Downtown Bradenton is set to slow to a crawl on Saturday, April 25, as the De Soto Grand Parade takes over Manatee Avenue West. The illuminated evening procession, expected to draw thousands of spectators, will bring a wave of barricades, detours and shoulder-to-shoulder crowds along the parade route and across the Green Bridge well into the night.
Road Closures And Staging
According to the Hernando de Soto Historical Society, the Grand Parade steps off at 7:30 p.m. and travels roughly 1.75 miles west along Manatee Avenue, finishing near 39th Street West. The organizer’s page also details a pre-parade block party on Old Main Street, a kids zone and about 150 parade entries, along with staging maps and phased closure plans throughout the downtown corridor to protect spectators and participants. The festival site lists multiple closure windows, so residents are urged to study the maps before heading into the area.
The Bradenton Police Department, in a Facebook post, laid out the operations plan for drivers and residents. Staging will begin at 1:00 p.m., and Manatee Avenue West will be closed from 1st Street/US-41 to 14th Street West, with additional sections shutting down later in the afternoon. The department warned that the parade route will be closed to through traffic by about 6:00 p.m., drivers will not be able to cross Manatee Avenue once barricades are in place, and 9th Street West will be closed from Manatee Avenue to 3rd Avenue West, while the intersection of 9th Street West and 3rd Avenue West remains open all day. The post also notes that southbound lanes of the Green Bridge will be closed for the event while northbound lanes stay open, with northbound access routed from 3rd Avenue West.
Where To Watch And How To Get There
Crowds will be intense. Discover Bradenton reports that more than 100,000 people traditionally line the route to catch the illuminated floats and pageantry. With the downtown pre-parade block party and vendors on Old Main Street, getting there early is the smart move, since downtown parking garages and surface lots are expected to fill quickly. Travelers who normally rely on the bridges or key east-west approaches are advised to consider alternate routes, public transit or rideshare options to sidestep lengthy detours…