Top 10 FREE Things to Do in Sarasota

With 121 public beach accesses from Anna Maria Island to Charlotte Harbor, you easily can find your way to white sand beaches and the Gulf of Mexico. All the tourists know about Siesta Key Beach but there are 120 other places to explore.

Dr. Beach ranks Siesta Key Beach as America's Best Beach - #1 for 2011! Lifeguards update the Sarasota County beach report at 10am and 3pm daily with water and wind conditions, photos and comments about beach conditions.

Siesta Key Beach, 948 Beach Road, Sarasota, Florida 34242 USA. Info: 941.861.5000

Photo: Louis Wery

Mondays rate FREE admission to The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and that's a pretty big savings. Tuesdays through Sundays admission to the museum complex costs $25 per adult. Click here for more about admission fees.

One caveat: The FREE admission on Mondays applies only to the art museum galleries and special exhibitions (does not include Cà d'Zan or the Circus Museums).

By the way, the estate grounds and gardens are open to the public at no charge 9:30am-6pm daily. You can enjoy the restaurants and even ride the trams for FREE. The art museum, house museum (Ca d'Zan) and circus museum buildings require visitors to pay admission per usual. Still, you can picnic, admire the exterior of Ca d'Zan and explore gardens and more for FREE every day!

And remember to say "thank you" to John Ringling who insisted on FREE admission to the art museum one day a week in perpetuity.

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota, Florida 34243 USA. Info: 941.359.5700

Photo: Louis Wery

The Siesta Key Drum Circle helps fans unwind and dance together on the sugary sand beaches. People say the drum circle started in the late 1990s. Whenever, the regulars have set the rhythm on the beach without missing a beat.

The drum circle begins gathering about an hour before sunset every Sunday at Siesta Key Beach, and the drumming goes late into the night.

Everyone joins in making music, playing games, dancing and people watching. Somehow the drumming creates a basis for a laid-back evening on the beach.

Siesta Key Beach, 948 Beach Road, Sarasota, Florida 34242 USA. Info: 941.861.5000

You also might try the Nokomis Beach Drum Circle, which also features drumming, dancing, playing, spectating, communicating and ... belly dancing. Starts about an hour before sunset Wednesdays and Saturdays, rain or shine. FREE admission. Nokomis Beach Park, 100 Casey Key Road, Nokomis, Florida 34275 USA. Info: 941.861.5000

Photo: Louis Wery

Southeastern Guide Dogs hosts a Discovery Center in downtown Sarasota to educate people about guide dogs and to seek help in training guide dogs. Guide dog training begins when puppies are born. Puppy hugging is part of the training process.

Several times a month, the Discovery Center holds puppy hugging sessions and invites people to hug 6-9-week-old puppies. Puppy hugging helps socialize the puppies.

Guide dogs must feel comfortable with people. They must take things in stride. When the puppies mature into guide dogs, they learn to focus on their job despite distractions.

What fun to cuddle with puppies and do good at the same time!

Southeastern Guide Dogs Discovery Center, 1618 Main Street, Sarasota, Florida 34236 USA. Info: 941.953.2892

Photo courtesy of Southeastern Guide Dogs

First Fridays in Sarasota & Her islands turn festive in the Rosemary District and in Downtown Sarasota along Main Street and Palm Avenue. Art galleries schedule shows to open on the first Friday of each month and draw musicians and dancers who add to the party atmosphere. FREE Admission. 6-9pm First Fridays. Info: 941.951.5454

On Main Street Lakewood Ranch, bring your own lawn chair and enjoy Music on Main, a First Friday outdoor music event. FREE Admission. 6-9pm First Fridays Info: 941.462.2357

Photo of Cheryl Losey, harpist: Louis Wery

When you stroll the First Friday Gallery Walk along Main Street, watch for art projected on the sidewalk from Some Guy's Studio where Jeff Hazelton creates his 3D canvases.

Photo: Louis Wery

A controversy erupted when the City of Sarasota installed Seward Johnson's collossal sculpture of a sailor and nurse on the bayfront. Formally titled Unconditional Surrender" to recall Victory Over Japan (V-J) Day, the statue is a three-dimensional blow up of Alfred Eisenstaedt's famous Times Square photograph published in Life magazine in 1945.

The 26-foot-tall statue stands as a favorite setting for snapshots. Tourists love to pose looking up the nurse's skirt! The big embrace also inspires romantic video shoots and other fun.

Unconditional Surrender statue, Corner of N Tamiami Trail (US 41) and Gulfstream Avenue), Bayfront Sarasota, Florida 34236 USA. Info: 941.957.1877

Photo: Louis Wery

Sarasota & Her islands qualify as birder heaven with so many beautiful venues where you can tick off rarities from your species list. While twitchers travel long distances to spot a Florida Scrub Jay at Oscar Scherer State Park located in Sarasota, Florida USA, many visitors qualify as casual bird watchers also find happiness here.

Twitchers are a special breed of human birders who travel long distances for the pleasure of seeing our diverse bird population. Florida hosts about 480 bird species and about half of them frequent our area.

By the way, the Florida Scrub Jay is the only bird endemic to Florida (e.g., found only in Florida). Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officially listed the Florida Scrub Jay as a threatened state species in 1975, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service listed the bird as a threatened federal species in 1987.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurenprofeta/5067707607/

Locavores favor Sarasota's various farmers markets that bring regional fruit, vegetables, fish and meat as well as prepared foods, crafts and plants to convenient locations. The downtown market draws people to the center of the city every Saturday year round from 7am until 1pm (12n during the summer season) and festive street shows often piggy back on the popular market. Lakewood Ranch also hosts a Saturday morning farmers market November-April.

On Wednesday afternoons November-May, we go to the Phillippi Farmhouse Market for a mid-week spree, often accompanied by LIVE music and craft demonstrations.

Sarasota Farmers Market, Main Street and Lemon Avenue, Sarasota, Florida 34236 USA. Info: 941.225.9256
Lakewood Ranch Farmers Market, Main Street Lakewood Ranch, Florida USA Info: 941.462.2357
Phillippi Farmhouse Market, 5500 S Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Florida 34231 USA. Info: 941.861.5000

Photo: Louis Wery

Former Sarasota County Historian Ann Shank designed an engaging walkabout encompassing interesting historic buildings in downtown Sarasota. Starting in the recently designated Bayfront Historic District with the rare Art Deco Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, the stroll includes buildings dating from 1910s to the 1970s.

The recently restored Sarasota Opera House holds a special place in our hearts because of its memorable staging of mostly classic operas such as Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly opening Friday, October 28, 2011. Love and honor resonate with the force of thunder in Puccini's tender love story between a Japanese geisha and her American soldier. Soprano Asako Tamura stars in the title role.

Photo: Louis Wery

When the weather turns balmy, we head to St. Armands Circle for a roundabout stroll. Circus Magnate John Ringling created an outdoor shopping mall in the center of Ringling Isles. His influence still shows in streets radiating from the the circle at the island's center and the Italian statuary from his personal collection strategically placed around the key.

Our favorite FREE event happens in January when the Circus Ring of Fame inducts renowned performers and unveils their commemorative plaques in St Armands Circle Park. Other favorite freebies include the Fright Night Halloween party, Holiday Night of the Circle as well as arts & crafts show, car shows and Jazz on the Circle.

Hands down, Nick and Erendira Wallenda performed the most exciting FREE-admission spectacle ever seen on The Circle when this summer they climbed 40-foot sway poles to perform daring stunts for the hometown crowd.

Photo: Louis Wery