Riverwalk Regatta establishing a fine tradition

Straight from last year's spectacular success in its debut, the Bradenton Area Riverwalk Regatta returns Saturday even bigger. An estimated 80,000 jammed the Green Bridge and Riverwalk to witness a grand spectacle -- powerboat and jet ski races, personal watercraft and BMX stunt shows, and a daylong concert series at Riverwalk's central pavilion. That series will be highlighted by Beatlemania, a highly regarded Beatles tribute band endorsed by none other than Paul McCartney.

Get ready for more this year. Palmetto will have plenty to entice crowds, from a concert by Christian star Brandon Heath near Riverside Park West to a beer and wine garden at Riverside Park East, at the eastern foot of the Green Bridge. Event organizers also moved the HydroCross jet ski stunt show to the Palmetto side of the Manatee River to attract more spectators to the city. There's much, much more to enjoy on both sides of the river.

The best comes last. The nighttime sky will explode with mesmerizing fireworks, once again perfectly choreographed by Zambelli International Fireworks. Zambelli's an old hand at pyrotechnic spectacles, having put on shows for Super Bowls and presidential inaugurations. This is a must-see, we promise.

And it's all free.

The Pittsburgh connection

Cheers to Integrated Marketing Strategy owner Mike Fetchko, the event organizer, and to Powerboat Super League Series President Sam Winer, whose Formula Two drivers flew across the Manatee River in thrilling races last year.

This all came about because of Bradenton's warm and lengthy relationship with sister city Pittsburgh. That connection draws its strength from the Pirates spring training here and the Bradenton Marauders minor league team.

The Steel City organizers of a massive Fourth of July event along the Three Rivers area brought a scaled-down version to the Friendly City.

Winer put the remarkable achievement of the inaugural event in perspective in an interview with the Herald's David B. Wilson, published last month. Winer has produced 171 events like Bradenton's.

"In all those years, No. 1 has been San Diego, '99. No. 2 Pittsburg, 2009. And No. 3, Bradenton-Palmetto, Florida, in terms of total attendance. So congratulate yourselves."

Bradenton-Palmetto can compete with the big cities when it comes to thrilling sports and popular music, thanks, of course, to the people with the vision to bring this event to our corner of the country.

Ashton Rinker, who begins defending his Powerboat Super League title here, finds this venue a thrill. The boats reach speeds around 110 mph around a course just east of the Green Bridge, but the boat staging area is on the Palmetto side of the river at Riverside Park West.

"When you're driving the boat from the Palmetto side going to the Bradenton side and you see all these fans going across the bridge, it's pretty amazing," Rinker said.

The races are amazing, for sure, and the daylong event is a blessing on our area.

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Riverwalk Regatta establishing a fine tradition."