Open the Village of the Arts events page today and it still points you to Cottonmouth Soul Kitchen for a bite and to Motorworks for a craft beer. Both of those suggestions are out of date this fall. Cottonmouth served its last night on 12th Street West in July. Motorworks on Ninth Street West has been closed since August.
The Village's two biggest nights of the season are still coming up on its own streets. The evening scene that used to sit inside the Village, with live music, Southern food and a pint, now runs from a brewery about half a mile south. If you want to get the most out of October and November, plan around both spots.
The half mile Cottonmouth moved
Dave Shiplett opened Cottonmouth Southern Soul Food in 2020 in a 900-square-foot house at 1114 12th St. W. He turned it into a restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating and live music every week, the Bradenton Herald reported. He told the Herald back then, "I am not doing it for the money. I honest to God do it because I love music."
The music led to a long dispute with neighbors. Earlier this year, Bradenton City Council voted unanimously to let the live music continue. Shiplett decided to move anyway. The Village farewell show was on Saturday, July 11, with blues rock guitarist Damon Fowler.
The new home is next door to Flamingo Bay Brewing Company at 1910 14th St. W. Shiplett told the Herald the restaurant would have its own storefront and also connect to the brewery, so it would be "a constant source of food coming for the brewery." He had been testing music and food there during the dispute. He then offered to move permanently if Flamingo Bay built a stage and some structures and landscaped the beer garden. The menu would change a little, adding tacos, collard greens and other Southern staples.
That beer garden had public money behind it before Cottonmouth arrived. Bradenton's Community Redevelopment Agency says it gave Flamingo Bay $70,000 in matching grants. The money supported an 8,000-square-foot beer garden and an updated facade on 14th Street West, and the agency puts total investment in the project at $800,000. So when Shiplett asked for a stage and landscaping, he was asking to build on a space the city had already helped pay for.
Here is what is confirmed as of mid-October. Cottonmouth's website gives the 14th Street West address and lists hours of 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. In July, Shiplett told the Herald he hoped to be open Wednesday through Sunday by October. The posted hours show no Wednesday service, so check before you go midweek. No source we found confirms the stage is finished. An October listing in The Bradenton Times describes the dog-friendly beer garden as open now.
Even the Village's artists have met down there. The Artists Guild of Manatee held its October 7 general meeting in Flamingo Bay's production room.
Ninth Street goes quiet until at least February
The other brewery on the Village's list is also closed for now. Motorworks Brewing at 1014 Ninth St. W. closed right away on August 4 for what it called an "extensive remodel," the Bradenton Herald reported. Its post said, "We hope to reopen on February 1, 2027, under new ownership and new management." That date is still only a hope. Nothing we found since August confirms it.
For this fall, that leaves Sun Lab Brewing at 803 17th Ave. W. as the brewery still pouring near the Village. Flamingo Bay is the other one, and it's the one with the busy live-music lineup.
What's on, and which end of the half mile it's on
Every date below is still ahead as of October 13. The October Art Walk, themed "Fall in Love with Art," already happened on October 2 and 3.
| Date | Event | Where | Side |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Oct. 15, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. | John Nemeth & Friends | Flamingo Bay, 1910 14th St. W. | South |
| Fri., Oct. 16, 6 to 9 p.m. | Tony Carr, food by Cottonmouth | Flamingo Bay | South |
| Sat., Oct. 17, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. | The Cadillac Cats | Flamingo Bay | South |
| Sun., Oct. 18, 5 to 8 p.m. | Jason Ricci and the Bad Kind, Mark Telesca opening | Flamingo Bay | South |
| Sun., Oct. 25, noon to 4 p.m. | Howl-O-Ween Dog Days with adoptable dogs and vendors | Flamingo Bay | South |
| Sat., Oct. 31, 6 to 8 p.m. | VOTA Trick-or-Treat | Village streets | Village |
| Thu., Nov. 5, 6 to 8 p.m. | Bonsai & Brews workshop, $75 | Sun Lab, 803 17th Ave. W. | Village edge |
| Fri. and Sat., Nov. 6 and 7 | 22nd Annual Festival of the Skeletons | 1227 12th Ave. W. | Village |
| Sun., Nov. 15, 1 to 3 p.m. | Bonsai & Brews, second session | Sun Lab | Village edge |
| Sun., Nov. 22, noon to 4 p.m. | 2nd Annual Pints & Paws | Flamingo Bay | South |
| Fri., Nov. 27, 7 to 10 p.m. | Joey Tenuto | Flamingo Bay | South |
Flamingo Bay has something almost every weekend. The Village itself has two dates, and they are the two biggest of the fall.
