The Friends of Boca Grande season runs November to April, and the theater under construction on the Community Center campus at 131 1st St W is not scheduled to finish until May 2027. That leaves the 2026-27 season in the rooms the campus already has. The Friends have also put out a new ticketing and seating system for the year. Read together, those two facts mean a seat this winter comes with a choice of room, and each room does something different.
The theater finishes after the season does
The Community Center of Boca Grande publishes its construction schedule on its own site. Demolition of the old multi-purpose room and construction of the new theater run from May 2026 through May 2027, with Stevens Construction doing the work. The new house is planned at 242 seats, on the southeast corner of the property, north of The Island School.
The room in use now is the auditorium, and the Friends describe it as a 172-seat venue. The new theater will be 70 seats larger, about 41 percent more capacity than the room it follows. None of that added capacity is available this winter.
The same schedule lists a later step. From April 2027 through October 2027, the auditorium wing is slated to become a multi-purpose room and fitness room. If the schedule holds, this is the last full season in which the 1929 school building's auditorium serves as the island's main stage. The Royal Palm Players say the auditorium and its remodeled restrooms are ready for the season. They also say plainly that the campus is still a construction site, and that they are completing their new home, the Royal Palm Players Theater, while performing.
Three rooms on campus, one off it
The Friends' sponsor materials name three campus spaces where concert seats can be selected: the auditorium, the pavilion, and Crowninshield. St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, at 390 Gilchrist Avenue, is where the Grande Chorus rehearses and performs, and its performances are free.
| Room | What the Friends and the campus say about it | What it is likely to suit |
|---|---|---|
| Auditorium | 172 seats, in the former Boca Grande School building. The Friends installed a projector and lighting upgrade in 2019. | Lectures, concerts, films, musicals |
| Friends Pavilion | Built in 2018. A covered outdoor stage with lawn seating and professional sound and lighting. | Concerts in the outdoor evenings that November and March can offer |
| Crowninshield Community House | A campus building that is also the planned new home of the Boca Grande Historical Society at 240 Banyan Street. Slated for lifting, remodeling and a kitchen addition on a schedule still marked to be determined. | Smaller-format seating |
| St. Andrew's Episcopal Church | 390 Gilchrist Avenue. Home of Grande Chorus rehearsals and performances. | Free community concerts |
The last column is inference from the room descriptions, not a program announcement. The Friends' 2026-27 calendar will say which acts play which room.
The seat map is new this year
The Friends introduced a new ticketing and seating system for 2026-27. Sponsors can sponsor an entire series, or assemble their own "Friends Season" by choosing the music and lecture programs they want. For concerts, sponsors get early access to select their seats in the auditorium, pavilion, or Crowninshield before general ticket sales open.
That early window matters because the rooms differ in structure, not only in size. An auditorium seat and a lawn seat at the pavilion are different purchases. Under the new system the room is chosen at the same moment as the seat, and sponsors make that choice first. Anyone who wants a particular room for a particular act has a reason to look at the Friends calendar as it posts.
The series names are the ones the Friends have run recently: Boca Grande Live, All That Jazz, Rhythm & Boots, History & Heritage, Great Art on Screen, Roger's Picks, Global Issues, and the Boca Grande Film Festival. I could not confirm the 2026-27 dates, artists or pricing at the time of writing. The Friends' events page is the place to check them.
The free door on Gilchrist
The Grande Chorus has announced its fifth season. The Boca Beacon's headline for the announcement names Yule with Louis Prima, along with the Carpenters, Harry Connick and the Everly Brothers. Session 1 is titled "Yule Be Singin'." Every rehearsal and performance is at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, and the performances are free.
Recent holiday performances give a sense of timing. In 2024 the chorus performed on Friday, December 13 at 5 p.m., with Alan Corey directing and a surprise celebrity narrator. In 2025 the Friends listed performances on December 14 and 15 at 5:00 p.m. Dates for this year were not available when this post was written.
Singing in the chorus is a separate way in. Last season each session cost $175 to join, and all singing levels were welcome. Alan Corey is the contact for rehearsals. This year's participation cost was not confirmed.
The lectures come with a bookstore
Friends speakers are lined up for the season, and the Boca Beacon published the reading list about a week ago. One title in the visible preview is "Family of Spies," a World War II story of Nazi espionage.
The Tide bookstore partners with the Friends for speaker-series sales and signings. Sales happen right after the lectures at the Community Center, and copies can be bought ahead of time at The Tide, in the Old Theatre building at 321 Park Ave. That is worth knowing on a lecture night. The book you want may be in your hands before the speaker walks on stage.
What to confirm before the first night
- Check the Friends of Boca Grande calendar for 2026-27 dates. The events page still showed last season's listings when I looked.
- Note which room each concert is in. The auditorium, the pavilion and Crowninshield are separate seat maps.
- Check the Boca Beacon for Grande Chorus dates and the Royal Palm Players' show schedule.
- Ask The Tide about titles for any speaker you plan to hear.
The season opens in November, about five weeks from now.
If the Community Center campus is part of how you spend your winters, and you are thinking about a change in your own plans on Gasparilla Island, The Moore Team would be glad to talk it through. Book a private consultation.
