ANNA MARIA ISLAND – After last year’s parade was canceled due to a lack of participation, the Anna Maria Island Privateers Fourth of July parade returned in a glorious manner on America’s 250th anniversary.
Sponsored this year by Sato Real Estate and featuring more than 20 parade vehicles, the parade set sail from Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach at approximately 10:15 a.m. and arrived at the Gulf Drive/Bridge Street intersection around 10:30. For the next two hours, the parade meandered through Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach and Anna Maria and ended at Bayfront Park at the north end of the Island – creating some temporary Islandwide traffic delays along the way on an already busy holiday morning.
The parade vehicles included the Privateers’ “Skullywag” parade vessel, two Crewe of De Soto parade vessels, work trailers transformed into floats, a trailered police boat, all-terrain vehicles, personal vehicles, business vehicles, police emergency vehicles, bikes, e-bikes and electric carts.
Spectators lined the streets in all three cities and used water guns to battle the participants in the parade billed as “the southeast’s biggest water fight.”
Before the parade started, Bradenton resident Lee Cullop and his friends gathered at the corner of Bridge Street and Gulf Drive with their water guns in hand. He said this was the third time he and his friends attended the Privateers’ Fourth of July parade.
“I come to the parade to celebrate America, fellowship, friendship and happiness – everything that Anna Maria Island truly represents. Nothing better than being here on the Fourth of July. After the parade, we’re taking a tiki boat cruise from Shore Things to celebrate my birthday and my friend’s birthday,” Cullop said.
Ground-level photos by Joe Hendricks; elevated photos by Ernie Vanderwalt
Click on a photo gallery image below to see expanded view.