Pints & Paws raises money with two rescue partners, EIO Rescue Ranch and the Humane Society of Manatee County. The Howl-O-Ween edition of Dog Days also brings adoptable dogs. If you're bringing a costumed dog, those are the two dates to circle.
Halloween and Skeletons weekend still belong to the Village
The Village says "thousands of kids in their best costumes" turn out for Trick-or-Treat on its well-lit streets. This year it runs 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, October 31, with free street parking throughout the Village. The Bradenton Gulf Islands listing gives the address as 1312 11th St. W. The event spreads across the neighborhood, so don't expect it to happen at one address.
Organizers call the Festival of the Skeletons the Village's biggest community event of the year, and 2026 is its 22nd year. The free festival runs Friday, November 6, from 6 to 9 p.m., and Saturday, November 7, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Discover Bradenton lists the same two sessions at 1227 12th Ave. W. This year's main Community Village Shrine is a tribute to Frida Kahlo. Galleries display shrines and altars inside, and a Community Shrine and Memory Wall is open to anyone who wants to honor a loved one. Expect food trucks, strolling music and pop-up art vendors. The first 300 guests get free festival goodies.
Much of that display depends on volunteers. On Wednesday, November 4, at 6:30 p.m., the Village is hosting a volunteer night at a home in the Village. Volunteers will attach nearly 2,000 pieces of art to display boards for the festival. Confirmed volunteers get the address by emailing [email protected].
The festival weekend also falls on the Art Walk weekend. Art Walks happen the first Friday and Saturday of each month, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., when galleries and studios open their doors. That puts November's on the 6th and 7th. We haven't found any announcement on whether the two events are combined or what November's Art Walk theme is. Plan on Saturday daytime gallery hours lining up with the festival's Saturday session.
Parking gets tight on festival weekend. Along with street parking, the festival page points to the empty lot at 13th Avenue and 12th Street. The City of Bradenton's free garage at 615 12th St. W. is also available year-round.
How a Skeletons Friday fits together now
On festival Friday, both ends of the half mile are open from 6 to 9 p.m., so the order matters. A workable plan:
- Start at 1910 14th St. W. when Cottonmouth opens at 5 p.m. Its posted Friday hours end at 9 p.m., the same time the festival's Friday session ends, so an early dinner is the only way to fit both in.
- Head north and park in the free garage at 615 12th St. W. or the 13th Avenue and 12th Street lot.
- Walk the shrines and the Frida Kahlo tribute. The first 300 guests get the free goodies, so early arrivals have the edge.
- Fill in from the food trucks on the Village streets, or the Village's other listed restaurants: Arte Cafe, Ortygia and The Village Patio. Adobe has kombucha, coffee and kava.
On Saturday, the 11 a.m. start leaves room for browsing. The Village calls out Jerk Dog Records for vinyl and The Village Seamstress for alterations among its shops.
Once November is over, the Village's annual calendar moves on to Holiday Shopping in December, the Suncoast Cigar Box Festival in February and the Wonder Wall Mural Festival in March. Motorworks' February target falls in that same stretch, so watch for its reopening news alongside those dates.
At Your AMI Home Girls, we love a good Skeletons weekend as much as anyone, and we keep track of how changes like these affect the streets around the Village and 14th Street West. If you own a home near either end of that half mile and wonder what it's worth this season, April Green and Brittnee would be glad to help. Get your free home valuation or schedule a consultation.
