Suncoast Super Boat Grand Prix Races Through Sarasota

1. This is the big weekend for the Suncoast Super Boat Grand Prix. 

Plenty of events can be found on the festival's website, but the two biggest events is the Festival of the Boats parade through downtown Sarasota Friday night at 7 p.m. and the races themselves.

The parade will stroll on Main Street from U.S. 301 to Gulfstream Avenue. Plus, there is a blockparty at the parade's final destination in J.D. Hamel Park from 5 p.m. to midnight.

Then head over to Lido Beach to watch the races on Sunday. Two heats will run at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. between Big Pass and New Pass. VIP tickets are available for $30 and benefits Suncoast Charities for Children. View the YouTube video above of the 2011 action to get a taste of what to expect.

2. Time for the triple B's: Beer, Baseball and Bradenton.

We'll let :

A few bucks can go a long way at , 1611 9th St. W., on a “Thirsty” Thursday night. Small draft beers cost $1 and larger beers and liquor are 2-for-1 throughout the game. The hometown Bradenton Marauders, class A-Advanced affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, take on the Palm Beach Cardinals, farm team of the St. Louis Cardinals, at 6:30 p.m. Gates open at 6 p.m. To get tickets, visit the ballpark box office (recommended) or click here. After this Thursday game there are only four dollar beer nights left.

3. Go see It's receiving much more attention now than it already has due to the death of its co-playwright Nora Ephron, who lost her battle with leukemia on Tuesday. The and the cast is marching on. The play runs through July 15. Tickets are $20-$67 through the .

4. Clothesline Gallery, 529 S. Pineapple Ave., will debut a new exhibit Saturday night called Moving Through Time, a joint exhibition by artists Brian Haverlock and Sabrina Small.

The exhibition displays Haverlock's and Small's works from 2005 to 2012 and collaborative efforts from 2009, allowing viewers to see the progression of their art over time.

Small and Haverlock also view Moving Through Time as an opportunity to bid farewell to Sarasota, as both will soon be departing the area to pursue professional opportunities elsewhere.  Performance artist The Beast will open the exhibit Saturday, June 30 5 to 9 p.m.

5. Florida Studio Theatre's  continues this weekend. Starring Maria Couch, Joanna Parson, Billie Wildrick, Joshua Carter, and Stephen Hope as 30 wild characters, "Das Barbecu" is a musical comedy adaptation of Wagner's epic Ring Cycle -- set in the honky-tonk land of Texas! Directed by Dennis Courtney, with musical direction by David Nelson. Tickets cost $32.