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You're Invited: Sarasota's Exclusive Events & Galas

Sarasota is a destination for gatherings that glisten with prestige and purpose. Events run the gamut from celebrating our world-renowned botanic gardens to experiencing a robust and full spectrum of the arts.

Year-round guests flock in their season finery from all reaches of the world to join Sarasotans for a stream of toney and titillating parties, fundraising galas and exciting events. 

With more culture and philanthropic ventures per square mile than most cities, Sarasota throws open the doors of its finest institutions and galleries at a seasonal pace. And the setting could not be dreamier. Miles of shimmering shorelines, magnificent historical settings and sparkling hotels are the perfect backdrops for silky costumed and catered affairs. 

More than most Florida cities its size (and many larger), Sarasota events and fetes are a refined yet unfussy display – from black tie and gown to coastal frock and flip flops. Find a fundraiser or party to support every community need and personal taste. 

Sarasota events worth every penny…

Rock the Roof

aloft sarasota pool rooftop for a swim

Rooftop hop to Aloft's highest floor for unparalleled views of our city skylines

Location: Sarasota Memorial Hospital, West Parking Garage
Dates: February 22, 2025

Ready to dance for a cause? Join the medical team and community at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Southside Village for Rock the Roof, an elite rooftop party with dancing under the stars – all to benefit Women and Children’s Services at the hospital. Live music featuring SMH doctor bands and a DJ will get you in the groove under the warm, winter skies. This year’s theme is Y2K – so come ready (and dressed) to party like it’s 1999.

Plan Your Stay: Keep the rooftop celebration going with a stay at the nearby Aloft in downtown Sarasota, offering a vibrant lobby scene and tech-savvy suites. Complete your rooftop evening with a swim and sip at the Splash Pool Rooftop Bar. 

Feast Upon the Fields

Location: Walton Ranch, North Port
Dates: February 23, 2025

The Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast celebrates living in paradise with an alfresco farm-to-table luncheon in a big open field under Florida pines. Experience the beautiful landscape firsthand and learn more about the conservation and importance of Walton Ranch. at the 9th annual Feast Upon the Fields, featuring a one-of-a-kind menu by Chef Paul Mattison. This ticketed event sells out quickly, so early reservations are strongly recommended.

Plan Your Stay: For sweeping harbor views and coastal-luxe guest rooms with private balconies, venture about 15 miles south to stay at the newly opened Sunseeker Resort, Charlotte Harbor. The resort also features 20 unique dining concepts, including seven stand-alone restaurants, 11 bars and lounges, two poolside cafes and the Harbor Yards Food Hall. 

Show Jumping Under the Stars

show jumping this winter at fox lea farm

Location: Fox Lea Farm, Venice
Dates: January 31-March 14, 2025

A fan of equestrian sport? Put on your favorite derby hat and polo outfit for an evening out on Fox Lea Farm, a privately owned 50-acre horse show facility less than 5 miles from the beach. This winter, you can secure your VIP table and tickets to one of this season's horse show competitions under the starry night sky – Show Jumping Under the Stars' National Hunter Derby and Grand Prix. Spectate the extraordinary athleticism of both horse and rider while enjoying stone-fired pizzas, drinks and live music. 

Plan Your Stay: Casey Key Resorts is one of Fox Lea Farm's lodging partners, providing accommodations close to the venue and a discounted rate if you are coming for an event. This quiet hideaway boasts tropical grounds with a beautiful pool area and tiki bar, while the rooms are coastal-chic for a comfortable place to lay your head after a fun day at the polo field.

Sarasota Jazz Festival

Location: Locations throughout Sarasota 
Dates: March 17-22, 2025

Get your jazz on for Sarasota’s annual Jazz Festival in March, hosted by the Jazz Club of Sarasota. Featuring a slue of events, including a VIP Reception on March 17 at the Florida Studio Theatre. VIP tickets get you access to the reception and other events including a 10-stop JAZZ Trolley Pub Crawl and main stage events at Sarasota’s Municipal Auditorium.  

Plan Your Stay: Once you’ve tapped the night away, slide into a picturesque stay at Hyatt Regency Sarasota, where waterfront dining, rooms with private balconies, and a private marina are a short shuttle away from the event. 

Sarasota Film Festival 

Location: Downtown Sarasota venues – to be announced
Dates: April 4-13, 2025

Each spring thousands of movie fans gather to watch hundreds of spectacularly curated films spanning an impressive array of film categories. This year’s 27th Annual Sarasota Film Festival celebrates filmmaking as an extraordinary craft. Perfectly balancing community mindfulness with the arts, the festival features Artist Talks from revered filmmakers and VIP events that provide a rare chance to  “share the air” with filmmakers and actors. A Cinephile Elite pass ($1,500) provides ticketless access to the Main Slate and tickets to the Opening Night Film and Party, Friday Night Street Party and Closing Night Film and Awards Ceremony, as well as access to the Filmmaker Lounge and other benefits.

Plan Your Stay: Book your stay at one of Sarasota’s newest luxury hotels, the St. Regis Longboat Key Resort, situated along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. St. Regis is the epitome of opulence and indulgence. Dine at its many restaurants and bars onsite, and book yourself an afternoon spa/salon service to get event-ready for the weekend. 

Blue Skies & Butterflies

the ritz carlton for events in sarasota

Location: The Ritz Carlton, Sarasota
Dates: April 4, 2025

Gathering for a worthy cause is a commitment and part of our culture in Sarasota. This year, the Child Protection Center is celebrating 45 years of providing lifesaving child abuse services in Sarasota County. To recognize the achievement, The Ritz Carlton will be the setting for Blue Skies & Butterflies, the organization’s signature beautiful evening event bringing people together in the spirit of transformational healing.  

