The colder temperatures signal the time for breaking out the Christmas decorations and decking out your boat for the local lighted boat parade. Up and down the Bay there are several lighted parades each year, the larger ones including the Baltimore Inner Harbor, Solomon’s Island, Kent Narrows, and Annapolis. But there are also smaller, more local affairs that have begun to appear in more recent years.
Whose idea was it to one day string a bunch of lights on a sailboat or a canoe and parade around the harbor? This question is up for debate, but one of the oldest parades, if not the oldest, took place in Newport Beach, CA, in 1907. The story goes that John Scarpa, an obscure Italian Gondolier, started the tradition when he outfitted his gondola with Japanese lanterns and took a small group across the Bay. The next year, Scarpa again decorated his vessel with lanterns and led nine canoes from Pasadena in a procession, and thus the tradition of the lighted boat parades had begun.
Annapolis
The Eastport YC (EYC) of Annapolis will be celebrating its 32nd year this December and expects up to 40 boats of all shapes and sizes, power and sail, to participate. In 1988, the event was proclaimed the official Maryland winter celebration! It is held each year on the second Saturday in December with 20-30 thousand people lining the waterfront to watch this glittering holiday spectacular.
More than 50 EYC volunteers work all year long to pull off a truly amazing event; their gift to the city of Annapolis. This year the EYC Lights Parade will be held December 13 from 6-9 p.m. Skippers will circle the waterfront in two fleets, one in front of Eastport, the City Dock, and the Naval Academy Seawall, with the other circling the length of Spa creek, inside the bridge. Participants can compete individually or as representatives of their club, and the EYC will provide safety and decorating tips.
Baltimore
In Baltimore city, the annual lighted boat parade, hosted by the Fells Point YC, will unfold December 6 at 6 p.m. Usually consisting of about 40 vessels, the 27th annual parade benefits the Marine’s “Toys for Tots” annual Christmas campaign. Even before the parade, the Fells Point Old Tyme Christmas-Deck the Fells festival promises a full day of merriment. Santa Claus will arrive in the morning and will be around all day for the kids, while carolers will sing, and around 5 p.m., the mayor will light the Christmas tree in the square.
The boats will be divided into two fleets with one group beginning in Fells Point and the other arriving in the Inner Harbor. Both groups will make two passes at each location so that everyone can enjoy the entire spectacle. Free docking can also be arranged in the harbor so make sure to call ahead! Last year visitors were treated to the firing of the Pride of Baltimore II’s cannons and some gullible spectators (and I) hit the deck thinking we were being fired upon.
This year, there will be a new 14th prize category for work boats. All manner of work boats are invited from commercially licensed fishing boats to army vessels and even tow boats.
The Fells Point parade unfolds the Saturday after the Middle River parade and the Saturday before the Annapolis parade, so if you’re really determined, you could hit all three!
Middle River
Just outside of Baltimore city in the town of Middle River, there is a lesser known parade that has begun to grow in prestige (and notoriety) in recent years. Now in its 11th year, the parade was initially modeled after larger parades in Baltimore and Annapolis and is hosted by the Stansbury Yacht Basin. Spectators and participants come all the way from Harford County, Pennsylvania, Baltimore City, and Anne Arundel County for the event. Each year about 1000 spectators crowd the public viewing area at Wilson Point Park, and most waterfront restaurants sell out for the evening, including local favorites like River Watch, Carson’s Creekside, Sunset Cove, and Steelfish Grill. Perhaps one reason for its popularity is the increasing appearance of pyrotechnics in some of the more elaborate displays.
I recently caught up with some good friends of mine, the Hock family of Middle River, who have been competing in the parade since 2003, often with fire, and have truly helped make the event what it is today. Brothers Nick, Zach, and Doug, along with their parents Joanne and Jim, and family friends Joe and Greg Bosse first got into lighted boat parades during their time in the boy scouts. Their inaugural float was “Chessie,” the Chesapeake Bay Loch Ness monster who shot a 25-foot flame out of its mouth. Every year after that, their mom Joanne would flip through holiday catalogs and choose that year’s theme for the parade. One year they made a fire truck with a 40-foot cannon, and another theme was “Rockin’ Christmas” with their father Jim as Santa Claus and a full Chimney complete with flames.
So while the Middle River parade may not be as large as Annapolis or Baltimore, it is just as special, if not more so, to the families that compete. When I asked my friend Doug how and why they have been competing for so many years, he told me they do it because they love it. For the Hock clan, lighted boat parades may have started as a scouting activity, but now “It’s a family tradition.”
Solomons Island
The Annual Solomon’s Lighted Boat Parade will celebrate its 31st year and has planned a full weekend of events, Thursday December 4, through Sunday December 7. The celebration will kick off Thursday night with a black and white Gala dinner where guests can expect live music, dancing, raffles, and of course, egg nog. All are welcome! On Friday evening, Santa Claus will arrive by fire truck to help the children light the Christmas tree at the Solomon’s Riverwalk Pavilion. There will also be a Christmas Craft Bazaar running from Friday through Sunday.
But the highlight of the weekend will be Saturday night’s lighted boat parade hosted by the Solomons Business Association, the Solomons Island YC, Solomons Yachting Center, Zahniser’s Yachting Center, Sail Solomons, and the Patuxent River Sail and Power Squadron. All boats of any size, shape, or make are welcome and the only requirement is that the ship’s starboard side be decorated but more is always welcome. Prizes are awarded for Best Original Theme, Best Sailboat, Best Power Boat, and Best of Show, and all participating boat owners will receive a gift.
The parade kicks off at 6:15 p.m. Saturday night from Solomons Yachting Center and heads up Back Creek, then down the creek for judging at Sail Solomons, at Zahniser’s Yachting Center. The parade will then proceed up the Patuxent River along the boardwalk before returning to Solomons Harbor. Bystanders can view the parade from one of the many restaurants on back Creek or from the Patuxent River Boardwalk.
Join the Fun
While each town may have their own variations on lighted boat parades, the general theme and merriment has always remained the same. Regardless of where you live on the Bay, there is bound to be a parade within an easy drive. So whether you want to “deck the hulls” of your boat this year or simply watch a parade from shore, there is definitely something for everyone. Most parades are only a part of a larger Christmas celebration so check your calendars now and make sure to set some time aside because this is something you surely won’t want to miss!
If you go to a lights parade—one mentioned here or one we've missed!—please send pictures to
[email protected]. We would love to see Chesapeake lights parades from your lens.
by Kaylie Jasinski