The One Park FOUR All 4th Anniversary Community Celebration runs October 1 through November 1 with more than 70 free events: music, movies, dance, Opera at The Bay, fitness and family activities. It's taking place in the same weeks that put a fence around the area between the Municipal Auditorium and the Art Center and closed the Centennial Park parking lot along with part of the lot north of the Van Wezel.
The fence and the festival are connected. The finished park is hosting this month's events. Behind the fence is the next phase: a town square, a renovated auditorium and a waterfront restaurant. Several of the October events give an early look at those pieces.
The Party Runs on the Finished Half
The Bay that opened in October 2022 was Phase 1, which cost about $35 million. Phase 2 is the next 14 acres, projected at $65 million. Of that, $48 million comes from a City of Sarasota bond backed by tax increment financing, and the remaining $17 million from government grants and private sources. The Conservancy estimates the full 53-acre park will cost about $200 million and take eight to 10 years to build in four or more phases.
Phase 2 has three parts. The Cultural District adds a tree-lined Promenade that ties together the historic buildings along the front of the park, plus a new Town Square. The Canal District covers dredging the boat basin, rebuilding the seawall, a floating day dock, boat slips and the first bayfront restaurant. The Resilient Shoreline adds more green space, walking paths, stormwater ponds and more of the mile-long living shoreline conversion.
So this month's anniversary has less room to work with than the park will eventually have. The 70-plus events are spread across the lawns, walkways and bayfront that Phase 1 delivered four years ago. Park hours haven't changed: 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
Where to Park While Construction Takes Up Spaces
Construction has taken out the western edge of the parking lot just north of the Van Wezel and all of the Centennial Park parking lot, where resilient shoreline work is underway. For the big weekend events, plan around these options, all listed in the Conservancy's visitor FAQ:
- Free parking, first come, first served, at the Van Wezel at 777 N. Tamiami Trail, the Municipal Auditorium and Blue Pagoda at 655 N. Tamiami Trail, and along the north side of Blvd of the Arts
- Street parking in the Rosemary District, just east of N. Tamiami Trail
- Drop-off and 30-minute parking in the lot next to the park at 1055 Blvd of the Arts
- Accessible parking in that same lot, on the north side of Blvd of the Arts, and in front of the Van Wezel and the Blue Pagoda
The Conservancy asks visitors not to park on the south side of Blvd of the Arts or in spaces set aside for the Sarasota Orchestra. Its September park map shows Van Wezel Way, the Mangrove Bayou Walkway and The Promenade, with The Plaza marked "coming soon." Before you head out on a festival day, check the map for the latest walking routes. The FAQ doesn't say which walkway segments are open right now.
What's Left on the Anniversary Calendar
Two of the signature events, The Rocky Horror Picture Show on October 9 and Park-toberfest on October 11, have already happened. Here are the big dates still ahead, plus one Sundays at The Bay show from the week after the celebration ends on November 1:
| Date | Event | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Wed, Oct 14 | Salsa & Sunsets Community Celebration | Moved from Oct 7 because of expected bad weather. Anniversary toast, live music, Latin-inspired dance party |
| Sat, Oct 17 | Boo! at The Bay Family Halloween | 5:00 to 7:45 p.m. Costumes, trick-or-treating, free pumpkin picking, family movie |
| Sun, Oct 18 | Sundays at The Bay | Shelby Sol, part of the free weekly local music series |
| Sun, Oct 25 | Taste of The Bay Food Festival | Noon to 3:00 p.m. Presented by Sarasota-Manatee Originals |
| Sun, Nov 1 | Best of The Bay Music Fest | 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. All-day festival with regional talent |
| Sun, Nov 8 | Sundays at The Bay | The Pops Orchestra Brass Quintet |
The City of Sarasota's announcement was updated October 7 to move Salsa & Sunsets to the 14th. Weather can change other dates too, so check the park's notices the morning of anything outdoors.
