Realize Bradenton

Improve downtown cultural vitality and attract redevelopment-creative placemaking is our key strategy to transform public places and involve people of all ages and backgrounds to build social connections, grow civic pride, and boost community development on an annual basis. Realize Bradenton conducts approximately 50 events, which bring over 115,000 people downtown. These include the Bradenton public market, blues festival, blues festival brunches, music in the park concerts, and children's book fair. Additional ways we bring people downtown is promoting public art, historic panels, walking tours, pirates pep rallies, blues in the schools, culinary events, and educational programs at the public market. These offerings drive interest and spending to local businesses, farmers, artists, musicians, and cultural nonprofit organizations.

Improve branding, marketing, access, and collaboration - place branding of downtown increases the recognition of Bradenton as a preferred destination for residents, visitors, businesses, and investors. Our branding work positively positions Bradenton to compete in an increasingly competitive enviroment. To do so, Realize Bradenton informs and engages approximately 40,000 people a month using print, social media, and in-person strategies to promote the physical, cultural, historic, culinary, and social assets of the community. An initiative called "walk Bradenton" is a business development tool that gets people to walk throughout downtown using a mobile responsive website. The gps-enabled site showcases 70 public artworks, 35 history sites, and 170 places to eat, shop, stay, and play. "walk Bradenton" reached 225,000 people.

Increase outreach and capacity building - our civic engagement strategies reach people of all ages and backgrounds to positively contribute to the Bradenton community, as well as their personal wellness and professional development. Innovative initiatives include:(1) start-up circle for entrepreneurs; (2) "cook together" which offers nutritious cooking sessions with local chefs for children using local produce; and (3) "creative together" to expand the riverwalk eastward using an inclusive community planning process of community conversations, surveys, park-let event, website, print materials, and millennial team leadership development.