Memorial Day Weekend in Sarasota

Memorial Day weekend is the one stretch on the Sarasota calendar that quietly runs end to end — Saturday on foot across the Ringling Bridge, Sunday rafted up at the New Pass sandbar, Monday morning lining Main Street for the parade. None of it is new, and that is the point. This is the rare slate where everyone shows up to the same things their neighbors are doing.

Here is how the weekend stacks up if you want to plan it out.

Saturday: SRQ VETS 5K Memorial Hike

The 11th annual hike steps off at 9:15 a.m. from J.D. Hamel Park, crosses the Ringling Bridge, and loops back. Check-in opens at 8 a.m., opening ceremony at 9. It is more community walk than race — you will see strollers, dogs, veterans in unit shirts, and a cookout with live music waiting at the finish. Proceeds go to SRQ VETS' work supporting local veterans.

Sunday: AquaPalooza at New Pass

MarineMax's annual on-the-water party returns to the New Pass sandbar Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Boats raft up, anchors drop, and the music plays from a floating stage — Jah Movement, Dr. Dave Band, and Zach Regan and the 776 on the 2026 lineup. If you have a boat, you already know. If you do not, plenty of people do.

Monday: The Memorial Day Parade and Hamel Park Ceremony

The parade steps off at 10 a.m. Monday at Main Street and Orange Avenue and runs down to J.D. Hamel Park at Main and Gulfstream. Expect the Sarasota Military Academy band, color guards, veterans' organizations, scouts, and the kind of crowd that only Sarasota's downtown can hold without feeling jammed. A ceremony at the park follows around 11 a.m., with Army veteran Charlie Halley as this year's guest speaker. The 2026 theme is "All Gave Some … Some Gave All."

The whole thing is free, walkable, and stroller-friendly. Park around Five Points if you can, get there a few minutes early for the parade, and stay for the ceremony if you have the time — it is the part most people skip and the part that actually matters.

Learn more (City of Sarasota)