 Harbor Dr S, Venice
🕦 7:00 PM — 11:00 PM
🔗 Sharky's on the Pier

The White Crowe Band

📍 Mattison's City Grille, 1 N Lemon Ave, Sarasota
🕦 8:00 PM — 11:30 PM
🔗 Mattison's

The Hitt Kickers

📍 Siesta Key Oyster Bar, 5238 Ocean Blvd, Siesta Key
🕦 8:00 PM — 12:00 AM
🔗 Siesta Key Oyster Bar

Sunday, July 26

Bradenton Marauders vs. Dunedin Blue Jays

📍 LECOM Park, 1611 9th St W, Bradenton
🕦 12:00 PM
🔗 Bradenton Marauders

Summer Movie Night: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

📍 CoolToday Park, 18800 West Villages Pkwy, North Port
🕦 5:00 PM
🔗 CoolToday Park

Trinidudes

📍 Sharky's on the Pier, 1600 Harbor Dr S, Venice
🕦 5:30 PM — 9:30 PM
🔗 Sharky's on the Pier

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