🎉 De Soto Grand Parade

Saturday, April 25, 7:30 p.m., Manatee Avenue, Bradenton

One of Bradenton’s biggest annual spectacles returns with an illuminated procession that draws more than 150 entries and upwards of 100,000 spectators. Expect floats, marching units and plenty of beads, coins and other tossed trinkets as the parade rolls down Manatee Avenue. The party starts earlier downtown: a pre-parade block party on Old Main Street begins at 3:30 p.m. with live music, street vendors and a kids zone, making it easy to turn this into an all-day outing. This event is free. For more information, click here.

🎭 Fundraiser

Friday, April 24, 3 p.m., Florida Studio Theatre, Keating Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota

Florida Studio Theatre’s Burdick New Play Festival continues Friday with Fundraiser, a staged reading by Brent Askari. The comedy follows two couples at a private school fundraiser, where the polished evening starts to crack and secrets begin spilling out. The reading runs about 90 minutes without intermission and is part of FST’s long-running new play development program, which gives audiences a chance to catch new work before it reaches a full production. Tickets are $10 each. Click here for tickets and more.

🎭 Elmo’s Got the Moves

Sunday, April 26, 2 p.m., Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota

If your weekend needs a little less doomscrolling and a little more Elmo, this is the move. The new Sesame Street Live show brings Elmo and friends for a family matinee built around singing, dancing and the kind of songs every parent/caregiver already has half-memorized. Expect a bright, bouncy afternoon aimed squarely at little kids and the adults riding shotgun. Tickets start at $46 each. Click here for tickets and more. 

🎼 Music for 18 Musicians

Friday, April 24, 7:30 p.m., Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota

Steve Reich’s landmark minimalist work lands at the Sarasota Opera House as ensembleNEWSRQ marks both the piece’s 50th anniversary and the ensemble’s 10th season. This isn’t background music for politely sipping wine. It’s one of those performances that asks you to lock in, let the pulses build and see where repetition starts doing strange things to your sense of time. Tickets are $30 each. Click here for them and more.

🍽 Ethiopian Night at Flobucha

Friday, April 24, 5–8 p.m., Flobucha, 2725 Mall Drive, Sarasota

Gulf Gate taproom Flobucha is handing the evening to Ethiopian food and house kombucha, which sounds like a pretty strong argument for not cooking Friday night. Mimi’s dishes are the draw, with Flobucha pairing them with traditional kombucha flavors and seasonal pours. It’s casual, specific and more unique than another default dinner reservation. Click here for the menu and more information.

🎉 Latin Fair / Feria Latina, Remake Learning Days

Friday, April 24, 7–8:30 p.m., 1913 Northgate Blvd., Sarasota

CreArte Latino is turning Friday night into a family-centered celebration of Hispanic heritage, with music, dance, games and hands-on activities tied to traditional Latin American fairs. Kids can help make masks, toys and decorations before the event shifts into friendly competition and festive play. This event is free. Click here to register and learn more.

🎶 The CieL Experience

Thursday, April 23, 7 p.m., Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota

Miami collective The CieL Experience brings a sound that pulls from R&B, swing, hip-hop and Haitian music, then folds it into jazz-rooted improvisation. That could turn into a mess in the wrong hands. Here, it sounds like the point. Click here to sample the music and buy tickets. Tickets: $22 members; $27 non-members; $15 students (13+).

🎸 Dr. Dave Band at Music in the Park

Friday, April 24, 6–8 p.m., Bradenton Riverwalk Pavilion, Bradenton

If your ideal Friday involves lawn chairs, open air and not paying for the soundtrack, Bradenton Riverwalk has you covered. This week’s Music in the Park installment brings in Dr. Dave Band for a free outdoor set, with a night of classic Southern rock by the water. Low stakes, easy logistics, decent payoff. Click here to learn more.

🫐 Blueberry U-Pick

Friday, April 24–Sunday, April 26, 7 a.m.–2 p.m., Jennings Road Farm, 24310 Jennings Road, Myakka City

For anyone trying to get outside without pretending hiking is fun, this is a solid workaround. Jennings Road Farm is open through the weekend for blueberry picking, with U-pick berries at $8 a pound (pre-picked berries available, too) and a farm market that adds eggs, honey, jams and drinks to the equation. It’s family-run, a little dusty and a lot more charming than a supermarket produce section. Click here for more. 

