DeSoto society promises Palmetto beer, more activities at next Riverwalk regatta

PALMETTO -- The leadership of the Hernando DeSoto Historical Society laid out an initial strategy to the Palmetto City Commission at a special Wednesday meeting to keep the north side of the river lively during the 2016 Bradenton Area Riverwalk Regatta.

Topping their list of proposals is to offer the one thing Bradenton has remained hesitant to do during the regatta: ice cold beer.

President Rick Parcels of the DeSoto group said having a beer zone, combined with other activities planned for Palmetto, is a good way to draw people to the north side of the river. The lack of beer was among the top complaints about the inaugural event.

Bradenton officials have largely discounted selling alcohol at the Riverwalk since it markets the regatta as a family friendly event.

DeSoto Executive Ray Niecestro outlined a plan to move the free youth fishing tournament it ran off on Riverwalk last year to the fishing pier on the Palmetto side for the second regatta.

"Last year, the first activity was the little anglers fishing tournament and we want to make that the initial event in Palmetto to get those couple of hundred families here and then to keep them engaged in Palmetto by having the Kids Zone here as well," he said.

Niecestro said DeSoto would move the little anglers fishing tournament from 7:30 a.m. to around 8:30 a.m. to finish up in time for the youngsters to enjoy watching the Formula 2 boats leave the Palmetto boat ramp for warmups around 11 a.m.

Incoming DeSoto President Terry Wilson said the Kids Zone would be right off the Palmetto fishing pier.

Palmetto commissioners have been hesitant to support the regatta unless the city receives guarantees more events will take place in the city.

Wilson said Integrated Strategic Marketing President Mike Fetchko has Palmetto's needs on his mind. Wilson reiterated Fetchko's public pledges after Bradenton approved the 2016 Feb. 6 regatta last week to move the HydroCross jet ski races to the Palmetto side and expand the Formula 2 race course closer to Palmetto.

Parcels said Wednesday they are working with Fetchko to split land events such as X-Pogo and the BMX show between Bradenton and Palmetto.

Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant said Palmetto desires "to be a good sister city to Bradenton" and complimented the DeSoto group on the initial plans. She made it clear, however, she is not satified yet.

"The issue is our businesses," the mayor said. "We want a listing that is very concrete before we are asked to commit to this."

Parcels said DeSoto's next step is to meet with Palmetto businesses "to get them into the inner circle and hear their ideas to make it better for everybody. After that, it's just a matter of fine tuning. The main part is making a positive event over on this side and we know we can make that happen."

Palmetto officials agreed to place the regatta as an ongoing agenda item to continue getting updates on the many facets of planning. Bryant indicated a vote may come soon.

The DeSoto group said Bradenton will likely have the event whether or not Palmetto signs off on the Florida Department of Transportation permit to close the Green Bridge for the regatta. There remains some question as to whether FDOT would close the bridge regardless of Palmetto's desire to participate.

State statutes allows FDOT to make that decision as long as "appropriate" municipalities agree.

Mark Young, Herald urban affairs reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7041 or follow him on Twitter @urbanmark2014.

This story was originally published April 16, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "DeSoto society promises Palmetto beer, more activities at next Riverwalk regatta."