PALMETTO, Fla. — Manatee County residents will gather down by the river to celebrate the nation’s birthday.
The 13th Annual Palmetto Fourth Fest is moving down by the Riverside Park along the Manatee River.
“I think it’s just going to be better all the way around, and fireworks over the river, how does that get any better?” Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant said.
For years, the festival has been held at Suton Park, but that has forced families to walk more than three blocks to the river to see the fireworks.
“Basically, there’s a certain hazard to get that many people, that distance,” Bryant said. “It doesn’t seem like much, but it does help make a difference.”
Lifelong Manatee County resident Jack Youmans loves going to the festival every year.
“Well, I love everybody getting together,” Youmans said. “The best part about it is the grand finale at the end.”
Across the river, the city of Bradenton will also host the festivities.
Both festivals are free.
In Palmetto, a trolley will provide free rides for festival-goers from elsewhere in the historic downtown district down to Riverside.
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
