"Get Down Downtown" On St. Patrick’s Day

BRADENTON--This month’s "Get Down Downtown" on Thursday, March 17, dubbed “Pints & Paddy’s on Old Main”  is downtown Bradenton’s second annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration hosted by the Old Main Street Merchants Association with a full evening of live music, Irish drinks and food, and the honoring of this year’s distinguished Irish-American citizen of Manatee County.

Get Down’s hours have been extended from 4:00 p.m. until midnight for this event only. Old Main Street between Manatee and Third avenues west will close to vehicular traffic around 2:00 p.m. Thursday and remain closed until after midnight. Third Avenue West will remain open.

Rebel Heart will provide live music from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. There will be an hour break in the music from 6:00-7:00 p.m. for Mayor Wayne Poston to greet the crowd followed by a presentation ceremony for Manatee County’s Irish-American Citizen of the Year Award. The band Bulls Eye Ride, which plays modern country with a touch of classic rock, will play from 8:00 p.m. until midnight.

The event will feature a beer tent near the Fourth Avenue and Old Main Street intersection and dozens of food and craft vendors. For the second year in a row the Manatee County Fire Chief’s Association will serve corned beef and cabbage with proceeds from their sales benefiting the Emergency Services Memorial Fund.

Many of Old Main Street’s bars and restaurants, including Mattison’s Riverside on Barcarrota Boulevard, plan to serve Irish drinks and food during the event.

There is no charge to attend "Get Down Downtown".