At The Bay, the Event Calendar Is Fixed and the Construction Dates Are Not

The Bay closes its fourth-anniversary month this Sunday, Nov. 1. In the City of Sarasota's count, the park has drawn more than 1.2 million visits since it opened in October 2022. The City's announcement put more than 70 free events into the One Park FOUR All celebration, which runs from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1. The free events already have dates through Dec. 12. The new public Plaza between the Municipal Auditorium and Art Center does not. Once expected this month, it is still fenced, and the published finish dates for that work now run from the end of 2026 into 2027.

That gap shapes the season on the bayfront. The finished first phase of the park is busy, the edges are fenced, and the 2027 projects ahead are best followed as estimates.

Dates You Can Count On

The Bay Park Conservancy's calendar for November and December is set, and every event on it is free.

The Desenberg Foundation presents the film series. Holidays at The Bay closes with a family movie. Weather can still shift a date. Expected bad weather on Oct. 7 moved the anniversary Salsa & Sunsets to Oct. 14, and the City announced the change the same day. That kind of change is small and announced quickly. The construction schedule changes in larger steps and on a slower timeline.

Dates That Keep Moving

The new Plaza is the clearest example. The Conservancy describes it as a gathering place with green space, shade, walkable paths and room for both public and private uses. The Observer reported in May that a large shade structure would be its centerpiece, with event space for programs and rentals, and that it would open this October. Here is how the official dates have shifted since then:

• May 2026: The Observer reports the Plaza will open in October 2026.
• June 2026: A Conservancy presentation also lists "Oct 2026" for the town square on its timeline, but its Plaza slide says "To be Completed: 2027."
• Sept. 16, 2026: The City's anniversary release says Phase 2 is expected to be complete in 2027.
• Sept. 30, 2026: The Conservancy's FAQ page says Phase 2 construction "should be completed by the end of 2026."

The resilient shoreline has its own date. The June presentation targets it for early 2027 and lists February 2027 on its completion timeline. The Sunset Pier, a planned Phase 2 feature, is listed as "on hold" on the Conservancy's Phase 2 page.

Put together, the four sources give a range, and the end of that range is 2027. Until the fences come down, the construction affects the next part of a park visit more than anything else: getting in.

Getting There Around the Fences

The Conservancy lists three areas closed for Phase 2B. The western edge of the lot just north of the Van Wezel is closed for resilient-shoreline work. So is the Centennial Park lot. The area between the Municipal Auditorium and the Art Center is closed while the Plaza is built. These are the open options, from easiest to hardest on an event night:

1. Walk or bike. The City's multi-use recreational trail runs along North Tamiami Trail both north and south of the park.
2. Take a Breeze bus. Stop #2671 is on Blvd of the Arts. Stops #2672 and #1284 are on North Tamiami Trail just north of the park.
3. Ride a Veo. Veo scooter and bike corrals line Blvd of the Arts.
4. Park for free. Free parking is open 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 Conservancy asks visitors to stay out of Sarasota Orchestra spaces and off the south side of Blvd of the Arts.

The Conservancy posts a construction-period parking and walkway map, last updated in September 2026. It shows the walking routes around the fenced areas.

What Is Already Built, and What the Fences Will Add

Every event on the calendar takes place in the finished first phase. That phase covers more than 10 acres. It includes the tree-shaded Mangrove Bayou Walkway, the Ibis Playground, the Common Ground lawns, The Oval mini-amphitheater with its large LED screens, and an ADA-accessible paddle launch. The Nest Café, run by Venice Pier Group, serves made-to-order food, Kahwa coffee, cocktails, wine and beer. Restrooms are next door. Shaded picnic tables near the Ibis Playground are first-come, first-served.

One piece of the next phase opened early. Since February 2026, floating day docks on the south side of the Centennial Park boat basin have offered short-term public access from the water. The Conservancy says they hold 13 or more boats of about 26 feet, and vessels up to 40 feet are allowed.

The fenced shoreline is meant to turn more of the bayfront into living shoreline. The plans add green space, walking paths, and rain and stormwater ponds to help manage flooding and storm surge and to improve water quality. When it opens, the walkable bayfront will extend from the finished park toward the boat basin. The basin is also where the park's next project begins.

The Restaurant Belongs to 2027

The Observer reported on Oct. 18 that the first waterfront restaurant at The Bay went before the city's Development Review Committee on Oct. 7 for a pre-application conference. The site plan shows a 4,999-square-foot building. According to the Observer, that is one foot below the 5,000-square-foot limit for administrative site plan approval in the Bay Park Zone district. The restaurant would sit at the end of 10th Street, across the basin from the boat launch. It would be the first of as many as three restaurants in the center of the 53-acre site. Venice Pier Group, which runs the Nest Café, is set to operate it.

The Observer quoted Philip DiMaria of the project consultant Kimley-Horn telling the committee, "Today, we're before you to begin the process of permitting the 10th Street restaurant, which will be the first restaurant in The Bay." The new day dock at the Centennial Park basin is finished and will give boaters direct access to the restaurant. The Conservancy's earlier timeline put the restaurant's opening in fall 2027.

The rest of the basin is on the same schedule. The Conservancy's Centennial Park plan adds 60% more trailer parking, 33% more boat-launch capacity, more day docks, a mobile bait shop, renovated restrooms and cleanup of Hog Creek. The June presentation schedules that work for July 2027. A May City Commission presentation also expects the Van Wezel to close in September 2027 for interior hardening work. If those dates hold, the shoreline, the basin, the restaurant and the Van Wezel closure all arrive between February and fall of 2027. The Sarasota Orchestra's new Music Center is a separate project at 5701 Fruitville Road, away from the bayfront, and is expected to open in the 2029–30 season.

For this season, the dates to plan around are on the event calendar. The next one is Best of The Bay Music Fest this Sunday, Nov. 1.

Downtown's bayfront will change a great deal between now and 2027, and the calendar of park events, performances and construction openings is part of what living near it means. If you'd like to talk about how The Bay fits the way you want to spend your Sarasota seasons, Gigi Kuster would be glad to walk the waterfront with you. Create Your Sarasota Lifestyle.