With the new year upon us, many high-end travellers are searching out cultural experiences rather than more traditional ideas of luxury.
A trip to Sarasota in 2026 can immerse British visitors in the arts and the exclusivity of its one-off 100-year-anniversary celebrations.
New Transport Link
New flight between cultural hotspots Miami and Sarasota
Whilst many international culture vultures know Miami for Art Basel, they can discover a new cultural hub in Florida with a new American Airlines daily nonstop service between Miami (MIA) and Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) launched on November 3rd 2025 connecting the top cultural hotspots on the east and west coast.
Centennials and Celebrations
The Ringling – New tours of 100-year-old Ca’ d’Zan from January 2026
Originally belonging to John Ringling, who invested much of his personal wealth in the development of Sarasota, the completion of the Ca’ d’Zan in 1926 marked the beginning of The Ringling institution as it is known today. The Ringling is now offering new guided tours of the second, third and fourth floor and the Belevedere Tower of the Ca’ d’Zan beginning in January 2026 after being restored after serious hurricane damage in 2024. Tickets go on sale on the 1st of December 2026. The Ringling itself will have its 100th year anniversary in 2027, so the institution’s calendar will be bursting full of exciting and engaging events over the next two years.
The Sarasota Opera House: Opera celebrations from February to April
The Sarasota Opera House was also completed in 1926, though it was then known as the A.B Edwards Theatre. The 2026 Winter Opera Festival runs from February 14th to March 28th, with the brilliant Opera Lovers Week from March 11th-29th when it is possible to see four productions in as few as three days. The opera house is the only one in the world to have produced every work by Verdi under the direction of Maestro Victor DeRenzi.
It is also hosting the Sarasota Opera House Centennial Celebration in April, which includes a matinee concert followed by a dinner at the renowned Michaels on the Bay in the spectacular Mary Selby Botanical Gardens – home to the second largest collection of flowers preserved in fluids in the world, second only to Kew Gardens.
Art Center Sarasota: Reviving the roaring twenties with the Beaux Arts Ball
Art Center Sarasota’s centennial celebration is to be just as impressive reviving the legendary Beaux Arts Ball on March the 21st 2026. Originally hosted in 1936 as part of the Fashion Design Department of the Ringling School of Art, the costume ball became a huge part of the Sarasota cultural calendar with outlandish themes such as “Mother Goose at the Ball” and the Underseas Ball. All the proceeds go into supporting Art Center Sarasota’s community work, engaging with and encouraging the Sarasota community to delve into their own creativity.
New Attraction
Mote SEA – New location promises more space for marine education and research
The Mote Science Education Aquarium (SEA) opened in early October in its new location of Nathan Benderson Park. The new facility is nearly twice the size of the old aquarium housing over a million gallons of aquatic exhibits.
This expansion enables Mote to carry out more sea turtle and marine mammals rescues and recoveries, develop additional science-based solutions, restore more ecosystems, further support coastal communities and even discover new and sustainable food and medicines, all through formal and informal teaching of future marine scientists. This year, the rescue programme has expanded to include Sleet and Cabbage, two West Indian Manatees, showcasing Mote’s continuous development into a care holding facility for manatee rehabilitation during a period when manatee mortalities are rising.
Images supplied
