Sarasota Blast On The Bay Fun Run Sold Out At 100 Boats

In less than a full month since it has was announced following cancellation of the rescheduled Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix Festival, the Sarasota Blast On The Bay Fun Run. The Southwest Florida event, which has a fundraising goal of $30,000 for Suncoast Charities For Children, is set for Saturday, June 27.

Coming Saturday, the inaugural Sarasota Blast On The Bay Fun Run is full. Photo from the 2019 Shoot 2 Thrill Invitational New Year’s photo shoot by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix/speedothewater.com.

“Our volunteer chairman and lead sponsor, Simon Williams, the owner of our title sponsor Shore Things Storage, has been a ‘diamond in the rough’ for Suncoast Charities for Children,” said Lucy Nicandri, the nonprofit organization’s executive director who spearheads the festival every year. “Shore Things Storage, as well as our other sponsors representing the boating industry including Suncoast Powerboat and Yacht Brokerage, Erickson Marine, Sara Bay Marina, Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Powerboats, Core Powerboats, Speedonthewater.com, Keys Island Runners and others contributed to the growth and success of this event. In just a few weeks, Blast On The Bay grew well beyond my expectations. 

“Suncoast Charities for Children really needs the financial support, now more than ever, since the COVID-19 pandemic affected everyone,” she continued. “Hopefully, we can raise a significant amount of money this weekend to help us continue supporting six area non-profit agencies that provide critical programs and services to more than 5,000 children, teens and adults with special needs and their families.”

Would-be participants can still contribute to the charity through the Blast On The Bay Go Fund Me page.

“It’s a great cause,” Williams said. “They have produced the Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix Festival for years and I’ve always been a big fan of it, so when it cancelled I said, ‘Hey, let’s just do a poker run or fun run, make it a good time and still raise money for the charity.’ In less than 30 days since we started this thing, we had 100 registrations. I am really impressed.”

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