🏈 Meet & Greet with Kenneth Gainwell

Saturday, April 25, 11 a.m.–2 p.m., Raining Berries Southside Village, 1935 S. Osprey Ave., Sarasota

Tampa Bay Bucs running back Kenneth Gainwell will be at Raining Berries Southside Village for autographs, photos and a little NFL adjacency with your acai bowl. It’s part fan event, part neighborhood promo and exactly the kind of thing that gets families and football diehards to rearrange a Saturday. This event is free. Click here to save your spot. 

🔮 Spirit Fest Sarasota

Saturday, April 25, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday, April 26, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Sarasota County Fairgrounds and Robarts Arena, 3000 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota

If you’re in the mood for crystals, psychic readings, sound-healing tools, aura photography and a crowd that’s fully committed to the vibe, Spirit Fest is back for a two-day metaphysical and holistic expo. It's billed as Florida’s largest event of its kind, with 85 booths, readers, healers, vendors and a full slate of speakers and workshops spread across the weekend. Admission is $12 for one day or $18 for the weekend, with discounted presale tickets available online. Click here to learn more and purchase tickets. Food will be available on site and parking is free. 

⛵ 2026 Venetian Cup Regatta

Saturday, April 25, 7 a.m., 1330 Tarpon Center Drive, Venice

Young sailors from across South Florida are set to compete on Roberts Bay and just outside the Venice Inlet in this year’s Venetian Cup Regatta. Competition fleets include Optimists, C420s and ILCA classes, which means the water should look busy early. Even if you don’t know one boat class from another, it’s a good excuse to spend the morning near the inlet and watch something other than traffic. This event is free for spectators.

✨ Be Whoever You Want to Be Night

Saturday, April 25, 6–9 p.m., BellaVino Wine Bar, 128 W. Venice Ave., Venice

BellaVino’s pitch is simple: show up as your most dramatic alter ego and let the wine handle the rest. The Venice wine bar is billing the evening as a costume-friendly night of live music by Casey Church, creativity and two best-dressed awards. Princess, movie star, steampunk adventurer, red carpet aspirant—pick a lane or swerve between them. Tickets are $20 each. Click here to reserve your spot and learn more. 

📚 Local Author Book Fair at Bookstore1

Saturday, April 25, 9 a.m.–1 p.m., Bookstore1Sarasota, 111 S. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota

Bookstore1’s semiannual local author fair is one of those quietly useful Sarasota events: easy to drop into, free to browse and full of people who live here and actually wrote the books sitting in front of them. Up to 15 local authors are expected in the breezeway at The Mark, with fiction, memoir, poetry and mystery all in the mix. Come for one signed paperback and leave with three, which is generally how these things go. Click here to reserve your free spot. 

🌿 HuMangrove by Tania Vergara Dance-Theater

Saturday, April 25, 3 and 7 p.m., Sarasota Contemporary Dance, Sarasota

Tania Vergara Dance-Theater brings HuMangrove to Sarasota Contemporary Dance for two Saturday performances built around the mangrove root as a metaphor and lifeline. The piece combines contemporary dance, music, poetry by Marjory Stoneman Douglas and projected paintings by Guillermo López González. An earlier version won the Audience Favorite award at last year’s Squeaky Wheel Fringe Festival, which suggests this isn’t just earnest—it lands. Tickets are $30 for reserved seating; $25 general seating. Click here for tickets and more. 

🌳 Florida-Friendly Landscaping: Planting Trees for the Suncoast

Friday, April 24, 10:30–11:30 a.m., William H. Jervey, Jr. Venice Library, Venice

This UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County program is for anyone trying to make better yard decisions. The talk focuses on trees that work on the Suncoast—native, flowering and edible varieties included—and attendees receive a native tree sapling at the end for $5. That’s a pretty good return for one hour of horticultural self-improvement. Admission is free. Click here for your spot.