This summer, locals and visitors have the opportunity to enjoy some fun and engaging deals throughout Sarasota County. Whether you’re looking to treat your palate to a variety of cuisines – from sustainable seafood and locally sourced produce to more worldly options – or checking out one of our well-renowned museums that offer free or discounted admission on specific days of the month, our community has you covered. No matter the craving you have, you can enjoy Savor Sarasota Restaurant Week (SSRW) or #FunInThe941 deals throughout summer and beyond.

As a 41-year-old public-private partnership tasked with marketing our community to potential visitors all over the world, Visit Sarasota County often looks at how we can create programming that we can market, that in turn motivates folks to choose a Sarasota County vacation. We are always interested in hearing from area businesses what their pain points are so we can find marketing solutions to help. Our Annual Restaurant Week is an example of just that.

Twenty years ago, many of our area restaurants would close in the summer or heavily limit their open hours due to the lack of traffic. At the same time, we at Visit Sarasota County were seeing from research that our destination wasn’t well known for our culinary capabilities. Thus, the creation of Savor Sarasota Restaurant Week! This aided our restaurants in encouraging people to visit during what was a traditionally slower time – in addition to giving us marketing opportunities to tell the various stories of our restaurant owners, chefs, menus and more.

The 17th Annual Savor Sarasota Restaurant Week will take place from June 1-14, with various restaurants participating in the program to jump-start summer the right way. Dozens of some of the county’s best and favorite restaurants will feature prix-fixe, multi-course lunch and dinner menus for just $20 and $35 per person. This price point is a small increase from years past due to the increases our local restaurants are experiencing. Home to successful and legendary restaurants, there’s no better time to explore all the culinary experiences Sarasota County has to offer than this summer. Past participants in Savor Sarasota Restaurant Week include Mattison’s, Harry’s Continental Kitchen and even Michaels on East, where one of their founders, Michael Klauber, helped shape what we know as Savor Sarasota Restaurant Week!

For Sarasota County restaurants that would like to get involved with Savor Sarasota Restaurant Week! please head to SavorSarasota.com, and be sure to register to include these amazing prix-fixe meal deals.

If you missed out on grabbing a prix-fixe meal at one of the available dining options through Savor Sarasota Restaurant Week! no worries. Our Fun in the 941 makes sure you don’t miss out on any other deals and discounts throughout the rest of summer. This is another program where necessity led to invention. Our research tells us that when our visitors are here, they love living like a local. So, we at Visit Sarasota County are using our marketing hats to help connect them to deals so they can do just that.

For those who do not know, scattered throughout our area, you can find various special offers and deals at some of your favorite local spots, along with new attractions and restaurants you’ve yet to experience. The options you can encounter and be a part of extend greatly, with choices of happy hour deals at some of the most popular restaurants and bars in the area; numerous museum and arts visits with free or discounted admission on specific days; special pricing for trolley tours to immerse yourself within the rich culture of the 941; and amazing sales at popular retailers and shops around the region. Some of the participating restaurants from Savor Sarasota Restaurant Week will extend their prix-fixe, multi-course lunch and dinner menus indefinitely, giving locals and visitors a chance to indulge in some of the best cuisines they may have missed during the SSRW window.

If you have a local business with knock-your-socks-off deals and discounts, you can get involved as well. Make sure your business is aware that you can showcase any of these astounding offers throughout the city by heading to FunInThe941.com.

Sarasota County is full of fun and enticing things to do, with many areas and communities offering their own unique take on what makes our community so special and a fun place to experience. We are proud to be Florida’s Cultural Coast and to represent a destination that offers so many ways to feel like a local when you are here; whether you live beachside, downtown next to a local pub, or visiting the destination for a long weekend, you can experience a bevy of deals and discounts at various businesses to continue supporting the community.

Virginia Haley is the president of Visit Sarasota County. She can be reached at 941-955-0991 or vhaley@visitsarasota.org.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: VIRGINIA HALEY: Visit Sarasota County has you covered for a fun summer