October at The Bay was crowded with more than 70 free events packed into the "One Park FOUR All" celebration. It marked four years and more than 1.2 million visits since the park opened on Sarasota Bay in October 2022. Starting Monday, Nov. 2, the calendar gets much shorter. It's a short list of free recurring sessions, mostly on the same days and times each week, and it holds into mid-December with only a few skipped dates.
The steady weeks are better for planning than the big month was. If you know which mornings have a class and which evenings have a screen, you can build a regular week around the bayfront. Meanwhile the Phase 2 work going on around the park changes where you leave the car much more than what you can do once you're out of it.
The Finale Is Sunday, Then the Calendar Gets Simpler
The anniversary month closes with the "Best of The Bay" Music Fest on Sunday, Nov. 1, from 1 to 7 p.m. Food trucks start at 12:30. Music begins at 2 with The White Crowe Band, followed by Rosine at 3, The Rockefellers at 4 and Speak Easy at 5, and Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe closes at 6. The posted truck lineup is Lobstah Daze, Mr. Bulgogi, Nana's Bananas, PopStroke, Simply Greek, Rita's Italian Ice, Toast Thyme and Vesuvio Wood Fired Pizza.
The regular schedule starts the next day. All of it is free, which is true of the park's programs in general. The park itself is open daily from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The Week, Laid Out
Here is the recurring November schedule as it appears on The Bay's calendar:
| Day | Morning | Evening |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Mat Pilates, 6:00–6:45 p.m. | |
| Tuesday | The Y: Primetime+, 7:30–8:15 a.m. | Bootcamp, 6:00–6:45 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Tai Chi / Qigong, 8:00–8:45 a.m. | Dance at The Bay is on the Wednesday calendar |
| Thursday | The Y: Primetime+, 7:30–8:15 a.m. | Namaste at The Bay Yoga, 6:00–7:00 p.m.; Cinema at The Bay, 7 p.m. |
| Friday | Guided kayak tour, 9:00–11:00 a.m. | |
| Saturday | Bootcamp, 8:00–8:45 a.m.; Yoga, 9:00–10:00 a.m.; guided kayak tour, 9:00–11:00 a.m. | |
| Sunday | Sundays at The Bay concert, 4:30–5:30 p.m. |
Thursday is the busiest day. Primetime+ opens it, yoga starts at 6 and a movie follows at 7, so one parking spot covers a class and a film. Saturday works the same way in the morning: Bootcamp at 8 and yoga at 9 run back to back, and the kayak tour goes out during the same window. A few November dates skip a slot. Saturday yoga starts Nov. 14, so Nov. 7 has none, and the calendar lists no dance on Nov. 25 and no kayak tour on Nov. 28. Friday and Saturday evenings have nothing recurring, and on Sunday the only slot is the late-afternoon concert. The kayak tours are a November feature, since the December calendar lists no tour dates.
Thursdays and Sundays Have Named Lineups
The recurring slots come with actual titles and performers, which gives you a reason to put specific dates on the calendar.
Cinema at The Bay runs All The President's Men on Nov. 5 and Top Gun on Nov. 12. There's no screening on Thursday, Nov. 19. A special Sound of Music sing-along takes its place on Saturday, Nov. 21, from 7 to 9:45 p.m. December has a holiday run: The Holiday on Dec. 3, It's a Wonderful Life on Dec. 10 and Love Actually on Dec. 17. After that, the calendar says the films return in 2027.
The Sunday concerts have a different act every week, always from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.:
- Nov. 8: The Pops Orchestra Brass Quintet
- Nov. 15: Clover's Revenge
- Nov. 22: J Santi
- Nov. 29: Grace Burke & Gannon Torrella
- Dec. 6: The Barbara King Quartet
- Dec. 13: Cover Girl Band
- Dec. 20: Ace Suggs
- Dec. 27: The Copper Piano | Dueling Pianos
There's one more Saturday morning event outside the weekly pattern. Shred Stock is listed for Nov. 7, from 9 a.m. to noon.
