Folks familiar with the annual Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix Festival will have to get used to a new name for the longtime happening in Southwest Florida. Suncoast Charities for Children, the event’s primary organizer and beneficiary, has rebranded the event and renamed it Suncoast Summer Fest.

Offshore powerboat races will kick off Suncoast Summer Fest, formerly the Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix Festival. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

“Rebranding into a Summer Festival enables the charity to focus on its mission to raise money for six area non-profit agencies,” said Lucy Nicandri, the executive director of Suncoast Charites for Children, in a press release from the nonprofit organization. “Suncoast Summer Fest will not only provide a better infrastructure to sustain our fundraising efforts in the future, but also allow us the ability to include new events and partnerships.”

The rebranded event will, of course, include with the Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix off Lido Beach. This year, however, the races are set for June 26-27 and will kick off Suncoast Summer Fest. As previously reported on speedonthewater.com, the races will be produced by Visit Sarasota County and P1 Offshore/Powerboat P1.

Launched last year, the Sarasota Blast On The Bay Fun Run also returns with a new handle—the Suncoast Summer Fest Fun Run—this year. The event is scheduled for Saturday, July 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Last year’s happening attracted 120 boats and raised $50,000 for Suncoast Charities for Children.

“Our Suncoast Summer Fest Fun Run will be co-chaired by Simon Williams of Shore Thing Storage and Dee Babcock,” said Nicandri. “Simon is now official on our board of directors for Suncoast Charities for Children and Shore Thing Storage is the presenting sponsor for the run.”

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