Downtown Bradenton braces for its biggest night of the year

The official time for the annual Thanksgiving Eve Main Street Live in downtown Bradenton on Wednesday is from 5-11 p.m., but don’t tell that to those bartenders in the trenches of the biggest drinking night of the year on Old Main Street.

Thanksgiving Eve historically has surpassed New Year’s Eve for party goers, but attracts a mixture of adults and families throughout the day.

“I work the days and it gets pretty busy early on,” said Kyra Smith, a bartender at McCabe’s Irish Pub.

In talking to bar employees up and down Old Main Street, there is a common theme of stocking up on liquor and personnel.

Joey Bennett, the owner of Play, which took the place of The Fish in July said, “Everybody works that day. We are at full staff because it is the biggest drinking day of the year. A lot of people are in town for Thanksgiving visiting family and friends.”

While several bars will set up outside beer sales for the quick grab, Bennett said that it takes a little more patience to get a drink on Thanksgiving Eve as opposed to any other day.

“We are definitely busy that day,” he said. “But it’s a fun time and there are usually very few problems. It’s just a good time, a fun time.”

Justin Garvey, a bartender at Cork’s Cigar Bar, has been coming to the Thanksgiving Eve event as a patron for many years, but it’s his first working the event. Like the other establishments, the focus is on stocking up and making sure everyone is working that day.

“We are just trying to keep everyone on their toes to make sure we help everyone out in what they need,” Garvey said. “Hopefully everyone will be a little patient in trying to get a drink because this event draws a lot of people, but we’ll be doing everything we can to make sure they are taken care of.”

It’s an interesting progression throughout the day, according to those in the trenches. Many bartenders pointed out that the day typically starts with a good mixture of adults, children and families.

“It’s kind of like our Christmas event but on a smaller scale,” Garvey said. “You will see a lot of families during the day and you start to see the change around 9 p.m. into more of the nightlife situation. But it’s really good to see all the families come out early and enjoy the day together and visit the restaurants.”

For Lost Kangaroo Pub bartender Bill Earl, it’s his sixth straight Thanksgiving Eve Main Street Live party.

“It’s kind of chaotic but a lot of fun,” Earl said. “We over-staff for the night, put a beer tub outside and double our bar staff. There are a lot of people in town this week who have gone off to school or to do different things and they come back to see their families. A lot of people we may not see every night used to hang out down here so they enjoy coming back to Old Main Street and running into old friends. It’s just a lot of fun and everyone has a really great time.”

Many of the bars will feature their own live music, but Rebel Heart is the Main Street Live headliner and will take the stage shortly after Old Main Street closes at 5 p.m. and the stage is set.

The event will feature many vendors and just about every bar and restaurant will remain open throughout the event.

This story was originally published November 21, 2017 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Downtown Bradenton braces for its biggest night of the year."