Boat Parades And Festivals This Weekend

This week's boating event wrap-up is dedicated to boat parades, and there are plenty of them this weekend...

An entry in last year's Winterfest Boat Parade. Photo courtesy of winterfestparade.com

We typically talk about boat shows going on each week at this time, but the pendulum has swung away from boat shows and towards boat parades. Over the next couple of weeks there are boat parades of all sizes around the country - especially throughout Florida and California, where the weather is warm enough to decorate a boat with Christmas lights and float it across a harbor or through a canal or river, wearing only shorts and a t-shirt - (and hopefully at least an inflatable PFD).

Here's the run down on some of the boat parades happening this weekend and next...


Boat Parades

Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat Parade (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida)
Grand Marshal = Barry Gibb. Need we say more? This is the big boat parade of the weekend, with events going on all day this Saturday the 10th.

Mooloolaba Christmas Lights Boat Parade (Queensland, Australia)
If you're Down Under this time of year (lucky), it may be summer, but it's still "the holidays". And what a great place to see or participate in a boat parade.

Marina Holiday Boat Parade (Marina del Rey, California)
This is one of the larger boat parades going on in California this weekend. Check this parade out on Saturday, and then...

Venice Canals Holiday Boat Parade (Venice, California)
This is a nice boat parade on the canals happening on Sunday, but don't expect the bigger boats as they can't fit under all the low bridges on the canal.

Parade of Lights at Channel Islands Harbor (Oxnard, California)
Another big one on Saturday the 10th, this is the 46th Annual Parade of Lights, and festivities are happening all day.

We have these and a few other boat parades in our boating events calendar, but there may be a boat parade near you . Try a GoogleNews search (enter the phrase "boat parade" and the name of your town or closest port city), or contact your local seaside town offices or marina.

If you are attending a boat parade or boat show THIS WEEKEND, please post it as a comment below or on the Daily Boater Facebook page.

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