Tales Under the Tree
On a Saturday afternoon, when Sarasota’s heat has softened but the day still feels wide open, there are few better invitations than gathering beneath a tree for a story.
By Edit Sarasota Staff
On a Saturday afternoon, when Sarasota’s heat has softened but the day still feels wide open, there are few better invitations than gathering beneath a tree for a story. At The Bishop, “Tales Under the Tree” offers families a chance to trade screens and schedules for something elemental: a shared tale, a listening circle, and the small sense of wonder that arrives when a roomful of people leans into the same narrative.
The program is designed as a special storytime experience, welcoming children and their grown-ups every Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Its simplicity is part of the appeal. Storytelling asks little of its audience beyond attention, yet it can open doors to language, imagination and empathy—qualities that matter in any community, and especially in a region where families, educators and cultural institutions are continually creating new ways for young people to connect with the world around them.
The setting adds meaning. The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, located just north of Sarasota in Bradenton, is the largest natural-history museum on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Its galleries bring visitors into close contact with the state’s ecological and cultural stories, from prehistoric life to the waterways and wildlife that shape daily life on the Gulf. A storytime held in that environment extends the museum’s mission in an especially inviting direction: before children begin asking how the world works, they are given the pleasure of imagining what it might contain.
For Sarasota-area families, the program also offers an easy cultural outing across the county line—one that can be folded into a museum visit, a downtown Bradenton afternoon or a leisurely weekend drive. The rhythm of returning each weekend gives the experience a welcome familiarity, while the stories themselves can make each gathering feel distinct.
“Tales Under the Tree” begins its 2026 run on Saturday, September 5, at The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature in Bradenton. Storytime takes place every Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m., making it a gentle, recurring invitation to pause, gather close and let a good story take root.