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- 🍦 From Michelin to Mendelssohn
🍦 From Michelin to Mendelssohn
Best Things To Do in SRQ
Carson B
June 02, 2026
Happy Tuesday!
Big week for Sarasota's food scene: three local restaurants just landed on the Michelin Guide for the very first time, and Savor Sarasota Restaurant Week is back with $25 lunches and $45 dinners at more than 55 spots around town. Pair that with a music festival in its 61st year, a downtown guitar show, and a reggae set in a Bradenton beer garden, and there's a little of everything on tap this weekend. Here's what caught our eye.
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In today’s edition of the Sarasota Scoop:
Thanks for reading,
Carson
🧠 Think You Know Sarasota? Trivia!
Sarasota's Opera House opened downtown in 1926 under a different name. What was the building originally called? |
📰 Local Headline Roundup
Lido Beach Is Whole Again
The $12 million renourishment project at South Lido wrapped up this month, pumping 300,000 cubic yards of fresh sand to rebuild 1.2 miles of shoreline and adding 60 to 100 feet of beach right as the busy season gets going. Good news for anyone who likes a little room between their towel and the water.
Ed Smith Stadium Is Getting a $6.57M Cool-Down
Sarasota's spring-training home for the Orioles is in line for a full climate-control overhaul before the 2027 season, funded by tourism-tax dollars and phased so it won't disrupt game days. A welcome upgrade for anyone who's sat through a muggy afternoon in the stands.
Three Sarasota Restaurants Make the Michelin Guide
Michelin's first guide covering all of Florida gave the nod to three local spots: Lucky 8 earned a Bib Gourmand for its modern Southern and New Orleans-inspired cooking, while Focaccia Sandwich + Bakery and Tralia both landed on the recommended list. Not a bad badge to add to the Sarasota dining scene.
🔦 Spotlight: Sarasota Music Festival Turns 61
Every June, Sarasota becomes a landing spot for some of the most promising young classical musicians in the world, and the master artists who teach them. The Sarasota Music Festival is back for its 61st year, running June 1 through 13 at Holley Hall downtown, and it's still one of the most quietly impressive things the city pulls off all year.
More than a concert series
What sets the festival apart is the model. This is a teaching festival, not just a run of performances. Each summer the Sarasota Orchestra invites a group of conservatory-level fellows, chosen by audition from around the globe, to spend two weeks studying with a faculty of world-class players. The public gets to hear the results across chamber programs, festival concerts, and open rehearsals, all packed into a couple of weeks. Most festivals hand you a ticket; this one hands you a window into how great musicians are actually made.
Teachers and students, on the same stage
There's a wrinkle worth knowing about this year. According to the orchestra, for the first time in the festival's history, faculty and fellows are sharing the stage together in every concert, not alternating nights but performing side by side. It's a small structural change with a big payoff for the audience: you might catch a young fellow trading phrases with a faculty soloist who has played the world's great concert halls. That blurring of master and apprentice is exactly the kind of thing that makes this festival special.
What's on the calendar
The two weeks build toward a full-orchestra finale led by guest conductor Nicholas McGegan, with flutist Jasmine Choi featured in Mozart. Before that, the calendar is stacked with chamber concerts and festival programs, including this weekend's Beethoven and Mendelssohn evening on Friday, which you'll find down in the Events section below. Tickets and the full schedule are at Holley Hall, the orchestra's home on North Tamiami Trail.
If you've never been, this is a good year to start. It's world-class music at neighborhood prices, and it only comes around for these two weeks.