The Water Side Runs on Friday and Saturday Mornings
The kayak launch only recently came back. According to a Ride & Paddle announcement, paid two-hour kayak and paddleboard rentals and guided tours returned to The Bay Kayak Launch on Oct. 1 after a pause for construction. The park's free guided tours go out on Friday and Saturday mornings from 9 to 11 a.m. The listed dates are Nov. 6 and 7, Nov. 13 and 14, and Nov. 20 and 21. The park's FAQ describes rentals as available on "select days" and gives no hours, so check before you count on a weekday paddle.
If you only want a short visit, the first-phase features are still listed as part of the park: the Mangrove Bayou Walkway, Ibis Playground, the Common Ground lawns, Nest Café, the Oval mini-amphitheater and the ADA-accessible paddle launch. Nest Café's only recent closure was for weather on Oct. 7, and it was scheduled to reopen the next day.
Construction Changes Where You Park
Phase 2 covers 14 acres split into three parts. The Cultural District gets a tree-lined promenade and a Town Square. The Canal District gets a dredged basin, a rebuilt seawall and boat slips. The Resilient Shoreline adds paths and stormwater ponds. The phase called Phase 2B is what you'll notice on the ground. The park's notice lists these closures:
- The western edge of the parking lot just north of the Van Wezel
- The Centennial Park parking lot, both closed for resilient shoreline work
- The area between the Municipal Auditorium and the Art Center, closed while a new public plaza is built
Free parking is still available on the north side of Blvd. of the Arts and in the lots in front of the Van Wezel, the Municipal Auditorium, the Art Center and the Blue Pagoda. The park asks visitors to stay out of designated Sarasota Orchestra spaces and off the south side of Blvd. of the Arts. The park's September 2026 parking and walkway map shows the current layout.
Don't expect the fences to come down on a fixed date. The park's FAQ says Phase 2 should be complete by the end of 2026. The City of Sarasota's anniversary update puts the expected completion in 2027. Plan on the current parking layout through the winter weeks covered here.
What the Holiday Weeks Pause
The last big gathering of the year is the 5th Annual Holidays at The Bay Community Celebration on Saturday, Dec. 12, from 4 to 7:45 p.m. After that, the weekly schedule starts to thin out:
- Thursday, Dec. 24: no cinema, no yoga and no Primetime+
- Wednesdays, Dec. 23 and Dec. 30: no dance, which returns in 2027
- Thursday, Dec. 31: no yoga
- Saturday, Jan. 2: yoga resumes
- Tuesday, Jan. 5: Primetime+ resumes
The Sunday concerts run through the holidays, and the Dec. 20 and Dec. 27 shows are both on the calendar. If you have guests in town that last week of December, Sunday afternoon is the dependable time to go.
The Restaurant Planned Across the Basin
The newest piece of Phase 2 you can actually see is on the water. Your Observer reported that the floating day dock at the Centennial Park boat basin is finished. It's meant to give boaters direct water access to the park's first restaurant. The restaurant is still in planning. According to the same Observer report, the project had its pre-application conference with the city's Development Review Committee on Oct. 7. The plan is a 4,999-square-foot building at the end of 10th Street, across the basin from the boat launch, and it would be the first of potentially three restaurants in that central part of the park. The Observer reports that the Venice Pier Group, which operates Sharky's On The Pier and Fins at Sharky's, will run it. The report gives no name and no opening date. The same plans include an additional boat ramp and more floating day docks.
Work on the shoreline also got new funding this month. Your Observer reported that the Community Foundation of Sarasota County awarded $400,000 to extend the living shoreline. The described work includes raising grades, replacing hardened shoreline with native plantings and rain gardens, and adding accessible waterfront paths with seating and shade. Anything farther out is a hope, not a schedule. Bay News 9 reported in August that the foundation hopes its matching grant helps The Bay finish Phase 3 by 2030.
Until any of that opens, the park runs on the weekly schedule above and the Blvd. of the Arts parking lots. The park says listings can change, including weather cancellations posted up to an hour before an event, so check the calendar before you head out.
If family is visiting this winter and asking which parts of Sarasota put the bayfront park within an easy walk or short drive, I'm glad to go through the options with you, block by block. Carolyn Yates is here for those conversations. Let's Connect.
