Sarasota Opera and Birding Festival Tour

Sarasota Opera and Birding Festival Tour

The Sarasota Opera House was built in 1926 for general theatre use, vaudeville shows, and movies. It was called the Edwards Theatre. It eventually became a full-time movie theatre, which closed in 1973. In 1979, the Sarasota Opera Guild bought the theatre for $150,000 and after extensive remodeling and restoration, the opera house opened in 1984 and was placed on the national register of historic places.  There are 1,119 seats.  The opera house is located in the downtown, historic district of Sarasota. 

Sarasota, Florida:  The current city was established in 1902, and now has a population of about 55,000 people. But its history goes back thousands of years to the time when native tribes fished and hunted in the area.  Tribes including the Calusa, Tocobaga, and Timucuan people were living in the Sarasota area when the Spanish conquistador, Hernando de Soto arrived in 1539. By 1840, Fort Armistead was built as a military outpost to help in the wars against the Seminoles. Florida was admitted to the union in 1845. It wasn't until the 1870's that settlers, both American and European, started moving into the area in large numbers. 

Birding:  Sarasota in surrounded by great birding. Every day we will be birding and exploring the area that surrounds Sarasota.  Most of our day trips will be within an hour's drive from our hotel.  

Myakka State Park:  This state park is a 30-minute drive from our hotel.  It is one of the oldest and largest state parks in Florida. Established in 1941, it has a total of 37,000 acres (58 sq. miles) and is part of a larger 80,000 acre conservation area.  This area includes the Myakka River and the Myakka Lake.  There is the Myakka Canopy Walkway and Observation Tower, and a 6-mile wildlife drive.  We will be taking both a boat tour and a tram tour. There is so much to see here, we might spend two days here for birding and wildlife viewing at this location. 

Fort de Soto State Park:  This park encompasses five offshore keys and is an excellent birding hot spot.  All five keys are connected by bridges or causeways.  From Fort de Soto we will take a 30-minute ferry to Egmont Key State Park and the Egmont National Wildlife Refuge.  This will be a full day of great birding and wildlife viewing. 

Sarasota Birding:  Sarasota is located on Sarasota Bay and across from Lido Key and Long Key.  Sarasota has great parks and bays for birding. Here is a list of places we will visit in and around Sarasota: The Sarasota Botanical Gardens, Red Bug Slough Preserve, The Audubon Celery Fields, and The Nest Preserve.

South of Sarasota:  Walton Ranch Preserve, Peace River State Forest, Big Slough Preserve, Deer Prairie Creek Preserve, Mabry Carlton Memorial Reserve, and the Oscar Scherer State Park. 

We are still working on this page and will be updating with more details.

Here is the basic info:  

Day 1, Monday March 10:  Fly to Sarasota, Florida

• Shuttle transfer from the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport (SRQ) to the Magnolia Pointe Hotel.
• Activities for the day and dinner will depend on everyone's arrival time.

• Daytime activities:  Birding the Myakka State Park. 
• 5:00pm: Leave for opera
• 5:30pm: Dinner
• 6:45pm: Opera talk
• 7:30pm: Cavalleria Rusticana (1890) by Pietro Mascagni and Pagliacci (1892) by Ruggero Leoncavallo

• Daytime activities: Birding Fort de Soto State Park and Egmont Key
• 5:00pm: Leave for opera
• 5:30pm: Dinner
• 7:30pm: Evening event in the area TBD later

• Daytime activities: Birding the Sarasota area
• 5:00pm: Leave for opera
• 5:30pm: Dinner
• 6:45pm: Opera talk
• 7:30pm: The Marriage of Figaro (1786) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

• Daytime activities: Birding areas south of Sarasota
• 5:00pm: Leave for opera
• 5:30pm: Dinner
• 6:45pm: Opera talk
• 7:30pm: The Barber of Seville (1816) Gioachino Rossini

• Daytime activities: Finishing up our list of birding locations or revisiting our favorites. 
• 5:00pm: Leave for opera
• 5:30pm: Dinner
• 6:45pm: Opera talk
• 7:30pm: Stiffelio (1850) Giuseppe Verdi 

• Departure day: You will be transferred to the Sarasota Airport

This is new tour for 2025.  If you would like to get a better feel for the week of Opera and Birding, please check the Santa Fe Opera and Birding page to get a feel for the week.