A centennial happens once every 100 years, so the Anna Maria City Pier Centennial Celebration May 13-14 will be historic for those who attend the festivities.
After nearly three years of planning, several date changes and numerous suggestions and meetings, the centennial is ready to begin at 6 p.m. this Friday with a parade from CrossPointe Fellowship to the pier entrance.
The parade and ensuing dedication ceremony of the pier’s historic plaque from the Florida Secretary of State is just the prelude to plenty of food, fun and fireworks.
A kick-off party is planned Friday evening, hosted by the City Pier Restaurant, The Islander newspaper and the Anna Maria Island Privateers for parade participants.
The food and fun begins in earnest Saturday at 10 a.m. with a centennial bash at the city pier in the north parking lot hosted by The Islander newspaper. It will feature the Privateers and their ship Skullywag serving beer, barbecue and picnic fare, as well as the City Pier Restaurant offering mahi-mahi sandwiches, wine and other beverages. The big hospitality tent will include pier T-shirt sales, a centennial committee booth offering memorabilia, as well as some Privateer fun and photo opportunities. The party will include a performance by the Island Rockers onboard the Skullywag just before the launch of the bayfront fireworks at approximately 8:30 p.m.
At 11 a.m. the Food and Wine on Pine fair gets under way with food and art vendors along Pine Avenue. There will be plenty of musicians, actors in period costume performing and artists displaying and creating artwork.
Children can have fun at a kid’s area in the Roser Memorial Community Church parking lot that will be supervised by volunteers from the CrossPointe Fellowship.
Throw in an interactive chalk art project in the street for kids and grownups, a demonstration by U.S. Coast Guard boats and helicopters in Tampa Bay, and a music stage and the afternoon and early evening promises to be serious fun.
Toward evening, everyone will head to the pier for more music, dancing, food and refreshments while awaiting the fireworks.
On the T-end of the city pier, the City Pier Restaurant and The Islander will host a reservation-only VIP reception and dinner starting at 5 p.m. and concluding with the piece-de-resistance shortly after Mother Nature’s scheduled 8:21 p.m. sunset.
That’s about the time a $10,000 fireworks display sponsored by The Islander and the City Pier Restaurant begins shooting up into the night sky from a barge in Tampa Bay. Expect the exploding lights and booms to last about 20 minutes.
The pier T-end will have limited VIP access, but the walkway will be open to participants, however, coolers and chairs will be prohibited on the pier.
Informal parties at various venues in the city after the fireworks will conclude the activities.
Happy 100th birthday, Anna Maria City Pier.
For a complete list of activities and scheduled times for the centennial, see the Islander’s City Pier Centennial Celebration feature in this week’s issue.