The Bradenton Blues Festival Showcases
Bradenton-Area, Businesses to Visitors
The Blues means More Business for Bradenton
BRADENTON, Fla. — The annual Bradenton Blues Festival is only seven weeks away and has created quite a name for itself in the blues community. Known for consistent sellout crowds and stimulating the local economy, the festival draws thousands of attendees from across the state, country, and globe. The blues weekend kicks off with a free Blues Appetizer concert on Friday, Nov. 30, the Bradenton Blues Festival on Dec. 1, and the Blues Brunch on Dec. 2, 2018.
Now in its seventh year, the Bradenton Blues Festival has put Bradenton on the map as a hub for the blues. Blues musicians, like Doug Deming from Detroit, MI, are moving to the area, Blues Music Magazine is located in Bradenton, and blues live-music venues like Blue Rooster are at capacity nearly every evening.
“Our sponsors understand that the arts and culture industry is big business and events like the Bradenton Blues Festival are integral in how we promote our region to the world. The festival unites area-based businesses and organizations to support a common cause. These forward-thinking companies and organizations join us in celebrating Bradenton’s cultural distinctiveness,” said Johnette Isham, executive director of Realize Bradenton, the nonprofit behind the Bradenton Blues Festival.
Last year’s Bradenton Blues Festival attendees hailed from 14 foreign countries, 30 states, and 225 zip codes from the state of Florida. Since the festival’s inception in 2012, attendees have traveled from all 50 states and over 14 foreign countries, including blues-lovers who travel over 4,900 miles from Germany every year.
More importantly, the Bradenton Blues Festival’s sellout crowds fill hotels, restaurants, and businesses with patrons who are eager to enjoy Bradenton’s unique assets. Local businesses and individuals believe in the impact of the annual blues event, and the 60 sponsors that contributed over $200,000 to the production of the 2017 festival reinforce that commitment.
The driving force behind the Bradenton Blues Festival is Realize Bradenton, a nonprofit that loves the Blues as much as they love the City of Bradenton. Recognized as Nonprofit of the Year in 2016 by the Manatee County Chamber of Commerce, Realize Bradenton is community-benefit organization that generates an estimated $4.4 million annual economic impact. Of the 75 annual events that Realize Bradenton produces, the Bradenton Blues Festival is one of two events the organization charges for admission. Proceeds from the Bradenton Blues Festival support Realize Bradenton’s youth, art, and music programs that are free to the community, including their Blues in the Schools program.
For more information about the Bradenton Blues Festival, visit BradentonBluesFestival.org.
# # #
2018 Bradenton Blues Festival Sponsors
Presenting Sponsor
BMO Harris Bank
Hosting Sponsors
Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
Blues Music Magazine
Callaghan Tire
City of Bradenton
Realize Bradenton
Ticket
Blues King Sponsors
Artefact Design
Bryan Gordon Designs
Florida Blue
iHeart Media Sarasota
Manatee Apparel Graphics
Manatee Printers, Inc.
NDC Construction
Pier 22
Spectrum
Tom Casmer Illustration
Cool Cats Sponsors
Gettel Automotive
Hampton Inn & Suites Bradenton Downtown Historic District
Kallins, Little & Delgado
Mark T Elfervig, DDS, MAGD
Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport
New Orleans Sponsors
3 Keys Brewing & Eatery
Andersen Racepark
Bealls, Inc.
Blue Rooster
Coastal Irrigation & Lawn
Darwin Brewing Company
Formella Construction
Gold Coast Eagle Distributing
ISC International
Jeffcoat Blueprint
Jimmy John’s
Mojoe Productions
OSA Global Security
US Tent Rental
Chicago Blues Sponsors
D&D Seamless Gutters
Deborah & Emile Gauvreau
EB’s Drafting & Engineering
Ear Nose & Throat Associates of
Manatee, P.A.
Florida Power and Light (FPL)
Go Tonight
Hernando de Soto Historical Society
Hillstrom Wright Plastic Surgery
Iaboni Real Estate
Independent Jones
Jake’s Automotive
Jones Edmunds & Associates, Inc.
Keller Williams on the Water
Manson Roofing
National Financial Group
Suncoast Blues Society
Suncoast Gems
Tailored Thrones
Tervis
Trost Heating & Cooling
USA Fence
About Realize Bradenton
Realize Bradenton is a nonprofit organization that promotes redevelopment and economic growth in downtown Bradenton by transforming places, engaging people, and realizing possibilities. For more information, visit: RealizeBradenton.com.
