Waterside Place swims into summer with movie night

It might be summer, but Waterside Place just keeps swimming along with events. “Finding Nemo” played on the big screen for a big crowd on Friday night. 

“It’s a good turnout tonight,” said Peter Petrovich of Grace Church, which is a sponsor of the event. “But in the winter, we’d have twice this many people.” 

The event, which also is a mini carnival, is held every second Friday of the month and includes bounce houses, cotton candy and a mechanical bull. 

Bradenton resident Anthony Farias had never ridden a bull before. He said some of the little kids did better, but he hung onto the spinning bull for about nine seconds. 

Each Movie in the Park event is themed around that month’s movie. The kids had their faces painted with characters from the movie, and Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium set up a table with underwater findings. 

Lakewood Ranch resident Lesalynn Richardson was particularly taken by the manatee skull and learned that manatees love to eat lettuce because they have no front teeth. 

Bay Landing resident Benjamin Craig frequents Waterside Place with his wife, Lauren, and their two kids. He highly recommends the breakfast tamales at Forked and the strawberry cheesecake ice pops his kids wouldn’t eat. 

The first 300 guests were given tickets for free ice pops, but the Craigs arrived too late to pick their favorite flavors.

“My children wouldn’t eat these, but I’m glad,” Craig said. “It’s how I ended up double-fisted.”