Anna Maria Island visitors looking for fireworks displays will have to go elsewhere this Fourth of July.
It will be a busy holiday weekend but a fireworks show won’t be part of the festivities, Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said June 23.
And folks considering putting on their own fireworks show should reconsider as “use of fireworks that shoot up in the air” are illegal on the island, Bradenton Beach Detective Sgt. Lenard Diaz said June 23.
The penalty for using such fireworks can range from $75 up to a felony criminal charge, depending on the type of fireworks and how they are used, Tokajer said.
Other basic beach rules to be enforced:
- No pets;
- No fires;
- No grills, except in designated areas at beaches and parks;
- No glass bottles;
- No alcohol.
And when it comes to music, it should be for listener enjoyment and not blasted.
As for parking, Tokajer cautioned motorists to park with the flow of traffic and be sure they are in legal parking spaces.
“Look in front of you and look behind you for signs,” designating an area as off-limits for parking, he advised.
When it comes to the Anna Maria Island Privateers’ Independence Day Parade — beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 3 — Tokajer said the bridges wouldn’t be shut down but Manatee Avenue will close and other streets will close while the parade passes.
Once the last parade vehicle passes a street, police will open it, Tokajer said.
Weekends in the summer are always busy, Diaz said. And with the holiday falling on a Sunday, police anticipate an even busier weekend than usual.
But Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach police departments and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, which patrols Anna Maria, will be ready for crowds with extra patrols.
Fourth of July brings with it a unique added concern for island law enforcement: It’s shorebird and turtle nesting season, Diaz said.
So, police will be ramping up patrols to ensure beachgoers clean up after themselves, fill in holes and knock down sandcastles and other structures to not disorient or otherwise impede turtle and shorebird nesting habits.
Tokajer said, “Leave it better than you found it” is a rule of thumb when it comes to the beaches — and the island as a whole.