The popular People's Choice Bike Show was held at the Centennial Park on Saturday, July 5th. Categories included best stock & custom Harley-Davidsons, best vintage, best metric touring & cruisers and best of the chopper class (custom bikes). We will start with the motorcycles and then move on to the race boats.

Powerboats by the Bay was held Friday and Saturday (July 4th & 5th) at Centennial Park at Sarasota Bay. Events included meeting the drivers, live music, a motorcycle show and special guests. Offshore racing teams came from all over the country plus a few teams from Sarasota and Tampa in Florida.

The boats were loaded into and out of the water by a large crane seen in the background.

The race on Sunday featured a local boat, Miss Geico, which driven by St. Petersburg's Marc Granet. The boat is unique because it is powered by two Gulf War-era helicopter engines running on a mixture of soybean oil and kerosene. The 44-foot cat boat has reached a speed of 160 mph.

The JD Byrider superboat team is based in Ohio.

A lot of the Offshore Grand Prix racing fans come by water to the events rather than by car.

The Amsoil boat is owned by Bob Teague of Van Nuys, California. The boat is a Douglas Marine Skater.

The Bud Light team is well known in offshore racing circles. At the end of 2007, the team had racked up a total of 68 wins, 10 national championship titles, 8 world championship titles, 5 Top Gun titles and 6 offical speed records.

This world championship winning team is owned by Bad Apple Racing. This boat races in the Super Vee class and has 2 550HP Mercs providing the power. In Sunday's racing, the Miccosukee team won the Super Vee and Manufacturer Production 2 classes.

Team Pump It races in the Manufacturer Production 4 class. The boat make is a Warlock. The engine is a 600HP Merc. Owner Joey Dacey is from Riverview, FL.

Rolling Rock Casino sponsors the Rolling Rock boat of Muscle Racing Team. "Diamond" Dave Branch is not only known for having a fast race boat, he's also known for the rock festival and party the team sponsors during the Sarasota Offshore Grand Prix festivities. Featuring southern California rock legends Faster Pussycat and L.A. Guns, the 2008 Muscle Party on Saturday offered free barbecue & beer and plenty of racy festivities sure to make it a proud successor to the World's Hottest Offshore Party.

The Shogun boat is a 26-foot Scarab with a 505-cubic inch motor with a fluorescent green paint job. Gene Clay, navigator for the three-man Shogun team, is also the uncle of driver Jamie and nephew of navigator John Todd. They are all from Savannah, Ga.

Throttle-Up is a St Petersburg, Florida, business that within 2 years of start up was handling 60 to 70 percent of the propeller tuning for the offshore racing teams. Their client list includes the world-championship-winning Typhoon Racing team and Donzi's factory-backed F-2 team.

The Stihl race team boat is owned and driven by Robert Noble. He competes in the Superboat Stock class and his Doug Wright built boat is powered by 2 500HP Mercs.

Downtown Sarasota can be seen in the background.

The John Ringling (Ringling Circus) Bridge connects downtown Sarasota to Bird Key with the world famous St. Armands Circle, consisting of upscale shopping and restaurants. Close by is Lido Beach, one of the most popular beaches in the area.

The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall is known by locals as the "purple cow." This landmark Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation performing arts hall is located directly on Sarasota Bay and offers music, dance, theater and comedy performances.