GRAND PARADE

Presented by

SATURDAY
APRIL 26, 2025
6:30PM
MANATEE AVENUE

With over 150 entries, the De Soto Grand Parade is one of the largest and oldest parades in the Southeastern United States. Over 100,000 people line the streets of Bradenton to view the illuminated floats and catch a glimpse of our new Hernando de Soto, Captain of the Crewe and their newly crowned Queen and Princess. Beads, coins, and other fun items are handed to the crowd throughout the night.

PRE-PARADE BLOCK PARTY

Heintz Law logo

The Pre-Parade Party will take over downtown Bradenton on Old Main Street, creating a lively, family friendly atmosphere. With a 5k race, live music, street vendors, and a kids zone, there’s plenty to enjoy before the Grand Parade begins. Visitors can stay downtown to watch the parade step off at 6:30pm, making it the perfect spot to experience all the excitement.

Kid zone presented by Early Learning Coalition.

ROUTE

The parade will stage on Manatee Avenue between 1st Street and 9th Street West. This nine block section of Manatee Avenue will close at 12:00PM on parade day with westbound Manatee Avenue traffic re-routed around the parade staging area via 9th Avenue W. East bound traffic will not be affected. The remainder of Manatee Avenue from 9th Street W to 43rd Street W will close at 5:00pm to enable crowd protection barricades to be placed along the 1.75 mile route.

Northbound lanes of the Green Bridge going to Palmetto will remain open during the parade. The southbound lanes will close roughly one hour before parade starts. Third Avenue West and Ninth Avenue West will remain open throughout the parade. This route greatly improves traffic flow into and out of the downtown area during and after the parade. Several roadways that were closed in previous years, now remain open, allowing traffic to freely move into and out of downtown, even during the parade.

ROAD CLOSURES

12th Street W, from Manatee Avenue West to 6th Avenue West will be closed from 8:00 am to 11:00 pm
Manatee Avenue West from 1st Street West to 14th Street West will be closed from 12:00 noon to 11:00 pm.
Manatee Avenue West from 14th Street West 43rd Street West will be closed from 4:00 pm to 11:00 pm.
43rd Street West from Manatee Avenue West to 9th Street West will be closed from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm.
Green Bridge (US BUS 41) Southbound from Riverside Drive in Palmetto to 6th Avenue West in Bradenton will be closed from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
9th Street West from from 6th Avenue West to 4th Avenue West will be closed from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

GETTING TO THE PARADE

FROM PALMETTO – UNTIL 6PM

Take the Green Bridge or the US41/301 bridge south to 3rd Avenue and proceed downtown. 9th Street W will be closed past 3rd Avenue, but motorists will be able to turn right or left at 3rd Avenue. After 6pm, southbound traffic from Palmetto on the Green Bridge will be closed.

FROM EAST BRADENTON

Take Manatee Avenue/SR64 to 2nd Street E (Manatee Memorial Hospital). Turn right onto 2nd Street E and circle around past Manatee Memorial Hospital and the Skate Park. Continue to 3rd Avenue W and turn right, continue downtown.

FROM WEST BRADENTON – UNTIL 6PM
Take Manatee Avenue/SR64 to 43rd Street W. Turn right at 43rd Street W and continue to 9th Ave W. Turn left onto 9th Avenue W and continue to 3rd Avenue W then turn left at 3rd Avenue W and continue downtown.

FROM SOUTH BRADENTON – UNTIL 6PM

Take US41/301 north to 9th Avenue W. Turn left at 9th Avenue W and continue to 9th Street W. Turn right onto 9th Street W and continue to 3rd Avenue W then turn left at 3rd Avenue W and continue downtown.

WEATHER

Unfortunately, we can’t control the weather. We work very closely with the city and emergency management personnel to ensure we are receiving the most recent weather updates. The safety of our participants and spectators is our top priority. More than half of the festive floats that are participating in the parade are from the Tampa Bay area, with no over-night accommodations, thus, due to the size, logistics, local and state permitting requirements, it is almost impossible to reschedule.