This year’s Fourth of July weekend lacked organized fireworks displays, but Holmes Beach didn’t lack visitors or traffic.
Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said July 8 the city’s license plate readers counted 109,723 vehicles entering the municipality July 2-5, an increase of 1,752 over the same four days in 2019.
July 3 and July 4 were the busiest days of the long weekend, with 29,534 vehicles entering Holmes Beach Friday, July 3, and 28,024 vehicles July 4. About 25,000 vehicles entered the city July 5, when afternoon rainstorms sent some beachgoers home.
Nevertheless, Tokajer said HBPD officers had no issues with the increase in visitors.
“We had a lot of people out on the island, but it was pretty uneventful,” he said. “We didn’t have a lot of concerns or issues.”
Tokajer said most people observed while visiting the island over the holiday weekend complied with social distancing guidelines and Holmes Beach’s emergency ordinance requiring they wear face masks to enter businesses.
HBPD officers had not ticketed anyone for violating the ordinance as of July 10, instead relying on verbal warnings to gain compliance.
There were, however, three DUI arrests.
Officers from the Bradenton Beach Police Department had a similarly hassle-free holiday weekend, according to BBPD Detective Sgt. Lenard Diaz.
“There were people out here, but there were no parking issues or anything like that,” he said July 9. “There were no incidents. It was actually a nice holiday weekend.”
Diaz said one issue the BBPD dealt with was people setting off fireworks from the beach. Manatee County prohibits the unpermitted use of fireworks and people can be fined up to $500 for a single offense.
Diaz said BBPD officers didn’t issue any citations, but they did give verbal warnings to some individuals.
Diaz added that the city was less crowded during the holiday weekend than in past years.
“I don’t know if it was because of the COVID-19 pandemic or if people just knew there wouldn’t be fireworks,” he said. “But it was definitely slower. A lot slower than a normal Fourth of July weekend.”
Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy also remarked on the holiday weekend, saying it was slower than the “past five years.”
He said no crimes were reported and no arrests made in the city over the holiday.
However, he noted that “fireworks displays were confiscated on the beaches and elsewhere.”
Despite this year’s slow Independence Day, Murphy said he’s planning for future holidays.
“Labor Day will present a new set of challenges and we are planning for that now,” he said.