Lots of new action for the 2020 Bradenton Area River Regatta. Here’s everything you need to know

There will be a lot of new things to experience at the sixth annual Bradenton Area River Regatta scheduled for Feb. 8 in the Manatee River and on the Bradenton and Palmetto waterfronts.

The annual free event features a variety of activities throughout the day, including food, boat racing, entertainment and all-day concerts in both Palmetto and Bradenton.

This year’s headliner at Bradenton’s Riverwalk will be the BowieLive tribute band, which formed shortly after the legendary David Bowie’s death in January of 2016. In just three years, BowieLive has become a nationally booked show with appearances in Las Vegas.

Headlining in Palmetto will be the the Andy Pursell Band, which headlined last year but whose performance began as storms set in. Pursell formed his band in 2015 and was named “Favorite new Country Artist,” the following year by the Tampa Bay Music Network.

Pursell has opened for the likes of John Michael Montgomery, as well as other country stars.

“He is the next big country breakout star in Nashville,” said Mike Fetchko, president of ISM USA, the regatta organizer.

Music will be played on both sides of the river throughout the day and former American Idol Sam Woolf and other bands will pay tribute to Abba and Chicago during their performances.

A full entertainment schedule will be released in the coming weeks.

Here’s what’s new

Runners and walkers had to forego last year’s regatta for the first time, after the city of Bradenton issued a moratorium on downtown running events due to multiple construction projects.

This year, the running event returns — with some new twists.

Fit2Run, the region’s largest 5K organizer, will organize the run for the regatta and instead of an early morning run, the event will kick off around 5:30 p.m. in Palmetto. The run crosses the Green Bridge over to Bradenton and then concludes back in Palmetto just as the annual Zambelli International Fireworks show starts.

The event is being called the “Lecom Regatta Bridge Run,” and each participant will receive a shirt, finisher’s medal and glow gear. It is a timed event and the top 100 male and top 100 female runners will compete for additional prizes.

The event is expected to draw thousands and registration is underway at raceroster.com.

The Manatee County School District is partnering with the run. Fetchko said each Manatee County high school’s athletic director will pick 30 of the school’s top athletes to participate for free. Though those student athletes will also get race shirts, they will be encouraged to wear their school jerseys with pride.

The run is not expected to interfere with fireworks watching from the Green Bridge, which will again this year remain open to foot traffic.

And speaking of fireworks

Zambelli International continues its stellar performances for the 2020 regatta, and if you didn’t think they could improve on years past, guess again.

Fetchko said at least a third of the shells that will explode over the Manatee River to conclude a day of regatta action will be fireworks never seen before in the state of Florida. Zambelli is looking to some European makers to provide a never-before-seen show for regatta enthusiasts.

New boats to be featured for the races

The Powerboat Superleague Formula 2 series will once again kick off their championship series in the 2020 regatta, but Formula 3 will not return.

Fetchko said for the casual fan, those people probably couldn’t tell the difference between the two series so he wanted to make a change that would stand out to the average observer.

So for the first time on any Florida body of water, Jersey Speed Skiff racing will be included in the boat racing action.

A Jersey Speed Skiff is operated by two people strapped inside a steel tubing roll cage and the boats are considered more agile than the Formula 3 racing boats. They top out at speeds in excess of 80 mph.

“It’s spectacular to watch these boats race,” Fetchko said.

Can you hear me now?

One of the biggest concerns expressed on exit surveys has been the sound for those trying to watch the race and hear what’s going on at the same time. While it has improved over the years, Fetchko is introducing a new plan.

This year, the regatta has partnered with LA Live Sports Radio, which does PGA tournaments and is doing this year’s Super Bowl in Miami. Since they were in the geographical area, Fetchko said he reached out to them and after their engineering team visited Bradenton, “They loved it and are all in.”

WSRQ Radio will broadcast the regatta on 106.9 and have sponsored 5,000 ear-clip headsets for fans to follow all the action. It will be first come, first serve and fans are asked to be courteous when leaving the event and be sure to leave the headsets behind for other fans to enjoy.

Fetchko said NASCAR has been using a similar program successfully for years, but the difference is NASCAR rents the headsets and at the regatta, they will be free.

Three large towers filled with speakers will also be placed on the Green Bridge to enhance the sound.

What’s new and what’s not?

The Anna Maria Island Concert Series is organizing a show in Palmetto’s Sutton Park at 2 p.m. on the day of the regatta featuring Contemporary Christian artist Michael Whitaker Smith. It will be the only concert that will require paid tickets.

The regatta will add a third free trolley this year. Two will make continual loops from Bradenton to Palmetto throughout the day while the third will do a continual loop from Riverside Park to Sutton Park to accommodate the other concert.

Vintage racing boats will be on display throughout the regatta in Palmetto.

Many of the popular land activities are returning this year. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Bradenton Marauders are going to expand their Kids Zone activities on both sides of the river and the Tampa Bay Lightning will return with their area of fun and games.

As always, the Hernando Desoto Historical Society will kick off the regatta on Saturday morning with it’s free Little Anglers Fishing Tournament.

If you missed 2016 world champion flyboarder Kristen “The Destroyer” Smoyer last year, she’ll be showcasing her skills again this year and she’s bringing a special guest. Current world champion flyboarder, Gemma Wetson, who just captured the championship in Dubai, also is performing at the regatta.

Fetchko said there will be even more food options this year as a variety of food trucks will join several different vendors. The U.S. Army and National Guard are bringing some of their air mobile units for interaction that will include some wall climbing structures.

Heli Aviation is returning for paid helicopter tours and Team Zoom and Dare Devil Stunt Dogs are all set for another appearance.

As the countdown to green-flag racing and free family fun begins, stay tuned to bradentonarearegatta.com for schedule and activity location updates.

“I think these changes answers the questions of what my biggest driver always is: how can people experience this event and do it successfully and feel engaged,” Fetchko said.

An independent audit of last year’s event by Research Data Services, Inc., estimated an $8 million economic benefit to the downtown areas from 110,000 regatta attendees.

About $5.5 million of that is from out-of-town visitors attending the regatta.

This story was originally published December 21, 2019 at 12:00 AM.