BRADENTON BEACH – Sparkling lights attracted a holiday crowd to the Bradenton Beach Pier to watch the Fourth Annual Bradenton Beach Holiday Boat Parade on Saturday.
Boat owners were invited to show their holiday spirit by decorating their vessels in the festive parade along the Intracoastal Waterway. In addition to being a lot of fun, cash prizes were up for grabs, and it was obvious to any spectator that a lot of work went into decorating the boats.
The parade had 26 entries with the award for Best Decorated Vessel going to Paradise Boat Tours and the award for Most Enthusiastic Vessel going to Ronald Lorfing on Knotty Times, “Celebrating Florida’s Space Heritage.”
Bridge Street closed to traffic starting at noon to allow the large crowd plenty of room to walk around and enjoy the shops and restaurants, most of which stayed open late to allow for shopping, dining, a visit with Santa and dancing to the music of several bands at local bars that went on all day and well into the night.
“We’re down here from Michigan for a couple of weeks,” Michelle Holt said. “We’re up there freezing our tails off and shoveling snow. We get down here and you guys are in shorts dancing in the streets. We know this place is great, but everything this Island does is just over-the-top fun!”
The best viewing point for the parade was the Bradenton Beach Pier, which was packed with spectators on the north and south sides. The Anna Maria Oyster Bar had beverages available on the pier, and music from local bars could be heard in the distance. Although alcohol was allowed on the street for this event, Bradenton Beach police said everyone was just having a good time and they hadn’t experienced any serious problems.
If you didn’t make it to the boat parade, don’t worry; there’s plenty of time to enjoy Bridge Street, which currently features the most Christmas lights ever placed on any single street in the history of Anna Maria Island. The almost 40-foot tree (also a record for the Island) and the lights will remain lit through the end of the month, and many shops are staying open late for holiday shopping.
