BRADENTON BEACH – Holiday merrymakers enjoyed shopping, dining, a movie and a party for a great cause as the Anna Maria Island Privateers and the city’s Christmas on Bridge Street events coincided on Saturday.
Christmas on Bridge Street featured stores staying open later to allow for holiday shopping, live music ringing out from bars and restaurants and a visit from Santa to hear Christmas wishes from anyone who wanted to meet him.
This year, the event coincided with the Anna Maria Island Privateers’ annual Christmas at the Drift In fundraiser, also on Bridge Street. Although the “partnership” was not planned in any official way, everyone enjoyed the fact that the Privateers’ close connection to Santa allowed for him to park his sleigh by the nearly 40- foot tall tree in the post office parking lot for some incredibly festive photo opportunities.
“The Privateers are a great organization. They spend so much time and put so much effort into their charity fundraising,” said Amanda Walker, of Lansing Michigan, who spends the holidays on the Island every year with her family. “They are all smiles and happy to take your picture free of charge, so we always make a monetary donation to them every time we are here. They give scholarships to kids; if that’s not a worthy cause I have no idea what is.”
In addition to having Santa by the tree, children and parents gathered to watch a movie on the other side of the parking lot while they sipped hot chocolate, an annual highlight of the Christmas on Bridge Street event.
Unlike the boat parade earlier this month, police did not close the street for this party, but there were plenty of officers on hand to make sure everyone was safe. Bradenton Beach Police officers reported no incidents during the official celebration and said everyone seemed to be happy and having fun safely.
When The Sun spoke to Privateers President Kim Boyd, she did not have the total amount of money raised, but was enthusiastic about how the event had gone.
“Before we even got here tonight, the Drift In bartend- ers had raised over $1,400 just for the lotto board,” said Boyd, speaking of the grand prize consisting of a $100 bill and $200 in scratch off tickets. “All this money goes back for kids and community, and a large part goes to our scholarships and Christmas family adoptions and the other programs we fund.”
The Privateers are a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that works to help children through scholarship programs and other initiatives.
