The 33rd Annual Palm Beach International Boat Show: you’ll come for the boats but stay for so much more!
The Palm Beach Boat Show is generally considered the final boat show in the seven-monthlong boat show season. This year marks its 33rd and will once again be held along Flagler Drive in downtown West Palm Beach, FL from March 22nd to March 25th.
The upscale setting with its luxury homes along the ICW and a bevy of dining options for all budgets is fitting to commemorate making it through the busiest time of year, but it’s a special show for many other reasons as well. “The Palm Beach International Boat Show holds a special place on many boating and yachting enthusiasts’ calendars,” says Mary Bender, vice president of marketing for Informa, the show’s producer. “It’s the last major international yacht show of the yearly boat show season and, therefore, is well attended by serious shoppers as well as many key industry executives.”
Yet while the Palm Beach Boat Show attracts many high-level boat buyers and yacht charter clients, all boating enthusiasts, cruisers, and anglers will find something
of interest here. In addition to boats of all sizes at the docks and on land, educational activities include fishing clinics and seminars offered by the non-profit Hook the Future as well as the IGFA School of Sportfishing. Need to brush up on your boating or docking skills? Sit in on classes for long-range cruising or on-the-water boat handling. In between classes and boat shopping, enjoy live music and refreshments at one of the show’s floating cocktail lounges.
If receiving more personal attention is your style, in keeping with the high profile location and venue, a new option for 2018 is the VIP Experience, a private club that provides guests with fine food and refreshments in a climate controlled space with comfy seating. Concierge services for yacht tours, dining reservations, private transportation, and other personal services are arranged by Delmay and Partners, a dedicated concierge service. Parking is plentiful and options are listed on the show’s website pbboatshow.com.
But if you’re local to the area, come by boat and tie up for free at the docks located south of the in-water boat displays at the Palm Beach Boat Show.
By L.N. Evans, Southern Boating March 2018
PHOTO: © 2017 FOREST JOHNSON