THURSDAY
TODAY
Palm Beach International Boat Show 2022
SHOW HOURS: Thurs. 12pm–7pm; Fri & Sat 10am–7pm; Sun 10am –5pm
DRINKS & DINING 123 DATURA BAR & KITCHEN 123 DATURA ST | 561-814-5433 Brick-lined venue serving cocktails, appetizers, pizzas & salads in casual digs.
CAMELOT 114 S NARCISSUS AVE | 561-408-1001 Semi-private, upscale bar, lounge, club and restaurant.
CLEMATIS SOCIAL 219 CLEMATIS ST | 561-833-6500 Funky nightclub with DJ & a retro vibe, plus a cocktail lounge in a psychedelic bus.
E.R. BRADLEY’S SALOON 104 CLEMATIS ST | 561-833-3520 Beautiful views and American fare on the Intracoastal Waterway.
HULLABALOO 517 CLEMATIS ST | 561-833-1033 Talk of the town gastronomy with a large selection of craft beer, cocktails and wine.
LEILA 120 S. DIXIE HWY | 561-659-7373 Middle Eastern cuisine in a casual contemporary atmosphere. Belly dancers are featured on select evenings.
TRITON EXPO IS BACK! May 25 at National Marine Suppliers 2800 SW 2nd Ave. Fort Lauderdale Reserve your spot now! KQ@TritonNews.com
Yacht crew have been hard at work the past fews days preparing for the show.
Photo by Dorie Cox
‘Big Four-O’ for the PB show By Jim Bronstien
After 40 years, four promoters, and six locations, the Palm Beach International Boat Show is now a truly internationally recognized boat show. But it certainly didn’t start that way! In the early 1980s, a small group of us started the Marine Industry Association of Palm Beach County (MIAPBC) in an effort to bring professionalism and credibility to the area’s marine businesses. Meanwhile, in 1982 a small boat show was being privately produced at Soverel Marina, off PGA Boulevard, to bring together some of the local boat dealers. We quickly recognized that our new association needed funding to advance our initiatives and we recognized that owning our own boat show could provide that funding. So, we used our newfound “muscle” and squeezed out the operator of that first boat show and replaced it with our own! Of course, we did not know how to
properly produce a successful boat show, so we found a proper operator, John Good, and we hired him to produce our show for several years. But where to hold it? We knew we needed a better venue for more land exhibit space, and Soverel Marina was not going to cut it. So we moved the show to the 45th Street Jai Lai Fronton, but that was dusty and not real “boaty.” Next stop was the West Palm Beach Auditorium (now a Jehovah Witness Conference Center on Palm Beach Lakes), but that was all indoors and not very inviting, so we moved again. This time it was out west to the South Florida Fairgrounds, but that wasn’t so great, as it was a fairground out west — we were going the wrong way! Eventually we got our act together and determined that since all of those places were land-based, we needed to find a suitable water site. So, we landed at Riviera CONTINUED ON PAGE 3