Bayfest '08' a Success Even With the Bridge Closure...
It's being reported that this years Bayfest Festival was a huge success despite the Anna Maria Island bridge closure.
Nice weather, lots of vendors, delicious food and great music all contributed to the success of this years Bayfest event. The festivities and the weather helped to ensure a good turnout of people.
Bayfest Festival a Success in Many Ways
Bayfest 2008, sponsored by the Anna Maria Island Sun, was a huge success in many ways. It brought people out to enjoy the day and it signaled the unofficial start of the festival season.
Those who came out for this years celebrations were treated to music and refreshments into the night, plus food, kids activities, arts and crafts, a classic auto show with an array of beautiful rides and a DJ spinning the oldies.
New this year was a motorcycle show featuring colorful choppers. Bayfest was also a success because it showed how easy it is to get on and off the Island, even with one bridge closed.
Bridging The Gap and This Years Bayfest
The ongoing Bridging the Gap effort to keep people coming to Anna Maria Island while the bridge is closed has meant a lot of new events to the Island these past three weeks. Although Bayfest is an annual Anna Maria Island festival, its success may well be the best indicator of the effect the closing of the Anna Maria Island Bridge has had on the Island’s business community... which is apparently very small.
According to Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce President Mary Ann Brockman, Bayfest 2008 drew a good crowd. She didn't want to guess at the actual size of the crowd, but indicated that if it was down from last year, it wasn’t by much.
"There were a lot of people who came out," she said, "and I don’t think the bridge had anything to do with it."
Record Entries in Car Show
This years Bayfest also had a record number of entries in the vehicle show this year. There were 110 classic, antique and modified cars and trucks ranging from a replica of a 1902 Curved Dash Oldsmobile to a Ford Mustang with a highly modified engine and paint job to support the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure cancer drive.
Anna Maria Island Stage Alive With Music
The stage was alive with music up to 10 p.m. and, despite strong winds and a threat of rain in the early evening hours, many of the various arts and crafts vendors stayed to the end. Brockman said if they agreed to do so in advance, the Chamber would set up lights in their tents.
It's not known yet just how much money was made from this year’s event, but Brockman said several vendors were surprised at the traffic and how their sales went.
"People came out and they spent money," Brockman said. "I’m pleased with the way everything went."
There you have it, this years Bayfest Festival, by all accounts, was a success!
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