Snowbird Calendar: What’s Happening in Sarasota

One of the benefits of living in Sarasota during the colder months is that the area is designed to appeal to snowbirds. There is an incredible lineup of exciting and interesting things to do and see, from fun to the eclectic.

Sarasota Film Festival: around the first week of April and lasts 10 days. This festival is one of Sarasota’s biggest events and includes movies, parties, and celebrities. 

Annual Florida Winefest and Auction: usually around the first week of April. Lots of wine events, fantastic tasting, lunches, brunches, a charity auction, wine on the water, and four days of winemaker dinners in and around Sarasota. There are various locations, times, and prices.

Music on Main

As we reported a couple of years ago, both the city and county of Sarasota are pretty dog-friendly places. According to BringFido.com, a website that highlights places where dogs are welcome, Sarasota has 194 restaurants that offer doggy dining, including El Greco and Cafe Epicure, two of my dog Nemo's favorites. And in addition to the off-leash Paw Parks we highlighted in 2015, a resolution was passed by the Sarasota County Commissioners last December which designated 71 local parks and preserves as “dog friendly,” meaning that you can bring your dogs as long as they're on a leash.

This is great news for dog owners in Sarasota. For most of us, our four legged friends are part of the family, and if you're like me, you like to take your dog with you

The suburban paradise of Sarasota Springs offers a number of single-family homes, perfect for the health conscious, working family. Houses and condominiums built over the last several decades with a variety of architectural styles, it’s a great location with access to local beaches, shopping, dining, and Downtown Sarasota. Sarasota Springs encompasses 3.6 square miles north of Bee Ridge Road between Beneva and Cattleman. It includes the beautiful Forest Lakes neighborhood, Colonial Gables, and Doctor's Hospital.

Sarasota Springs is largely residential but is surrounded by a number of shopping plazas around the perimeter, full of grocery stores, chain restaurant favorites, and local fare. This includes some of the best pizza in town at Solorzano's,

When John Hamilton Gillespie brought the spirit of Scotland to Sarasota and established one of the first (if not the first) golf courses in America, he shaped Sarasota's future. It's that rich cultural heritage that is honored at The Founders Club, and for those who love the game of golf, the 700 acres of century-old oak trees, beautiful lakes, swaying pines, and luxury homes make up one of the most wonderful places on earth. Considering that the community only holds 262 homes and offers just 275 golf course memberships, The Founders Club is also one of the most coveted places to live, and its golf membership commands the third-highest price in Sarasota.

Located east of Interstate 75 on Fruitville Road, the 18-hole golf course was designed by

As you may have noticed, things get a little hot around here in August. This month, you've got plenty of great opportunities to really heat things up, and the added bonuses of getting to cool down.

The first week of August is smoking with the Florida State DanceSport Championships on August 2–7 at the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota! To celebrate its 44th anniversary, the DanceSport series has added Country Western Dance, Pro Open Showdance, Rising Star, and Open Grand Championships to this year's events. 

On August 4-7, the annual Sarasota Slam Fishing Tournament is taking place at Marina Jack with Billfish, Wahoo, Tuna, Grouper, Snapper, Trout, Redfish, Offshore, and Inshore Divisions. The tournament is full of events, starting with the Sponsor Party

July is a great time to be on the water in Sarasota, and the first weekend of this month gives you a few choices for how you'd like to experience that water. You could watch the Sarasota Offshore Boat Races (including Superstock & AquaX Races) by setting up anywhere on Lido Beach as the boats run from New Pass to Big Pass, but remember your binoculars to really see what's going on. Or, on July 4, you may prefer something like the 3rd Annual Myakka River Kayak Festival and 4th of July Jam Blast at Snook Haven, where you can also watch performances by Steve Arvey and Treble Hook’s Florida Folk and Medicine Show. Either way, July just keeps heating up from here.

Of course, on Independence Day, there are a number of places to watch the fireworks,

Though the weather indeed gets warmer, that doesn't mean you should hide out indoors! There is still plenty to do in Sarasota in June.

To cool off a bit, take the family to World Oceans Day at Mote Marine Aquarium on June 4 from 10 to 1 p.m. The event is free with regular admission, which is $19.75 for adults and $14.75 for kids of ages 4 through 12. In addition to the games and crafts focused on green practices, marine science, and conservation (all honoring the day's national theme of "Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet") the event will also feature performances by The Garbage-Men, a local group that plays their tunes on homemade instruments made out of trash and recycled materials.

Music aficionados: Be sure to catch some of the performances at