The Bay is marking four years and more than 1.2 million visits with its "One Park FOUR All" celebration, which runs from October 1 to November 1 and includes more than 70 free events. Almost all of the anniversary programming takes place on the part of the park that opened in October 2022: Common Ground, The Oval and The Nest. Meanwhile, Phase 2B construction has closed parts of the Cultural District edge to the south and the Centennial Park lot to the north.
Those closures matter more for visitors this month than any change to the event lineup. The lawns are open. Some of the lots and walkways people used to reach them are closed.
AG Lafley, founding CEO of The Bay Park Conservancy, framed the month around "the possibilities still ahead as more of the 53-acre vision is realized." Your Observer reported in May that the park "isn't even half finished." So for now, the party happens in the half that's done.
The Signature Events All Land on the 2022 Core
The six signature events are spread across the month. Each venue below comes from the individual event page. Every one is in the original footprint or next to it.
| Date | Event | Where | Who's involved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed., Oct. 7, 6:30–8:30 p.m. | Salsa & Sunsets | The Nest | Live music by Bri Rivera & Friends |
| Fri., Oct. 9, 9–11 p.m. | The Rocky Horror Picture Show | The Oval | Shadow cast by The Sarasota Players |
| Sun., Oct. 11, 5–7 p.m. | Park-toberfest | The Oval | DeLeon Family Band, The Pretzel King, The Nest Café |
| Sat., Oct. 17, 5–7:45 p.m. | Boo! at The Bay | Common Ground | Presented by Gulf Coast Community Foundation |
| Sun., Oct. 25, noon–3 p.m. | Taste of The Bay | The Oval Parking Lot | Presented by Sarasota-Manatee Originals |
| Sun., Nov. 1, 1–7 p.m. | Best of The Bay Music Fest | See event page | The White Crowe Band, Rosine, The Rockefellers, Speak Easy, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe |
The details vary from event to event. Park-toberfest includes a Steinhoisting contest and chicken dancing. Boo! at The Bay brings food trucks: Big Blue Grilled Cheese Company, Harvest & Heart, Nako's Takos, Rita's Italian Ice and Wingz N Thingz. Taste of The Bay is free to enter, but the food is ticketed, and Kettle of Fish plays live.
Taste of The Bay is also the one signature event set in a parking lot instead of on a lawn. It falls in a month when other lots near the park are already closed. Plan for that on October 25.
The Closures Are on the Edges You Pass Through
The Bay posted its current Phase 2B closures on September 30:
- West edge of the lot just north of the Van Wezel: closed for resilient shoreline work.
- Centennial Park parking lot: closed for the same shoreline project.
- Area between Municipal Auditorium and the Art Center: closed while the new public Plaza is built.
Municipal Auditorium itself is closed for renovation from April 2026 through February 2027. That leaves the south end of the park, roughly from the Blue Pagoda to the Van Wezel, with its usual entrances partly blocked. This is also where the newer Phase 2 amenities are.
Parking is still free, first come, first served. Per The Bay's notice, you can park in the lots in front of the Van Wezel, in front of Municipal Auditorium, the Art Center and the Blue Pagoda, along the north side of Boulevard of the Arts, and on the street in the Rosemary District just east of North Tamiami Trail. The park asks visitors to avoid the south side of Boulevard of the Arts and spaces marked for the Sarasota Orchestra. A drop-off and 30-minute lot sits next to the park at 1055 Boulevard of the Arts. Accessible parking is in that lot, on the north side of Boulevard of the Arts, and in front of the Van Wezel and the Blue Pagoda.
The Bay has also posted a September 2026 parking and walkway map that shows site conditions during construction. Its written notice doesn't spell out the detour routes, so check the map before an evening event on The Oval.
The Weekly Calendar Is Where Regulars Already Are
Recurring programs fill most of the 70-plus events, and they're the ones a regular visitor is most likely to plan around. Like the signature events, they mostly stay on the original footprint.
