The 24th Annual Palm Beach Holiday Boat Parade and 19th Annual “On the Water” Toy Drive benefiting Toys for Tots and Little Smiles kicks off this year’s holiday season on Saturday, December 1 at 6:00 p.m. Spectacularly illuminated boats cruise North Palm Beach beneath a backdrop of traveling fireworks. Celebrity Grand Marshals, Mo and Sally from KOOL 105.5 will lead the parade again this year on the Loggerhead Marina vessel. There will be extended fireworks at Harbourside Place, plus a grand finale at the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse. Other popular viewing locations include: Juno Park, Bert Winters Park, Sawfish Bay Park, and Lighthouse Park.
Boat entry is free and open to boats of all sizes. Judging is based on three factors: lights, enthusiasm and themed decor. The top three boats in each size category, plus “Best of Parade” win a total of more than $10,000 in cash and prizes. Toy donations can be dropped off at dozens of local businesses (listed at palmbeachboatparade.com), or picked up dockside during the parade by a fleet of marked toy boat volunteers by waving a flashlight.
There will be temporary road closures due to bridge openings that will allow all parade vessels to pass through. Due to weather, winds, tides, and currents we cannot predict the exact time bridges along the parade route will be going up and down. Here are our best estimates based on past parades. Parker Bridge will open sometime between 6:00 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. PGA Bridge will open sometime between 6:30 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Donald Ross Bridge will open sometime between 7:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Indiantown Road Bridge will open sometime between 8:00 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. Jupiter Federal Bridge will open sometime between 8:15 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Our permits allow a 45-minute opening for all bridges, so please use alternate routes during these times. This will only affect the parade traffic moving from south to north. Once the parade is completed at the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse the regular bridge opening schedules will be in effect.
The Palm Beach Holiday Boat Parade is produced and sponsored by the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, Inc. For more information and a list of all our sponsors and supporters, visit palmbeachboatparade.com, email alyssa@marinepbc.org, or call (561) 863-0012.