Deck the Halls and String Lights From Bow to Stern
For many us of this time of year, the sugar plums must make way for visions of salt spray that are dancing in our heads. When it’s Christmas time in the city, it’s time to decorate the boat and head to the Intracoastal.
Boat parades are a great way to conjure up a dose of holiday cheer. These Free Christmas events take place in hundreds of communities across the nation.
Each municipality infuses its Christmas parade with local character. The tradition is believed to have begun in the 1920s, when citizens outfitted their vessels with candles and sang Christmas carols.
In a nod to the holiday season, here are some of our favorites.
Winterfest
About 100 vessels of all makes and sizes participated in the 38th annual Winterfest Boat Parade in Fort Lauderdale. FL, on December 12.
Thousands of people lined the 12-mile parade route down the New River and up the Intracoastal Waterway to Lake Santa Barbara. Among the favorite boats were a fireworks barge, a Superman boat – complete with Kryptonite – and a boat portraying a Caribbean Christmas. The sloop Moon Cusser again presented its popular tableau of toy soldiers being shot down with a fake cannon, only to pop up with a greeting of “Happy Holidays!”
Former Miami Heat basketball great Alonzo Mourning and reality TV star Kim Kardashian served as the parade’s grand marshals, leading the flotilla on the yacht Grand Floridian. During a rain delay prior to the start of the parade, sponsored by the Seminole Hard Rock & Casino in Hollywood, FL, the pair sang Christmas songs and swapped stories about their favorite Christmas gifts.
Newport Beach
In Newport Beach, CA, more than a million revelers enjoyed the 101st Annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade, which ran for five consecutive nights beginning on December 16.
Vessels in the parade ranged from million-dollar yachts to kayaks and canoes, some decorated with animated Christmas scenes and accompanied by music and costumed carolers. Some boat owners spent more than $50,000 to decorate their boats. The Christmas floats traveled a 14-mile stretch around Nwewport harbor, entertaining viewers in restaurants, yacht clubs, on public beaches and in private homes.
Serving as the backdrop for the hundreds of lighted boats in the parade was the annual “Ring of Lights” contest. Beautifully decorated bayside homes and businesses surrounding the harbor featured everything from roof-top animated scenes to dancing Christmas trees.
Clear Lake, Texas
In Texas, the 48th Annual Christmas Boat Lane Parade on Clear Lake in Houston is among the most popular holiday events in the area.
This year, more than 100,000 people enjoyed the December 12 event from land and from hundreds of boats anchored throughout the lake. The parade featured more than 100 brightly decorated power and sailboats that traversed the Clear Lake channel from the South Shore Harbour Marina and the Nassau Bay Lagoon to Galveston Bay.
Participants included people known as “Old Salts,” because they have been involved in the parade for more than 20 ears. Themes and designs included a 40-foot snowman and boats with flying pigs. Several boats hosted soldiers, including some that were headed to Iran or Afghanistan and one soldier that was on leave from the fighting.
“The Hurricane hit us hard last year and the economy and its downfall really hit us hard,” said Shari Sweeney of the Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, “but here in Clear Lake we’ve survived and we’re excited.”