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Thursday, June 4
Savor Sarasota Restaurant Week
📍 Restaurants countywide
🕦 All Day (through Sun June 14)
🔗 Visit Sarasota
Laser Floyd: The Wall
📍 Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, 201 10th St W, Bradenton
🕦 6:00 PM
🔗 Bishop Museum
Josh Blue
📍 McCurdy's Comedy Theatre, 1923 Ringling Blvd
🕦 7:00 PM (also Fri & Sat)
🔗 Sarasota Theater
Squeaky Wheel Fringe Festival
📍 Cook Theatre at FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail
🕦 Shows from 7:00 PM (through Sun June 7)
🔗 Squeaky Wheel Theatre
Cinema at The Bay: The Art of Racing in the Rain
📍 The Oval at The Bay, 1055 Blvd of the Arts
🕦 7:30 PM — 9:20 PM
🔗 Eventbrite
Aloha Sharks
📍 Mattison's City Grille, 1 N. Lemon Ave
🕦 7:30 PM — 10:30 PM
🔗 Mattison's
Friday, June 5
Sarasota Guitar & Amp Show
📍 Robarts Arena, 3000 Ringling Blvd
🕦 10:00 AM — 5:00 PM (through Sun June 7)
🔗 Sarasota Guitar Show
Foodie World Asian Food Festival
📍 J.D. Hamel Park, 199 Bayfront Dr
🕦 2:00 PM — 10:00 PM (through Sun June 7)
🔗 Eventbrite
Courtney Amber on the Patio
📍 Sun King Brewery, 1888 Main St
🕦 5:00 PM — 8:00 PM
🔗 Sun King Brewery
Music on Main: Schmitz Brothers Band
📍 Lakewood Ranch Main Street, 8100 Lakewood Main St
🕦 6:00 PM — 9:00 PM
🔗 Lakewood Ranch
Village of the Arts First Friday ArtWalk
📍 Village of the Arts, 12th St & 9th Ave W, Bradenton
🕦 6:00 PM — 9:30 PM
🔗 Village of the Arts
Careless Whisper: Ultimate 80s Tribute
📍 Motorworks Brewing, 1014 9th St W, Bradenton
🕦 7:00 PM — 10:30 PM
🔗 Motorworks Brewing
Who Is Eartha Mae?
📍 Urbanite Theatre, 1487 2nd St
🕦 7:30 PM (through Sun June 21)
🔗 Urbanite Theatre
Sarasota Music Festival: Beethoven & Mendelssohn
📍 Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail
🕦 7:30 PM
🔗 Sarasota Orchestra
Saturday, June 6
World Oceans Day
📍 North Jetty Park, 1000 S. Casey Key Rd, Nokomis
🕦 8:00 AM — 1:00 PM
🔗 Sarasota County
National Trails Day
📍 Oakheart Trail off Manasota Beach Rd, Wellen Park, Venice
🕦 9:00 AM — 12:00 PM
🔗 Wellen Park
Dad's Day Block Party
📍 The Mall at University Town Center, 140 University Town Center Dr
🕦 10:00 AM — 2:00 PM
🔗 Eventbrite
FCL Braves vs. FCL Rays
📍 CoolToday Park, 18800 W Villages Pkwy, Venice
🕦 10:00 AM (free admission)
🔗 CoolToday Park
24th Annual St. Armands Circle Craft Festival
📍 St. Armands Circle Park, Lido Key
🕦 10:00 AM — 4:00 PM (also Sun June 7)
🔗 St. Armands Circle
SRQCon
📍 Selby Public Library, 1331 First St
🕦 11:00 AM — 4:00 PM
🔗 Sarasota County Libraries
Sarasota Slam Weigh-In & Dockside Party
📍 Marina Jack, 2 Marina Plaza
🕦 12:00 PM — 4:00 PM
🔗 Sarasota Slam
Laser KISS
📍 Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, 201 10th St W, Bradenton
🕦 6:00 PM
🔗 Bishop Museum
Sunday, June 7
Trinity 7: Roots Reggae in the Beer Garden
📍 Motorworks Brewing, 1014 9th St W, Bradenton
🕦 2:00 PM — 5:30 PM
🔗 Motorworks Brewing
SpongeBob Summer Movie Night
📍 CoolToday Park, 18800 W Villages Pkwy, Venice
🕦 5:00 PM
🔗 CoolToday Park
Sundays at The Bay: Jason White
📍 The Oval at The Bay, 1055 Blvd of the Arts
🕦 6:00 PM — 7:00 PM
🔗 Eventbrite
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