The Bay's Anniversary Month: What's Happening on Sarasota's Bayfront This Fall, and What's Still Fenced Off

The Bay opened on Sarasota Bay in October 2022. Four years and more than 1.2 million visits later, the Bay Park Conservancy is marking the date with "One Park FOUR All," a month-long anniversary celebration of more than 70 free events running October 1 through November 1.

The timing was supposed to bring a second milestone. This was the month The Plaza, the park's new town square, was due to open. It won't. So for the rest of 2026, the park's gathering place is its calendar. The dates below are what will actually change how the bayfront feels between now and the holidays, while the new pavement and shade stay behind construction fencing.

The Square That Was Due This Month

In May, the Observer reported that The Plaza would open in October 2026 as a large shaded event and gathering space. Two months later, the conservancy's July 21 board minutes said The Plaza was "running behind schedule due to shade structure construction challenges" and would be completed by summer 2027. Those minutes are still marked as a draft. We found no later public update confirming or revising that date.

That leaves a gap of most of a year between the planned square and the real one. The shade structure is the delay, and shade matters most at a midday food festival or an afternoon concert in the Florida sun. The anniversary events still have to happen on the lawns, deck and walkways that already exist.

A Calendar Doing the Plaza's Job

The conservancy built the anniversary around six signature events, all free to attend.

The anniversary's opening party has already moved once. The Salsa & Sunsets celebration planned for tonight is listed as canceled on the October calendar and rescheduled for Wednesday, October 14, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The conservancy describes it as the anniversary toast, with live music and a Latino-inspired dance party. The Rocky Horror screening on Friday returns as an annual outdoor tradition.

Park-toberfest brings the DeLeon Family Band, chicken dancing and a steinhoisting contest. Pretzel King and The Nest Café will serve brats and craft brews. Boo! at The Bay on October 17 is the family night, with costumes, trick-or-treating, pumpkin painting and a family movie.

The finale on November 1 is the Best of The Bay Music Fest, six hours of performances by the White Crowe Band, Rosine, the Rockefellers, Speak Easy and Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe.

The Weekly Routine Under the Party

The signature events get the billboards, but the conservancy's October and November calendars also list a steady run of free weekly sessions. These keep going after the anniversary ends:

• Monday: Mat Pilates at The Bay, 6:00 to 6:45 p.m.
• Tuesday and Thursday: The Y: Primetime+, 7:30 to 8:15 a.m.; Bootcamp on Tuesday evenings, 6:00 to 6:45 p.m.
• Wednesday: Tai Chi | Qigong, 8:00 to 8:45 a.m.
• Thursday and Saturday: Namaste at The Bay Yoga, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Thursday and 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. Saturday.
• Saturday: Bootcamp, 8:00 to 8:45 a.m.
• Friday and Saturday: Ride and Paddle at The Bay, a free guided kayak tour from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., listed as intermediate level. November's calendar currently shows tours on November 6 and 7.
• Sunday: Sundays at The Bay, the free music series, runs 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. in October and moves to 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in November.

All of these use spaces that are open now. The park's features page lists Common Ground, The Oval, the Sunset Deck, the Ibis Playground and Picnic Area, the Reading Room, Fountain Garden with its restored pond and historic Japanese Lantern, and the half-mile Mangrove Bayou Walkway. The walkway is an accessible route for walking, jogging and cycling. The ADA-accessible kayak launch has a rinse station and drying rack, which matters for anyone joining the Friday or Saturday tour with their own boat. Park hours are 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Weather can change the plan on the day. The Nest Café, the park's food and drink spot, posted a weather closure for October 7 with plans to reopen Thursday, October 8.

Taste of The Bay, Read as a Restaurant Roster

The first permanent waterfront restaurant at The Bay is still about a year away, so the October 25 food festival is the nearest thing to a dining room the park has this season. Taste of The Bay, presented by Sarasota-Manatee Originals, runs from noon to 3:00 p.m. with live music by Kettle of Fish. Admission is free, and food is bought with tickets sold at the event's ticket table.

The participating member restaurants listed so far include 1592 Wood Fired Kitchen & Cocktails, The Breakfast Company, Bricks Smoked Meats, 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, with more to be named. The event page says the menu is still to come.

For three hours, the bayfront gets the kind of shared table The Plaza and Restaurant #1 are meant to provide year-round.

What the Map Still Calls "Coming Soon"

The conservancy's September 30 park map puts three items under a "COMING SOON!" heading: the Resilient Shoreline, The Plaza and Restaurant #1. Here is where each one stands in the most recent records, along with the related work around the park:

1. The Plaza. Forecast for summer 2027 in the July draft minutes, after shade-structure construction problems pushed it back from October 2026.
2. The Resilient Shoreline. CEO A.G. Lafley told the board that damage from the 2024 storms gave the team a chance to redesign it. The minutes give no completion date. A conservancy timeline published in May estimated February 2027 for the shoreline and the Municipal Auditorium renovation. That was an approximate target, not a confirmed schedule.
3. Restaurant #1. In May, the Observer reported the first permanent waterfront restaurant would open in fall 2027 at the former Coast Guard station, operated by Venice Pier Group. The July minutes note only that the board got an update on it.
4. The Sunset Deck. It is open, and it is due to grow. The July minutes say it "will be expanded to more than double its size over the next few months using sustainable ipe wood." The same minutes note that salt-tolerant Tip Top Turf has already been laid on the Common Ground lawn.
5. Centennial Park, Phase 3A. The roughly $19 million plan covers an expanded boat launch and boat-trailer parking, new restrooms, stormwater upgrades and better green space and walkways. According to the minutes, the City and County approved the budget and plans, but the County Commission has not committed its share of the funding and may wait for the outcome of the November property tax referendum.

One earlier idea is gone entirely. In October 2025, the Observer reported that the revised plan had dropped a pedestrian bridge over the 10th Street boat basin, because moving the restaurant sites south made it unnecessary. The same report said the pedestrian promenade along North Tamiami Trail was complete.

The water side has one newer addition that is already open. Since February 2026, floating day docks on the south side of the Centennial Park boat basin have offered free short-term public docking, with a five-hour limit. Arriving by boat for the Best of The Bay Music Fest is an option this year.

Lafley's anniversary statement looks ahead to "the possibilities still ahead as more of the 53-acre vision is realized." Of the projects on the map, only the Sunset Deck expansion is scheduled to arrive in the next few months. The rest are forecast for 2027.

At Roger Pettingell, we follow Sarasota's bayfront the same way we follow its waterfront neighborhoods: dates, delays and all. If you'd like to talk through how The Bay's next phases fit into your plans for the area, our team is happy to help. Contact Us.