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Tourism

Anna Maria Island Sights

Top 5 Sightseeing Activities On Anna Maria Island

Anna Maria Island Beach
Anna Maria Island Beach

Anna Maria Island sightseeing is a unique experience unlike that of any other place in Florida!  While plenty of Florida cities and towns are beautiful, there is an old charm about Anna Maria Island you just don’t find anymore. There are no high-rises, parking garages or large chain stores. Anna Maria Island is truly an authentic old Florida vacation destination.

During your visit there are a few spots that you must add to your sightseeing bucket list. Check out the top five sightseeing activities on Anna Maria Island.

Visit the Piers

Anna Maria City Pier
Anna Maria City Pier

While on Anna Maria Island you must visit at least one of the three piers. Each offers a unique piece of island history, and some great fishing too! On the north end of the island you’ll find the Rod & Reel Pier and the Anna Maria City Pier. Both offer views of Tampa Bay and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. On the south end of the island you’ll find the Bradenton Beach city Pier with views of Sarasota Bay and the coastline of Cortez Fishing Village. Each of the three piers offers dining options, and is the perfect spot to catch sunrise.

The Anna Maria City Jail

Anna Maria City jail
Anna Maria City jail

It’s not a visit to the island if you don’t get your picture taken inside the old Anna Maria City Jail. Find it at the Historical Society Museum on Pine Avenue. No roof, no doors, no windows, no bar and no visitors for years and years!
Now a local tourist stop, the Anna Maria City Jail typically was used for overnight stays by “the rowdies” who had too much to drink at the local dance hall.

Categories
Arts

Art, Cultural Events Start Anna Maria Island High Season

Doors, entrances, portals and passages are the theme of the Anna Maria Island Art League’s first show of the 2009-2010 cultural season. It opens on November 13, as part of the island-wide ArtsHOP, a weekend full of art, theater and music. Hosted by the Anna Maria Island Art League, Island Gallery West, The Artists’ Guild Gallery, and The Studio at Gulf and Pine, ArtsHOP includes a Friday evening gallery walk through all these fine galleries, and more.

An ArtsHOP Passport listing all the participating galleries can be picked up at any of the participating locations. Those who get their Passports stamped at six of the locations will be offered a 20 percent discount on dinner, afterward, at any of three of the Island’s favorite waterfront restaurants: The Sand Bar, The Beach House, and Mar Vista, on Longboat Key. A stamped Passport turned into the Art Leagues of Anna Maria Island before 8:45 Friday night will also serve as a raffle ticket for a huge basket of art-related gifts from Keeton’s Office and Art Supply of Bradenton.

Anna Maria ArtsHOP Also on Friday and Saturday night will be performances by the Island Players of “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe,” a show originally performed by Lily Tomlin. On Saturday and Sunday during the day there will be an arts and crafts fair at the Holmes Beach City Hall Field. A Sock Hop on Saturday night will be held at the Anna Maria Island Historical Society Jail and Museum Complex. It is appropriately called “The Jailhouse Rock Sock Hop.” Suggested attire is poodle skirts and greaser outfits. Music of a very different kind will be featured on Sunday afternoon at 2 in the season’s first performance of the Anna Maria Island Orchestra and Chorus at the Cross Point Church.

A special part of this year’s ArtsHOP is an art happening in which local artists painted doors that were displayed all around the island in the weeks leading up to ArtsHOP. On Sunday afternoon, November 15, the doors will be auctioned under the banyan tree at the Anna Maria Island Art League, with proceeds going to the Cultural Connections. The mission of this organization, founded in 2008, is to promote Anna Maria Island as a cultural destination.