23rd Annual Shark Tooth Festival Sparkles in Venice

The 23rd Annual BB&T Venice Shark's Tooth Festival is back and is being held April 10th-12th at the Venice Municipal Airport Fairgrounds in Venice, Florida. The three-day fun event features live entertainment, a children’s game area, fascinating fossil vendors, a large arts and crafts section and food vendors. One of the area's biggest events, the festival is expected to draw 15,000 visitors ths year. Here’s a rundown of the live entertainment planned in one of the best Florida beach towns:

• Friday, April 10th - The Gator Creek band entertains the crowd from 6pm-9pm
• Saturday, April 11th 
  • The Curry Creek Cloggers perform from 10am-10:45
  • The A Train Featuring T-Bone takes the stage from 11am-12pm
  • The Rogaines (Rock & Roll) plays from 12:30pm-1:30pm
  • Venice PD -Special Olympic Fishing Presentation 2:00pm-2:45pm
  • The Rogaines (Blues)  3pm-3:45pm
  • McQueen 4:15pm-5:45pm
  • Kim Betts & Gamble Creek Band 6:15pm-9pm
• Sunday, April 12th
  • ​The Trinidudes 11:15am-12:25pm
  • Kettle of Fish 12:45pm -2:45pm 
  • Copperhead 3:15pm-5pm

More events coming to Sarasota in April include the La Musica International Chamber Music Festival being held from April 6th-15th. It brings outstanding chamber musicians from Europe and the Americas together to perform at the Sarasota Opera House. 

On April 10th-19th, the Sarasota Film Festival returns for its 17th year of celebrating the art of filmmaking while providing engaging community programs. Attendees can experience the best of independent film from new and veteran filmmakers. 

It’s events like these the help make the west coast of Florida is a popular area for retirees. The Sarasota area has something to offer for every active adult age 55 and up.  Sarasota, one of the best Florida beach towns, also has one of Florida’s best downtown areas with many interesting neighborhoods.  There’s also an impressive array of cultural facilities including an opera, a symphony, and a performing arts hall. There’s a prominent Museum of Asian Art, a classic car museum and the Ringling Estate, set up by the Ringling Brothers (of circus fame.)

The Sarasota area is rich with over 55 communities designed for retirees. One of the active senior retirement communities we find particulary interesting is Esplanade at Lakewood Ranch.

Esplanade is an active senior retirement community that is part of Lakewood Ranch, America's biggest green-certified community. The community is situated on 207 acres of Florida-friendly landscaping on the east side of the Sarasota area. Eight other villages establish this community where families bond and neighbors socialize while enjoying the dramatic landscape filled with forests and wetland preserves as a backdrop.   Designed by Taylor Morrison, the residences at Esplanade at Lakewood Ranch offer homeowners desirable views of Florida-friendly landscaping, picturesque lakes and unparalleled views of sunsets. Surrounded by gourmet restaurants, A-rated schools and fabulous boutiques, any retiree seeking to relocate should definitely give Lakewood Ranch a look. 

Other neighborhoods like nearby Village Walk have also been very carefully planned out as active senior retirement communities.  They contain miles of walking trails along lakes and over bridges.  The Village Walk lakefront Town Center provides amenities such as, a complete state of the art health and fitness center, 6 lighted tennis courts, a heated lap pool and a very large tropical lagoon pool.  There is also an on-site gas station, post office, hair salon, gift shop, and deli and cafe. There are over 30 different activities for residents of Village Walk to choose from and many opportunities for social gatherings in one of the best Florida beach towns. 

In Venice, IslandWalk is the place to live at retirement. Spread across 830 acres, the homes at IslandWalk back up to sparkling lakes or a nature preserve. The IslandWalk clubhouse is one of the finest we've seen. It includes card rooms, a library, entertainment kitchen and much more. A second Amenity Building is planned for 2015. Walking trails lead over beautiful Venetian-style bridges and accents lakes to the various neighborhoods. IslandWalk is golf cart friendly. With the long list of active social clubs which include wine tasting, arts & crafts, ballroom dancing and block parties, it's easy to make friends within the active living senior community. And best of all, the HOA fees cover the maintenance of the common areas and lawn! With no state income tax in Florida, IslandWalk works well with a retirees budget.

Spring is a great time of year to explore the Sarasota area. From spring training baseball games to numerous fun festivals, there is so much to do. With over 360 days of sunshine a year, the weather in one of the best Florida beach towns is gorgeous and when you’re not hitting the beach, there's plenty of arts and culture to enjoy. 

If you're exploring the area for the first time, ask for our free Sarasota relocation information to learn more about the area.