I wasn’t exactly born here, but I still consider Bradenton my hometown. It’s a small beach town, but there actually is a lot to do. First there’s Main Street Live. They close down our small main street and bring in a live band, full stage and a bunch of food trucks. Sometimes there are other vendors selling things like roses, or sombreros…
They have special events throughout the year. The picture above was from Cinco de Mayo and the one below was New Years Eve..
NYE was complete with a ball drop, party hats and obnoxious horns to blow at midnight. If you live in Bradenton, chances are you are close enough to bicycle downtown. No gas money and no drinking and driving!
There’s also the Desoto Parade which is held every year around April. You’ll actually see chairs beginning to line the streets a few days before the parade, it’s kind of a big deal. Ok not that big of a deal, but it’s still pretty fun. There’s a 5k race that happens before the parade where you run through all of the people who are lining the streets. It’s a bit intimidating, but it’s also fun to have so many people cheering you on. I did this last year with my cousin..
We ran, got rained on, which cooled us off nicely, and then watched the parade. For St. Patrick’s day, they’re having another race with a pub crawl after. It should be a good time! If you’ll be in the area, it’s not too late to sign up!
So that’s a little bit of the nightlife but there are other things too, like the farmers market..
There’s fresh cheeses, breads, fruits, vegetables, pastries, dogs…
A clown…
Fresh Lemonade..
You might even see Bradenton’s own Yellow Bicycling Man…
I’ve been seeing him around town for probably the past decade. Always completely in yellow. Always on a yellow bicycle. Anyway, the farmers market is every Saturday with a special craft day once a month. There are a few things to check out when you visit or move to Bradenton. Let me know if there’s something I should add or check out!
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