2026 Power Connection Lunch - 11.4.26 Sonny's BBQ
In the spaces between Sarasota and Bradenton, community life is often built over a shared table: a quick introduction that becomes a collaboration, a familiar face who turns into a friend, an idea tha
By Edit Sarasota Staff
In the spaces between Sarasota and Bradenton, community life is often built over a shared table: a quick introduction that becomes a collaboration, a familiar face who turns into a friend, an idea that gathers momentum over lunch. The 2026 Power Connection Lunch arrives in that spirit, offering a midday gathering where conversation—and the connections that follow—take center stage.
Held at Sonny’s BBQ on 67th Street Circle East in Bradenton, the event brings a distinctly informal setting to the art of making professional and community connections. There is something disarming about meeting over barbecue rather than beneath the bright lights of a ballroom. The atmosphere invites people to step away from their usual routines, talk with neighbors across industries and interests, and discover the common ground that makes the Sarasota-Manatee region such a vital place to live and work.
For Sarasota-area residents, that regional perspective matters. The cultural and economic life of the Gulf Coast does not stop at a county line. Artists, entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, small-business owners and civic-minded residents move easily between Sarasota and Bradenton, shaping a shared landscape of ideas and opportunity. A gathering such as the Power Connection Lunch recognizes that reality in the most practical way: by putting people in the same room, with time to exchange introductions and listen to what others are building.
The choice of Sonny’s BBQ adds its own note of local familiarity. A longtime name in casual dining, Sonny’s is designed for generous plates, easy conversation and the kind of relaxed hospitality that can make a formal networking occasion feel more human. In an era of crowded calendars and increasingly digital introductions, an in-person lunch offers a welcome reminder that meaningful relationships are often made through unhurried conversation.
Whether attendees arrive with a particular connection in mind or simply a willingness to meet someone new, the afternoon promises a useful pause from the usual pace. The 2026 Power Connection Lunch takes place Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at Sonny’s BBQ, 631 67th St. Cir. E., Bradenton. For those who see community not as a slogan but as an ongoing exchange, it is an invitation to pull up a chair.