"Bring Boat Racing Back to Sarasota" Boat Parade

Ok yall, I truly want everyone’s help with this more than I have for any other event.
I strongly feel I can speak for the majority of us when I say: We want the Sarasota Powerboat Races back.
Just like what happened with Midnight Pass, the voice of a few keeps overruling the voice of the majority. Little by little, transplants keep trying to take away the things so many of us grew up with and love about this amazing paradise we get to call home. Enough is enough when it comes to stifling the races.
Now, to be fair, I can appreciate that there were some in the race scene who may have pushed the envelope at times. Fine. Acknowledged. But taking away our treasured 4th of July race weekend — something so many Sarasota residents and members of the race community looked forward to every year — is a huge loss. And this kind of stifling will continue as long as we accept it.
So let’s show the higher-ups exactly how many of us want the races back where they belong: 4th of July weekend on the breathtaking coast of Sarasota, Florida.
I want to help raise awareness by putting together another boat parade like we did to help keep Midnight Pass flowing.
If you have a boat, or access to a boat, you are invited.
Flats boats, bay boats, center consoles, sportfishers, raceboats, sport boats, yachts — you name it. If it floats and has an engine, bring it.
I’m calling on our entire boating community for this one. These are our waters, and this is our town.
Every time I talk to people about the loss of the Sarasota Boat Races, the response is the same: disappointment. Well, here’s your chance to show your support.
We’ll all meet along the edges of the ICW in New Pass, just off MarineMax and the Old Salty Dog in Sarasota, then head east through the ICW and north to go through Big Pass Inlet. I’ll post a parade route map as the date gets closer.
Let’s set out with two goals in mind:
1. Show the decision-makers and the rest of the community just how important 4th of July race weekend is to us.
2. Show that even with a large turnout of boats, we can still keep it respectful, safe, and community-driven.
This parade will take the place of Zacko’s Killin It Sandbar Party this year. I want all of that emphasis going toward something bigger, something more meaningful, and something I know so many of us value.
Since it falls on Saturday, July 4th at 11:00 AM, most people will hopefully already be planning to be out on the water anyway. So meet up with us, run the parade, show your support, and then continue on with your weekend plans.
I’m asking everyone to help push this, share it, and promote it so we can have the biggest turnout yet.
Let’s make some noise and bring the Sarasota Powerboat Races back where they belong.