lights parade eastport yacht club 9 dec

Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade

Stay tuned, the eastport yacht club's lights parade to celebrate its 42nd year in 2024.

The magical Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade takes place along the Annapolis Harbor and Spa Creek on the second Saturday in December every year. This annual tradition has been delighting holiday revelers for 40 years!

It all began in the 1980s when  Eastport Yacht Club  (EYC) started. Back then, the club was based in a fourth-floor room with a tiny bar in a complex in what is now  Annapolis City Marina . Some of the earliest members lived on boats in that marina and used the club as their living room, especially after the weather got cooler. Feeling the spirit (pun intended) one December night, a few took to their boats and tooled around the harbor, singing Christmas carols.  1

Because it was so much fun, the EYC members decided to build upon the parade by adding lights to decorate their boats, making it an annual tradition. Although several tour operators sell packages during the lights parade, where you can watch the event on the water, the event is free. (Click here for more tours.) Now, it is an officially sanctioned and sponsored event on the Annapolis & Anne Arundel County holiday calendar.

Where to Watch

Book a cruise, join a friend's boat or watch from the Annapolis city front or Spa Creek Bridge. More great viewing spots are at the end of any street in downtown Annapolis that ends at the water. Pocket parks in Eastport and Murray Hill are also great vantage points for sipping some cocoa and watching the boat parade sail by.

To learn more about the parade's history, read this great blog on Annapolis Discovered .

1  Quote taken from the blog:  Behind the Mask: Tom Stalder & the History of the EYC Lights Parade

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Insider's Guide: Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade

December 5, 2023

Ryan Sneddon

Like many things in Annapolis, our best holiday tradition involves the water. It’s the Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade and here’s exactly what you need to know to enjoy it.

First Things First: The Basics

The 2023 Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade is December 9 from 6–8 PM. All of the action either happens in the harbor or down Spa Creek & Ego Alley.

Where can I watch?

Any of the pins on the map above are good options. Most of the street end parks are quite small so stake out your spot early.

Best viewing points

Spa creek bridge.

This is the best vantage point but fully exposed to the wind so it can be mighty cold. But you can see both fleets and get a close up when they switch places.

This is as close as you can get to the boats without being on one. Get here early if you want to see every little detail of how the displays are constructed.

Get a great view of all the boats as they circle around the harbor. You can get a higher vantage point if you join the We Care and Friends fundraiser on Watermark’s Harbor Queen. In lieu of tickets, bring a monetary donation, toy, blanket, clothing, or non-perishable food item to get in.

Other viewing options

If you have friends with homes or offices on the water, time to get them an early Christmas present and hope for an invite.

The Choptank is also a great option but space is limited and last year there was a private party on the entire second floor.

Where do I park?

The official parking garage of the parade is the garage at Park Place – 100 Westgate Circle, Annapolis, MD 21401 . The free circulator shuttle will run downtown.

Other options include:

• Hillman Garage . Cost: not free. Likelihood of spot: low
• Gotts Court Garage . Cost: not free. Likelihood of spot: medium
• Calvert Street Garage . Cost: free on weekends. Likelihood of spot: high
• Knighton Garage . Cost: not free. Likelihood of spot: medium
• Street parking . Cost: not free. