Return of Taste of Manatee draws crowd to Riverwalk

Those coming down the Bradenton Riverwalk Saturday afternoon could hear the music as they approached and those walking in the opposite direction still carried with them cups and plates of food — evidence to those arriving that they were headed in the right direction.

Ed Perkins was one of many who walked over to Taste of Manatee on the Riverwalk. He came from the Bradenton Farmers Market on Old Main Street to enjoy the music, food and drinks at the event for the first time.

“I think it’s great here,” Perkins said of the location. “A nice breeze, too.”

The Riverwalk and Rossi Park again hosted the 30th anniversary of the Taste of Manatee, a fundraiser for Rotary Club of West Bradenton programs, on Saturday. The now single-day event made its return to the Riverwalk after spending a couple of years in Palmetto.

Perkins was joined by Emma Hughes, Michael Jauch and their two dogs. Hughes and Jauch live in a nearby apartment complex and found a note in their door telling them to move their cars for the event, which they thought sounded interesting. When Perkins invited them along, and they found out it was a dog-friendly event, the decision was made.

“The food’s great, the music’s good,” Hughes said.

In the grassy area of the park in near the playground, a few people danced and swayed along to the band playing on the nearby stage. Dozens of others sat in lawn or beach chairs sipping their beers and enjoying their Saturday afternoon.

Several people were complementary of the weather for the event, which climbed into the 80s by the late afternoon with barely a cloud in the sky.

A group gathered around an ice sculpture artist who used a chainsaw to create his masterpiece that would soon begin to melt in the afternoon heat while children cooled off in the splash pad.

Thea Lyben was off to the side swaying back and forth to the songs under the shade of a tree. She’s been to the event in prior years, and said the crowd gathered this year was smaller than those she’s seen in previous years.

“I was surprised when I pulled up,” Lyben said.

She wasn’t sure why the crowd was smaller. The music was good, and the beer was cold. But, she speculated, it was still early in the afternoon, around 2:30 p.m., when she was there.

By 3 p.m., a few hundred people had set up chairs in the park or were wandering between the 20 food vendor tents set up in the parking lot behind the park that sold everything from barbecue to ice cream. Culinary programs from Sugg Middle School, Manatee High School and Southeast High School were also included in the line up, along with a few craft vendors.

For food vendors like Frank Hartmann, owner of Restaurant Edelweiss in Bradenton, the Taste of Manatee gives them exposure for new customers and a chance to connect with their regulars outside the restaurant.

“We have a lot of customers who have seen us, never stopped by and now since they tasted our food they will definitely come by,” Hartmann said.

This story was originally published November 4, 2017 at 4:29 PM with the headline "Return of Taste of Manatee draws crowd to Riverwalk."