The Sarasota Opera Food & Wine Festival

Circle Saturday, September 26: the Sarasota Opera Food & Wine Festival returns to the Opera House on Pineapple Avenue, and it’s one of the more delightful afternoons on the fall calendar — local restaurants and wineries pouring tastes where the arias usually live.

Dinner and a show, minus the dinner table

Last year the whole festival set up on the Opera House stage itself — food samples, wine tastings, music, and dancing under the proscenium. It’s a festive, wander-around afternoon: graze your way through bites from area eateries, swirl a few pours, and take in the 1926 building from an angle most people never get.

The best part

Every ticket supports Sarasota Youth Opera, the education program that’s been training the area’s young singers for decades — the same nationally recognized program that puts kids on that stage all season. Eat well, do good.

Go

Doors open at 1 PM on Saturday, September 26, with an early-entry option at 12:30 for those who want first crack at the tables. It’s a popular one — grab tickets ahead.