4850 51st Street W 6103
Bradenton, FL 34210

Bradenton is home to the Village of the Arts, a renovated neighborhood immediately south of downtown where special zoning laws allow residents to live and work in their homes. Many of these once dilapidated houses have been converted into studios, galleries, small restaurants and other small businesses. The Village of the Arts promotes its 'First Fridays' activities celebrating the seasons and different holidays. The Village of the Arts remains the largest arts district on the Gulf Coast.

The Manatee Players, who current play at Bradenton's Riverfront Theatre, have a three-year record of first-place wins within the Florida Theatre Conference and the Southeastern Theatre Conference competitions. In addition, the theatre currently holds the first place title from the American Association of Community Theatre competition.

Located on the Manatee River in downtown Bradenton is the South Florida Museum, Bishop Planetarium and Parker Manatee Aquarium. This one-stop museum-planetarium-aquarium offers a glimpse of Florida history, a star and multimedia show, and ongoing lecture and film series. The Mote Aquarium is the permanent home to Manatee County's most famous resident and official mascot, Snooty, the manatee. Born at the Miami Aquarium and Tackle Company on July 21, 1948, Snooty was one of the first recorded captive manatee births. He is the oldest manatee in captivity, and likely the oldest manatee in the world.

ArtCenter Manatee is the center for art and art education in Manatee County. The nearly 10,000 sq. ft. building in downtown Bradenton features three galleries, five classrooms, an Artists’ Market gift shop and an art library featuring over 3,000 art volumes.

Sports

Bradenton is the spring training home of Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates who play their home games at downtown's McKechnie Field. During the regular baseball season, the stadium is home to the minor league Bradenton Marauders who play in the Florida State League in Class A-Advanced. Though no other professional teams call the city home, the State College of Florida's Manatees compete in several sports, and Manatee County high schools produce several highly competitive teams including Manatee High School whose football team was nationally ranked in 2010 and 2011 and has won four state championships. The Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy is also located in Brandenton. Brandenton is also home to the IMG Soccer Academy, the home of the U.S U-17 Residential soccer program.