Manatee Glens Beach Bash brings back spring break

The Bradenton Municipal Auditorium is not Daytona Beach or Fort Lauderdale, but Saturday night’s partiers caught a wave of spring break anyway. Manatee Glens’ annual Beach Bash brought some tropical fun inside.

Linda Walker returned as event chair with a new look. Long-time love Stephen O’Brien added the sparkler that Linda was wearing on her left hand. And CEO Mary Ruiz had a sparkle in her eyes at the evening’s success.

The popular band Pocket Change provided the sound track for the evening and had the floor filled before dinner ended. Speaking of dinner, the Mangrove Grill provided the grazing buffet, which was served on small plates. The food was terrific, which made for some interesting juggling because everyone seemed to fill two or three plates.

The raffle table was filled with tiny, blue Tiffany bags tied with white satin ribbons, hinting that the prize was jewelry. However, the organizers chose something with broader appeal and offered a vacation to Key West. Jean Cognetta was the lucky ticket-holder.

For folks who didn’t want to take a gamble, an extensive silent auction offered plenty of opportunity to take home some loot. And Craig Cerretta of Sky Sotheby Realty did a great job as the auctioneer of the short-but-sweet live auction.

Among the guests were Sheriff Brad and Debbie Steube; Palmetto mayor Shirley Groover Bryant; Blake Hospital CEO Dan Friedrich and his wife, Debbie; Tramm and Sarah Hudson; and Bob and Lauren Stanell.