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- 🍦 Savor Returns, a New Main Street & a Quieter Weekend
🍦 Savor Returns, a New Main Street & a Quieter Weekend
Best Things To Do in SRQ
Carson B
May 26, 2026
Happy Tuesday!
Circle June 1: Savor Sarasota is back for its 21st year, which means $25 lunches and $45 dinners at more than 50 spots countywide. The full scoop is below. The weekend itself runs a little quieter after the holiday, but there's still good live music, a margarita festival downtown, and even a hurricane-prep expo on the calendar.
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In today’s edition of the Sarasota Scoop:
Thanks for reading,
Carson
🧠 Think You Know Sarasota? Trivia!
Mote Marine Laboratory began in 1955 as a one-room lab on the coast. The pioneering scientist who founded it was known by what nickname? |
Hint: Dr. Eugenie Clark founded the Cape Haze Marine Laboratory, now Mote, out of a 12-by-20-foot building in 1955. A trailblazing ichthyologist, she was the first person to train sharks to press targets and showed that some sharks don't need to swim constantly to breathe.
📰 Local Headline Roundup
Record Graduation Season Wraps for Sarasota and Manatee Grads
Caps were flying across the region this month as Sarasota and Manatee seniors crossed the stage, and several schools logged their highest graduation rates yet. A nice reminder of how much quietly goes right around here.
The City Wants Your Take on the Future of Main Street
The city just rolled out three concepts for reimagining the 1.2-mile stretch of downtown Main Street into something more walkable, shaded, and people-first, and they actually want to hear what locals think before anything's decided. Worth a few minutes if you've got opinions about downtown.
Sarasota Orchestra's New Music Center Lands an $11.7 Million Gift
An anonymous $11.7 million gift pushed donations for the Orchestra's new Fruitville Road music center to nearly $87 million, and fresh renderings of the 32-acre campus just dropped ahead of a 2027 groundbreaking. The region's long-awaited concert home is inching closer to real.
Art Center Sarasota Opens Four New Summer Shows
Art Center Sarasota unveiled four new exhibitions on the North Trail, running through July 31, with a mix of contemporary work, a look at the area's design legacy, and coastal-inspired pieces. An easy, free way to spend an afternoon.
How did we do this week?Tell us what can improve, what you'd like to see more of, or if it's just right |
🔦 Spotlight: Savor Sarasota Restaurant Weeks
Circle June 1. That's when Savor Sarasota kicks off its 21st year: two full weeks, June 1 through 14, of prix-fixe deals at restaurants all over the county. The math is simple and generous. It's $25 for a two-course lunch and $45 for a three-course dinner, at more than 50 spots and counting.
What started two decades ago as a way to keep local kitchens busy through the slow summer stretch has turned into the region's biggest dining event. The 2026 lineup spans downtown mainstays to Lakewood Ranch newcomers, and many restaurants are layering on premium upgrades and curated wine and cocktail pairings.
Here's why it's worth paying attention to. Savor is the lowest-risk way all year to finally try the places you keep meaning to get to. That special-occasion spot you've been saving, or the new room everyone's been talking about, becomes an easy yes when there's a fixed three-course menu waiting at $45. It's permission to eat adventurously without doing the mental math.
The move is to plan a little. Browse the full lineup, menus, and the Flavor Trail on the official site, pick two or three places you've never been, and book the popular tables early since the best reservations go fast once week one starts. Two weeks is plenty of runway to make a real dent in your list.
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Thursday, May 28
Marie and Rosetta
📍 Asolo Repertory Theatre
🕦 1:30 PM & 7:30 PM (through Sun May 31)
🔗 Asolo Rep
The Mackle Family and the Development of South Florida
📍 Jacaranda Library, 4143 Woodmere Park Blvd, Venice
🕦 2:00 PM — 3:15 PM
🔗 Sarasota County Libraries
ASE: Seeing Spirit in Afro-Caribbean Art
📍 John Sims Studio, 1639 Tenth St, Sarasota
🕦 4:00 PM — 8:00 PM (through Sun May 31)
🔗 Sarasota Arts
Bradenton Marauders vs. St. Lucie Mets
📍 LECOM Park, Bradenton
🕦 6:30 PM
🔗 Bradenton Marauders
Little Giants
📍 Siesta Key Oyster Bar, 5238 Ocean Blvd, Siesta Key
🕦 7:00 PM — 11:00 PM
🔗 Siesta Key Oyster Bar
Aloha Sharks
📍 Mattison's City Grille, Downtown Sarasota
🕦 7:30 PM — 10:30 PM
🔗 Mattison's
Friday, May 29
Venice Hurricane Expo
📍 Venice Community Center, 326 Nokomis Ave. S., Venice
🕦 9:00 AM — 2:00 PM
🔗 City of Venice
Home at Last: A 27,000-Mile Journey to North Port
📍 North Port Library, 13800 S Tamiami Trail, North Port
🕦 2:00 PM — 3:30 PM
🔗 Sarasota County Libraries
Sarasota Slam Kick-Off Party
📍 Mullet's Aluminum, Sarasota
🕦 5:30 PM — 7:30 PM
🔗 Sarasota Slam
Songwriting for Character feat. Rona Siddiqui
📍 Hermitage Artist Retreat, 6630 Manasota Key Rd, Englewood
🕦 6:30 PM — 7:30 PM
🔗 Sarasota Arts
Chris Connolly Band
📍 Siesta Key Oyster Bar, 5238 Ocean Blvd, Siesta Key
🕦 8:00 PM — 12:00 AM
🔗 Siesta Key Oyster Bar
Chaunces Trio (Eric Zabala)
📍 Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Ct, Sarasota
🕦 8:00 PM (doors 7:00 PM)
🔗 Fogartyville
Laser Light Nights: Laser Floyd — Dark Side of the Moon
📍 The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, Bradenton
🕦 8:00 PM
🔗 The Bishop
Saturday, May 30
Family Saturday
📍 Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Downtown Sarasota
🕦 10:30 AM — 12:30 PM
🔗 Selby Gardens
The Sarasota Margarita Festival
📍 Big Top Brewing Company, 3045 Fruitville Rd, Sarasota
🕦 12:00 PM — 6:00 PM
🔗 Eventeny
Bradentucky Bombers vs. Panhandle United (Roller Derby Double Header)
📍 Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex, 5309 29th St E, Ellenton
🕦 5:00 PM (doors 4:30 PM)
🔗 Eventbrite
Laser Light Nights: Laser Beatles
📍 The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, Bradenton
🕦 6:00 PM
🔗 The Bishop
Blockbusted!
📍 Florida Studio Theatre
🕦 7:30 PM — 9:00 PM
🔗 Sarasota Arts
The Cold Stares
📍 Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center
🕦 8:00 PM (doors 7:00 PM)
🔗 Fogartyville
Sunday, May 31
Al Fuller & The Moonlight Movers "Blues Brunch"
📍 Mattison's Riverwalk, 101 Riverfront Blvd, Bradenton
🕦 12:00 PM — 3:00 PM
🔗 Mattison's
Bradenton Marauders vs. St. Lucie Mets
📍 LECOM Park, Bradenton
🕦 12:00 PM
🔗 Bradenton Marauders
Sundays at The Bay featuring Tasa + Rob
📍 The Bay Sarasota (The Oval)
🕦 6:00 PM — 7:00 PM
🔗 The Bay
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