- April 26, 2024
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This boat featured a cross, several angels and a birthday cake that read "Happy birthday Jesus." Photo by Sierra Williams
Several barges participated, with cranes decorated for the holiday parade. On this barge, one of the riders dressed as Santa Claus. Photo by Sierra Williams
The 40th anniversary Holiday Boat Parade had over 100 registrants. Photo by Sierra Williams
Preseley Danie, 14, picked a spot on a concrete pile under the Hammock Dunes Bridge for a better view of the parade. Photo by Sierra Williams
Rosina Ronda and her sons CJ, 5, and Isaiah, 3, and the boys' father Chad Cox with his girlfriend Thea Charles at the holiday boat parade. Photo by Sierra Williams
Palm Coast residents camped out along the Intracoastal Waterway at St. Joe's walkway near European village for the 40th anniversary holiday boat parade. Photo by Sierra Williams
Angela Defroscia and Joyce Muratore at the Palm Coast Holiday Boat parade. Photo by Sierra Williams
The 40th anniversary Holiday Boat Parade had over 100 registrants. Photo by Sierra Williams
This sail boat had a star at the top of the mast. Photo by Sierra Williams
Gordon LeBlanc and Sean Levesque wore holiday lights as they waited for the boat parade near European Village. Photo by Sierra Williams
Palm Coast residents parked out on the concrete piles at St. Joe's walkway to wait for the boat parade. Photo by Sierra Williams
The 40th anniversary Holiday Boat Parade had over 100 registrants. This boat featured a Christmas tree 'pulled' by dolphins with a mermaid riding on the back. Photo by Sierra Williams
The 40th anniversary Holiday Boat Parade had over 100 registrants. Photo by Sierra Williams
The 40th anniversary Holiday Boat Parade had over 100 registrants. Photo by Sierra Williams
A drone shot of the water as the boat parade begins. Photo courtesy of the FCSO
Several boats in the parade had American flags created through their Christmas lights decorations. Photo by Sierra Williams
This boat featured an LED screen that read several messages about the Christmas holiday. Photo by Sierra Williams
The Palm Coast Boat Parade celebrated its 40th anniversary on Dec. 9 with its largest-ever number of decorated vessels.
At a captain's meeting held earlier in the day on Dec. 9 for the registered boaters, Parade Chair Sarah Ulis said the parade was up to 108 registrants, making it the largest lighted holiday boat parade in Florida. In 2022, the holiday boat parade included 91 registered participants.
Between the registered boaters and the number of other Palm Coast residents who did not register but still decorated their own boats for the parade, there were at least 150 decorated vessels, Ulis wrote in an email to the Observer. She called the event a "sea of lights."
"The number of officially registered boats was met and even surpassed by other Palm Coast boaters who decorated their boats to the plimsoll line and on up into the sky," Ulis wrote.
For next year's parade, Ulis wrote, there will be official counters, and the parade will submit the numbers to Guinness World Records.
The parade, organized by the Palm Coast Yacht Club, ran from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and the city of Palm Coast livestreamed the parade on its YouTube channel. The parade was dedicated to Al Krier, a longtime community activist who died in December 2022.
For the first time, Flagler County provided free shuttle services to and from European Village, allowing people to park at the Community Center and Daytona State College Campus to go view the parade.
"Thanks to everyone for participating and making this such an amazing event for Palm Coast," Ulis wrote.
