Island gets "Real" with first "Real" festival.

BY LISA NEFF | ISLANDER REPORTER

People are squawking. People are skuawking about the Parrothead Dance, a highlight of the second day of the three-day inaugural Real Florida Festival. View article here.

Real Florida Festival this weekend

AMI SUN

Anna Maria Island celebrates this weekend with three days of arts and crafts, food, refreshment and activities aimed at raising money to keep the Island trolleys free and helping non-profit agencies.

The first ever Real Florida Festival begins with the Holmes Beach Founders Day program on Friday, April 16, at Holmes Beach City Hall from 9 to 10 a.m. with a meet and greet, followed by the city’s 60th anniversary celebration until 11 a.m. That event, sponsored by the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, includes the Anna Maria Island Concert Chorus and Orchestra, posting of the colors, recognition of outstanding citizens, historical photographs and displays and free coffee and pastries. Read entire article here.

Real Florida Festival coincides with Founder’s Day

BY TOM VAUGHT | SUN STAFF WRITER

HOLMES BEACH – The beginning of the three-day Real Florida Festival is also Founder’s Day in the Island’s largest city, so the two celebrations will be held together.

The city of Holmes Beach is celebrating its 60th anniversary on Friday, April 16., at city hall, 5801 Marina Drive. Here’s a look at the schedule.

There will be a meet and greet in the front lobby from 9 to 10 a.m. featuring live music by the Anna Maria Concert Chorus and Orchestra, with coffee, tea and refreshments.

At 10 a.m., American Legion Post 24 Color Guard will present the colors and Mayor Rich Bohnenberger will make introductions. Historical observations will be presented and the city will make its annual Holmes Beach Community Partner Award.

The city will then dedicate its new outdoor restroom with a ribbon cutting ceremony at city hall field.

Following that, the public is invited to tour city hall until 3 p.m.

At 5 p.m., the action picks up again at city hall field for the Real Florida Festival featuring an arts and crafts fair, an Island food court with local specialties, soft drinks, beer, wine, and rum drinks and live music, special events and games. The Island Idol karaoke finals will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. featuring the best performers from the auditions held earlier plus performances by the youngsters who participated in a talent contest at the Anna Maria Island Community Center. on March 27.

On Saturday, April 17, there will be a skateboard competition at the city skate park starting at 8:30 a.m. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,there will be an arts and crafts fair featuring an Island food court with local dishes and refreshments at Holmes Beach City Hall field.

Bohnenberger invites everyone to enjoy the day by celebrating the 60th anniversary of the city and attending the Real Florida Festival later. Every dollar raised by the festival will go toward keeping the trolley rides free.

Young Talent Tapped For Festival

By Lisa Neff Islander Reporter

The search for two Island Idols — one male, one female — will begin April 10 at the Gulf Drive Cafe, 900 Gulf Drive N., Bradenton Beach.

Auditions will take place from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., according to Mike Sales, who is coordinating the event for the Real Florida Festival. Contestants must be 18 or older.

Contestants who advance in the first round of auditions will perform again before a panel of judges on April 11 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Island Idol finals will take place at 8 p.m. April 16 during the Holmes Beach Founders Day, part of the RFF activities. The two winners will each receive $250 and an opportunity to perform at the RFF Parrothead Dance at the Anna Maria Island Community Center April 17.   Full Story...

It’s a buffet of Buffett

BY TOM VAUGHT | SUN STAFF WRITER

HOLMES BEACH – We all know that Jimmy Buffett is the leader of the “Parrot Head Nation” and that would include just about any place in Florida, so a big part of the three-day Real Florida Festival will be the Parrot Head Dance on Saturday, April 17, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Anna Maria Island Community Center, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria.

The dance brings together some familiar flavors and sounds that make this place so special. Admission is $10 per person or you can reserve a table for eight people for $70. Tickets are on sale now at the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, 5313 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach. Featured in this event are raffle items including resort accommodations on the Island, restaurant gift certificates, golf lessons, horseback riding, gift baskets and more. You can purchase raffle tickets at the Community Center or at the dance. The cost is $1 for one ticket, $5 for six tickets or $10 for 13.

Local restaurants will be donating the Island cuisine and the sponsors will be selling “Cheeseburgers in Paradise” for $2. There will be a cash bar offering beer, wine, margaritas and soda.

Local DJ and singer Mike Sales will play some Buffett music plus reggae and other Island sounds, with the help of other local entertainers. The winners of the Island Idol contest will also be there to entertain.

Enjoy keeping the trolleys fare-less for another year as well as an evening in Margaritaville. Bring your dance partner and show them how it's done in our little Island paradise. For more information, call Chamber Special Events Coordinator Susanne Arbanas at 778-1541 or log on to www.realfloridafestival.com.

Save the Trolley campaign and Real Florida Festival to benefit Island non-profits

Anna Maria Island Sun | NEWS
By Tom Vaught

BRADENTON BEACH--Those green trolleys that roll from one end of the Island to the other are free for now, and Island businessman David Teitelbaum plans to keep them that way.

After the commissioners voted recently to approve a contract between the county and the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber will be able to collect and pass money from fund-raisers and advertising on the trolleys to the county. That money will repay money what the county fronted to keep the trolleys fare-free.

Teitelbaum, who operates out of an office in Bradenton Beach at Old Bridge Village, which he developed several years ago, also runs Seaside Inn Beach resort, Tortuga Inn Beach Resort and Tradewinds Resort,
all in Bradenton Beach. He is a member of the Manatee County Tourist Development Council and the Economic Development Council, and he feels keeping the fare boxes off the trolleys is important to the area's largest industry--tourism.

His next step is to get ads on the trolleys.

"So far, we have the Chiles Group, Anna Maria Island Resorts, The Fish Hole and Island Real Estate on board," he said. "Chamber Board Chair Cindy Thompson has sent out a letter to all the chamber members."

The businesses are invited to sign a two-year contract to advertise on the interior or exterior.

Interior rates start at $50 per month for a 9-by-24-inch ad on the side. Interior ads in the back measure
13-by-42-inches and cost $200 per month. That price is per trolley and there are six trolleys in the fleet.
You can install an ad on one or all six.

Exterior ads are sold with regard to location. The lowest costing are on the rear, the priciest are on the side and the ad on the front is $300. Set-up charges are extra. Exterior side ads are worked in with the overall theme of the trolleys.

"The ads go over the sand, sea and sky that will be painted on each trolley," Teitelbaum said. "It will be coordinated by Sign Zoon, the company that makes up the ads."

Trolley Advertising is starting to attract interest, according to Teitelbaum.

"We've sold four of the six trolley fronts," he said. "You need to call now to reserve a space."

Teitelbaum said that the advertising campaign is part of a multi-faceted program to keep the trolleys
fare-free.

The highlight of Teitelbaum's plan is the Real Florida Festival planned for April 16 through the 18 this year and which will become an annual event. The festival will be held in each of the three cities.

It will coincide with Holmes Beach's Founder's Day celebration on Friday and Saturday, April 16 and 17.
There will be a festival in the field next to city hall.

On Saturday night, there will be what he calls the first of many Parrothead dances at the Anna Maria Island Community Center in the city of Anna Maria. The dances will have a Jimmy Buffet Parrothead theme.
He pointed out that this would be the first ever, joint venture between the Chamber and the Community Center.

The final event, on Sunday, April 18, will be an outdoor festival on Bridge Street with a scavenger hunt
and outdoor experiences on display.