Marine Industry Day, the Marine Industries Association of South Florida’s day to raise awareness about the boating industry, its contributions to the community and the challenges it faces, is set for June 18 at Fort Lauderdale’s Esplanade Park.
Live music starts at noon with School Rock, followed by Curbstone at 2 p.m. and Wildfire at 4 p.m. Cuisine will be of the food truck variety, and Nova Southeastern University’s Oceanographic Center and the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute will present interactive marine experiences, said MIASF membership director Sean Smith.
The family-oriented event will continue until 6 p.m. and will feature 25 to 30 fun-and-games booths sponsored by marine businesses, among them model boat drag races where the “drivers” design and build their own model-boat propellers, sponsored by Frank and Jimmie’s Propellers; water taxi rides from Water Taxi of Fort Lauderdale; electric boat tours by EcoBoats of Fort Lauderdale; and face painting and other children’s activities, Smith said.
“The purpose is to raise awareness of the importance of the marine industry in South Florida and all the things we face as an industry,” Smith said.
Marine Day trumpets the industry’s contributions by the numbers, he said: 110,000 middle-class jobs in Broward County, 136,000 jobs regionally, an $8.8 billion economic impact in the county and an $11.5 billion economic impact regionally.
