Potential ways to have fun this weekend in August in the Sarasota area range from playing pickleball and sipping beer, to watching a Sarasota-shot Best Picture Oscar winner and laser light shows spanning decades of music.
The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime — which got a shoutout when CNN named Sarasota the best U.S. town to visit in 2026, and has been holding events even in the dog days of summer — will host the pickleball party, while said Sarasota-shot Best Picture winner "The Greatest Show on Earth" will screen at Sarasota Opera House, which held a premiere for the film decades ago, back when it was still called the Florida Theatre.
Manatee County will offer multiple events this weekend too, including beer and food festival Beertopia and reptile
and exotic animal exhibition Repticon, plus another lineup of Laser Light Nights at The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature. Here are this week's highlights. Event details are subject to change.
1. Dinks & Delights at The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime
The Sports & Fitness Industry Association has named pickleball the nation's fast-growing sport for five consecutive years, but there are still probably plenty of people who have no idea what a dink is (and this writer only knows it because of the recently released movie "The Dink.") If that's you, this may be your event.
Sarasota indie market The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime will host this day with beginner lessons and demonstrations from Pickleball Shack SRQ. There'll also be live music by Bill Vinhage, vendors, and food and drink available for purchase from The Bazaar's permanent onsite food truck Hamlet's Eatery.
11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday; The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime, 821 Apricot Ave., Sarasota; free admission; 941-445-1938; bazaaronapricotandlime.com
2. 'The Greatest Show on Earth' at Sarasota Opera House
Sarasota Opera House's Classic Movies at the Opera House series will continue with a film of particular importance to Sarasota and the Opera House: Cecil B. DeMille's 1952 epic "The Greatest Show on Earth."
Starring Charlton Heston, Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, James Stewart and more as circus members, "The Greatest Show on Earth" went on to win the Best Picture Oscar. (Seeing the movie in theaters as a kid was a formative moment for future filmmaker Steven Spielberg, as he later dramatized in "The Fabelmans"). The movie filmed in Sarasota, including an circus parade scene downtown, and held a premiere at Sarasota Opera House, then called the Florida Theatre.
7 p.m. Friday; Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota; $12; 941-328-1300; sarasotaopera.org
3. Laser Light Nights at The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature
The summer series of laser light shows set to pop and rock songs, held in the planetarium of The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature in Bradenton, will continue this weekend with a decades-spanning selection of music, including one performer set to soon visit our area.
The music of Bruno Mars, who plays Sept. 12-13 at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium, will soundtrack one of Saturday's shows, with Mars' "Die with a Smile" duet partner Lady Gaga soundtracking the other. Eighties pop-R&B stars and peers Prince and Michael Jackson will each have their own shows Friday. Thursday will feature a That '70s and '80s Laser Show featuring artists from both decades, including Aerosmith and AC/DC, whose respective guitarist Joe Perry and frontman Brian Johnson are Sarasota area residents.
6 p.m. Thursday and 6 and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, 201 10th St. W., Bradenton; $35 Thursday, $15 other shows; 941-746-4131; bishopscience.org
4. Beertopia at Manatee County Fairgrounds
Have a sip or a bite for a good cause at this beer and food festival, which will offer a sampling of local craft beers, seltzers and liquor along with dishes from local restaurants, live music, silent and live auction, and raffle tickets.
Proceeds will benefit Eye Center, Inc. Vision Foundation, which provides eyecare and glasses to underprivileged children in Manatee County, and the Hernando de Soto Historical Society, which puts on events including the De Soto Grand Parade with fundraising beneficiaries including the Vision Foundation.
6-9:30 p.m. Saturday; Manatee County Fairgrounds Veterans' Expo Hall, 1402 14th Ave. W., Palmetto, $75 (ages 21 and up only); 941-747-1998; desotohq.com/beertopia
5. Repticon at Bradenton Area Convention Center
The reptile and exotic animal exhibition visits Sarasota and Manatee County in single "ReptiDay" or two-day Repticon events, and it'll bring the latter to Bradenton Area Convention Center this weekend.
The event features live animal encounters and seminars as well as the ability to bring one home, with reptiles and other exotic pets available for purchase from breeders.
9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday; Bradenton Area Convention Center, One Haben Blvd., Palmetto; $15 both days, $12 per day, $10 Saturday after 1 p.m., $6 ages 5-12, free ages 4 and under; repticon.com/florida/bradenton
Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at jimmy.geurts@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: 5 fun things to do in Sarasota this weekend, from movies to beer