Taste of The Bay Includes the Park's Future Restaurant Operator
Of the remaining events, Taste of The Bay has the most direct tie to what's being built. According to Your Observer's October 8 event listing, a sponsored piece, these Sarasota-Manatee Originals member restaurants are taking part: 1592 Wood Fired Kitchen & Cocktails, The Breakfast Company, Cafe Gabbiano, Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen, Crow's Nest, Duvals, Figaro Bistro, Fins at Sharky's, Food & Beer Rosemary District, Harry's Continental Kitchens, Jack Dusty/Rufa, Lucky 8, Marcel DW, Masō Steakhouse, Mean Deans Local Kitchen, Michael's on East, Miguels Restaurant, Mimi Brasserie & Speakeasy, Mi Pueblo, Tamiami Tap, Tsunami & Hanami and Tzeva. The Conservancy's own event page also names Bricks Smoked Meats and adds "and more," so expect a few changes to the final lineup.
Look for Fins at Sharky's on that list. Venice Pier Group, the family-owned company that runs Fins at Sharky's, Sharky's on the Pier in Venice and the Siesta Beach Pavilion concessions, will also operate The Bay's first permanent restaurant. At the festival, Fins at Sharky's is one stall in a row of local restaurants. A year from now, the same operator is expected to have a permanent spot on the water a short walk away.
How the festival works, per the Observer listing:
- Admission is free. Food is bought with tickets, sold in $5 increments at five tickets for $5.
- Most dishes cost three to five tickets.
- Tickets are sold only at the on-site ticket table on the day of the event, by credit card only, and can't be used for drinks. Drinks are sold separately, also by credit card only.
- Local favorite Kettle of Fish plays live music.
- If the weather turns, the event will be postponed, with updates posted up to an hour before start time.
On regular days, the park's only food option is still The Nest Café, which offers allergy-friendly choices and has the accessible water fountains next to it.
What the Fence Is Hiding, in Order
The first piece expected out from behind the fence is the Town Square on Van Wezel Way, between the Municipal Auditorium and the Chidsey Library. The Conservancy has named it The Plaza. Its centerpiece is a large shade structure, with extra space for programming, events and rentals.
The name has a history. As the Conservancy recounted in May, then-mayor Herschel Hayo dedicated the same spot in April 1964 as Plaza de Santo Domingo, honoring Sarasota's sister city in the Dominican Republic, and called it "the very hub of our civic life." The new Plaza brings that dedication back 62 years later.
These are the approximate completion dates from the Conservancy's May 2026 timeline:
- October 2026: Town Square/Van Wezel Way
- February 2027: Municipal Auditorium renovation and resilient shoreline
- July 2027: Centennial Park expansion
- September 2027: Restaurant No. 1
- December 2027: Parking garage
- 2028 to 2029: Phase 3B
- 2030 to 2033: Sarasota Performing Arts Center
The Plaza was supposed to open this month, but the Conservancy's September 30 FAQ still lists its area as closed for construction. No ribbon-cutting had been announced as of this writing, so check the park's notices before you go looking for it. The schedule also doesn't line up perfectly across sources. The FAQ says Phase 2 construction should be done by the end of 2026, while the itemized May timeline puts several Phase 2 pieces in 2027. Treat every date above as approximate.
The restaurant is the piece with the most detail published so far. It will sit on 12-foot pylons for flood resilience at the former U.S. Coast Guard station site, on the southwestern tip of the boat launch basin. Sarasota firm Sweet Sparkman Architecture designed it in the Sarasota Modern style, with about 5,000 square feet under roof, fewer than 220 indoor seats and 100 outdoor seats. Two more restaurants are planned for Phase 3, inside the current 8-acre parking lot, most of which is slated to become green space.
So here is how next October lines up, if the timeline holds. The Plaza will have had a year of events, the renovated Municipal Auditorium will be open, and the Coast Guard station restaurant will be about a month old. The fourth-anniversary programming on the original lawns is the last version of this celebration before most of those pieces arrive.
At Home Matchmaking Realty, we keep track of projects like The Bay because they change how downtown Sarasota works day to day, from the walk to dinner to where you park on a festival Sunday. If you have questions about how the Phase 2 timeline fits with your own plans in Sarasota, Contact Us. We're always glad to talk about what's coming.