Plan Your Stay: Book your stay at the host hotel, The Ritz Carlton, where the resort's spa services, luxury amenities and Jack Dusty restaurant only enhance your stay. Or, opt for more quaint lodging at The Reserve Retreat, a historic boutique hotel in the former home of the Ringling family. 

Suncoast Summer Fest – The Annual Bob Rizi Memorial Golf Classic

Location: The Meadows Country Club, Sarasota
Dates: June 20, 2025

If you prefer to mix meaning with a love of sport, The Annual Suncoast Summer Fest kicks off the Summer season with a series of special event fundraisers, including the 9th Annual Bob Rizi Memorial Golf Classic. This iconic memorial tournament attracts hundreds of plays each year to register and support Suncoast Charities for Children – raising money for local children, teens and adults with special needs and their families.

Plan Your Stay: Book your family-friendly stay close by at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Sarasota/Lakewood Ranch, where you can enjoy entertainment, fitness classes, your pick of restaurants and fantastic shopping for every member of the family at University Town Center

Sarasota Art Museum Art Bash 

couple perusing at sarasota art museum

Location: Sarasota Art Museum
Dates: December TBD

Art Bash is Sarasota’s creative rendition to Miami's “Art Basel.” Gallery tours take place to explore thought-provoking exhibitions by local, national and international artists while hors d'oeuvres are served. The annual event features a seated dinner, a live auction with paddle raise, live music and dancing under a grant tent outside the museum. Art Bash supports an ever-expanding roster of education and events at the Sarasota Art Museum, a 15,000-square-foot exhibition and gathering space managed in partnership with the Ringling College of Art and Design.

Plan Your Stay: Keep the art flowing with a stay at the Art Ovation Hotel in the heart of downtown Sarasota, only a couple minutes drive away. The hotel features its own rotating galleries and artist demonstrations in the grand foyer space to continue your art-themed experience, as well as piano bar performances to enjoy over a glass of wine in the lobby bar.

Architecture Sarasota MOD Weekend

sarasota modern hotel outdoor pool area and architecutre

The Sarasota Modern building facade and guest rooms pay homage to our area's design heritage

Location: To be announced for 2025
Dates: November TBD

Early 20th architecture is closely woven into Sarasota's culture and history. John Howey, author of the seminal book, The Sarasota School of Architecture, described the essence of the Sarasota School of Architecture as an “awakening.” Architecture Sarasota’s annual MOD Weekend indulges the romance of that awakening each year with period house tours, cocktail evenings, panel discussions and educational events. Each year is themed – taking inspiration from Sarasota’s design history and our area’s architectural forefathers.  

Plan Your Stay: A popular and exclusive stay for the festival is The Sarasota Modern, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, an architectural gem set in the urban Rosemary Arts & Design District of Downtown Sarasota. Take in the modernist design finishes and retro art throughout the lobby, its restaurant, Wink Wink, and up to the claw-foot bathtubs on the balconies of its guest suites. 

Wine, Women & Shoes

Location: The Ritz Carlton, Sarasota
Dates: November TBD

Wear your finest footwear for fun, friendship and fashion at the 2025 Wine, Women & Shoes event at The Ritz Carlton. The engaging and exciting fundraising event invites community-minded, philanthropic women (and a few good men) to sip, shop, savor and support a worthy cause in a chic, fun, and innovative way. Sarasota’s event brings female energy and footwear fashion together over a champagne lunch, complete with a runway show – all to benefit Forty Carrots Family Center whose mission is to nurture healthy child and family development.

Plan Your Stay: Walk steps from the event to reach the splendor of your room, tucked within the bayside retreat of the five-star Ritz Carlton, Sarasota. 

Selby Gardens New Year’s Eve Gala

selby gardens new year's eve gala evening

Location: Selby Gardens, Downtown Sarasota Campus
Dates: December 31, 2025

A do-not-miss way to end and begin any year is at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. The New Year’s Eve Gala is the last (and first) time you’ll dress your formal best for the year. And what better way to celebrate than under starry skies and the warm glow of a gorgeous garden brilliantly illuminated? Selby’s NYE Gala is the most stylish holiday event in Sarasota. Tickets grant exclusive entry to the garden’s award-winning Lights in Bloom® holiday light show, a seated dinner and bayfront performances to dance the night away in perfect view of downtown fireworks. There’s no better way to spark the coming year.

Plan Your Stay: Bring in the new year with a quick walk to The Westin Sarasota, a simply irresistible and chic downtown stay where all the memories of the fire-lit night linger. Enjoy immaculate, scenic guest rooms and a nightcap on the gorgeous rooftop bar overlooking the Sarasota skyline and marina. 

Forks & Corks Food & Wine Festival

Forks and Corks at the ringling museum courtyard

The Grand Tasting is annually hosted in the spectacular courtyard of The Ringling Museum

Location: Restaurants and venues throughout Sarasota
Dates: January 2026

An epicurean fantasy of food and wine, hosted by the Sarasota-Manatee Originals, descends on Sarasota each year. Forks & Corks is a coveted affair, with tickets for the Grand Tasting at The Ringling typically selling out in minutes. Since its inception, the event has grown to encompass more than 90 winemakers and includes a host of chef-specialty dinners with wine pairings. It’s an extravagance of all things taste and tasteful. Ticketed events at local restaurants are complemented with a line-up of pop-up events, renowned winemaker seminars and the ultimate experience for true oenophiles – to learn about winemaking in master classes.  

Plan Your Stay: The newly renovated voco Sarasota on the fringes of downtown Sarasota is the Preferred Hotel Partner of Forks & Corks 2025. This beautiful hotel is a tribute to the tropical yet sophisticated nature of Sarasota and offers its own uncorking experience at its restaurant, Offshore Tapas & Wine Bar.