Evenings on The Oval. Cinema at The Bay screens free films on Thursday nights, usually 7 to 9 p.m., presented by the Desenberg Foundation. The remaining October titles are Arrival on October 15, Rocky on October 22 and The Silence of the Lambs on October 29. Sundays at The Bay brings local music to The Oval from 6 to 7 p.m., with Shelby Sol playing on October 18.
On the water. Ride & Paddle runs a free guided kayak tour of the restored mangroves from the ADA-accessible Kayak Launch on Fridays and Saturdays, 9 to 11 a.m. Guides, kayaks and life jackets are provided. The tour is rated intermediate and recommended for ages 12 and up. The REI Cooperative Action Fund presents two Sunset Series events: a guided sunset paddle from the Kayak Launch on October 16, 6 to 7:30 p.m., and a Sunset Mindful Walk from The Nest on October 20, 6 to 7 p.m. If you'd rather go on foot, the Mangrove Bayou Walkway is a half-mile accessible loop.
Early and after-work fitness.
- The Y: Primetime+ meets on the Sunset Deck Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7:30 to 8:15 a.m.
- Bootcamp meets on The Oval Tuesdays at 6 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. On October 24, the Saturday session becomes a Les Mills BODYCOMBAT pop-up led by Michelle Cook.
- Namaste at The Bay Yoga meets on Common Ground Thursdays at 6 p.m. and Saturdays at 9 a.m., with rotating local instructors.
- Mat Pilates, presented by BODYBAR Pilates Sarasota, meets Mondays on Common Ground. Session times differ between listings, so confirm on the registration page.
Dance at The Nest. Zumba with Yaël Campbell runs October 14, and Dancing with Donald runs October 21, both 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Donald Frison is the resident choreographer at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe.
There are unscheduled options too. WWSB has reported that the Manasota Chess Club sets up open-air chess in the park on Friday afternoons.
What the Closed Areas Are Turning Into
The construction near the events is building the next part of the park, and some of it is due soon.
The closed area between Municipal Auditorium and the Chidsey Library, along Van Wezel Way, will become The Plaza. Bay Park Conservancy COO Diana Shaheen told city commissioners in May that the name honors an April 1964 dedication. That year, then-mayor Herschel Hayo named the area Plaza de Santo Domingo, after Sarasota's sister city in the Dominican Republic, and called it "the very hub of our civic life." The centerpiece is a large shade structure with space for events and gatherings. The May timeline projected completion in October 2026. The Bay's September 30 notice still listed the area as closed. Treat the October date as a target, not a confirmed opening.
The same timeline puts the Municipal Auditorium renovation and the resilient shoreline at February 2027 and the Centennial Park expansion at July 2027. The first of three planned restaurants follows in fall 2027. The restaurant will stand on 12-foot pylons at the old U.S. Coast Guard station site, at the southwestern tip of the boat launch basin. Sweet Sparkman Architecture is designing it in the Sarasota Modern style, and Venice Pier Group will run it. That family-owned company also operates Fins at Sharky's, Sharky's on the Pier and the Siesta Beach Pavilion concessions. The City's September release says Phase 2 is fully funded and expected to finish in 2027. The Sunset Pier is on hold "due to cost and timing."
You can already use some of the finished Phase 2 work. The restored Chidsey Library Building and the Promenade along U.S. 41 opened with an October 24, 2025 ribbon-cutting. The Promenade is a 1,000-foot walkway linking the Blue Pagoda, the Chidsey and Municipal Auditorium. New floating day docks on the south side of the Centennial Park boat basin, just north of 10th Street, are open to the public, so boaters can tie up and walk in.
The Bay is open daily from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., and the full anniversary schedule is on the park's event calendar.
At Renne' Rupp, we follow projects like The Plaza and the bayfront shoreline work because they change how downtown Sarasota works day to day. If you own near the Cultural District or the Rosemary District and want to know how these projects relate to your home's value, request a free home valuation and we'll walk you through it.
