This weekend will feature another lineup of fun and free festivals in the Sarasota area, celebrating everything from local restaurants and a longtime bar and music venue, to Pride and Halloween.
Downtown Sarasota park the Bay will showcase several restaurants' signature dishes at the annual Taste of the Bay, while the recently reopened Cock & Bull will throw a grand opening weekend with bands each day.
A Pride festival will return to downtown Sarasota's Rosemary District this weekend, as will a family-friendly Halloween celebration at Arlington Recreation Center. An inaugural art festival at The Mall at University Town Center will round out this weekend's top event picks.
Newsletter: Sign up to receive restaurant news and reviews plus info on things to do every Friday
Looking for even more options? The Bay will also host a free outdoor screening 7 p.m. Thursday of "Rocky," which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and is the subject of the upcoming movie "I Play Rocky," which details how then-relative unknown Sylvester Stallone became the star and writer of the Best Picture Oscar-winning boxing film.
Also not on the weekend, but one of the biggest annual Halloween festivities in Sarasota, is the free Trick or Treat on the Lake featuring trick-or-treating, haunted house and more, 4:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Nathan Benderson Park.
Other ongoing Halloween happenings include Sarasota Frightfest at Sarasota Fairgrounds, Lights at Spooky Point at Selby Gardens' Historic Spanish Point Campus, and Halloween Notte at Charlotte County Fairgrounds. Multiple fall festivals will also continue this weekend, including Fruitville Grove Pumpkin Festival in Sarasota, Hunsader Farms Pumpkin Festival in Bradenton, and Dakin Dairy Harvest Festival in Myakka City. Ticket prices vary for these events.
1. Taste of the Bay in downtown Sarasota
As part of its "One Park FOUR All" fourth anniversary festivities, downtown Sarasota park The Bay will host this event in partnership with the Sarasota-Manatee Originals, which comprises more than 70 locally owned restaurants.
Sample signature dishes from such restaurants while enjoying live music from Sarasota rock band Kettle of Fish and more. Food tickets are sold in $5 increments, with five tickets for $5, with most food items ranging between three and five tickets.
Noon-3 p.m. Sunday; The Bay, 1055 Boulevard of the Arts, Sarasota; free admission, food tickets sold in $5 increments; 941-203-5316; thebaysarasota.org
2. Gulfcoast Pride Festival in downtown Sarasota's Rosemary District
Sarasota-based LGBTQ+ advocacy nonprofit Project Pride SRQ will again host this free festival and street party in downtown's Rosemary District.
The first part of the event, from 4 to 8 p.m., will feature a community festival with vendors (including food), live performances and entertainment, and a kids zone. Then from 8 to 11 p.m. will be a street party by SRQ Beats.
4-11 p.m. Saturday; 1370-1490 Boulevard of the Arts, Sarasota; free; ppsrq.org
3. Grand Opening Weekend at Cock & Bull
After reopening late last week under new ownership, Sarasota bar and music venue Cock & Bull — which dates back to 2002 at its Cattlemen Road location, and 1997 overall — will host a grand opening weekend, with bands each day.
Pitbull Toddler, featuring 102.5 The Bone host Mike Calta, will play Friday; Kettle of Fish on Saturday; and Grateful Dead tribute act Dead Set Florida on Sunday. Food and drink will be available from Cock & Bull's bar and its "permanent kitchen on wheels" Momma Lora's.
Friday-Sunday; Cock & Bull, 975 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota; 941-906-7493; cockandbullsrq.com
4. Haunted Trail Carnival and Bark-O-Ween at Arlington Recreation Center
This Halloween event features fun for the whole family, including the pet pooch, with carnival-style games and spooky surprises along a half-mile walking trail and an annual Bark-O-Ween dog costume contest.
The Halloween fun will continue noon-2 p.m. Saturday at Arlington Recreation Center with Pumpkin Splash, where attendees can pick a pumpkin from a floating patch then decorate it with provided supplies, or bring their own from home. That event will cost $10 per person.
4-7 p.m. Friday; Arlington Recreation Center, 2650 Waldemere St., Sarasota; free, children under age 5 must be accompanied by adult; 941-263-6386; letsplaysarasota.com
5. The Mall at UTC Art Festival with Craft Marketplace
There are no shortage of art festivals held throughout the year in the Sarasota area, many by the Florida-based company Howard Alan Events, which will debut a new one this weekend at The Mall at University Town Center.
About a hundred artists and crafters will be featured at the festival, which will also include a green market of live plants, handmade soaps, edible items and more. Want to make a day of it? There are several restaurants and retail spots both within The Mall at UTC and the surrounding UTC area, plus Mote Science Education Aquarium (SEA) nearby.
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday; The Mall at University Town Center, 140 University Town Center Drive, Sarasota; free admission; 561-746-6615; artfestival.com
Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at jimmy.geurts@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: 5 Sarasota weekend picks for food, live music and Halloween fun
