Boca Raton's 34th Annual Holiday Boat Parade

Just thought I'd share a local holiday tradition that some folks who don't live near water or ocean may not have seen before - a fun and long-running tradition in many Florida towns is for boat owners to decorate their boats with Christmas lights and ornaments, and parade them through the intercoastal waterways in town at night...local parks put up bleachers, music and fireworks blare, the boats themselves usually have their own 'theme' with music, and characters dressed aboard the boats too. ; It's a fun little holiday tradition, and our town just had their 34th this past weekend.

Caveat: ; I wasn't actually there with the intention to take photos! ; I was invited to a boat parade party at a friend's house on the intercoastal, and was just there to enjoy the show, have some food and drink, and hang with friends. ; I happened to have my camera with me for personal shots of friends and such, and had only brought the camera with the 18-250mm attached - certainly not the lens to pick for shooting moving boats at night from 50-70 feet. ; But I decided last-minute to just crank up the ISO and give it a go for fun - realizing that I've never actually photographed the boat parade before...it ended up being fun, and next time I think I'm going to bring a fast lens and actually plan to photograph the parade. ; I ended up cranking the A550 to ISO3200 and the occasional ISO6400, handheld, and panning with the boats with the widest aperture I could get out of the 18-250. ; So they're not my best work - but it was a lot of fun, and I thought you all might enjoy a look at the work that these folks put into decorating their boats!

Lots of lights:


Noone said the boat had to be big...or even have a motor!:


Though of course, some WERE big:


Some had quite elaborate themes:


And lots of actors aboard too:


Little boats were still proudly lit and themed:


That blue bit on the bow is a person...covered in lights and dancing:


More holiday lights and color:


Some had messages to deliver (animal rescue):


Lots of Santas aboard the boats:


Closer look at a few small boats' decor:




A sailboat with a theme AND a message, to close out the parade:


Hope you enjoyed a look at a Boca Raton, Florida holiday tradition!

 

Looks like a lot of fun. ; Thanks for sharing.

 

Thanks guys...it's always been fun - though I ended up skipping it the past two years just because of Christmas shopping rush, work, and not enough desire to fight the traffic and crowds getting back when it's over. ; This year I had the perfect opportunity - at a sprawling backyard on the intercoastal, private party, away from public viewing areas.

Indeed John there were lots more boats...I didn't catch photos of them all, or a few didn't come out so hot so I left them out. ; We had about 45 'official' boats, plus always a few stragglers thrown in who have one string of lights and decided to tag along for fun. ; Plus, they led with a big fireworks barge that launched fireworks through the entire 10-15 mile run (those rowers deserve some credit...the show moves along at a 5mph clip, and they ran the length of two towns on manpower - avoiding being run over by bigger yachts with poor visibility!).

Erich...you're right - it's amazing indeed. ; Over the years of the parade, you can see how technology changed too - back in the 80s the only boats that had elaborate lights were the big yachts...but with LED technology and better electrical systems and batteries, even small boats can have pretty amazing displays. ; Then it's just a matter of how to stick all the lights up, as you mentioned!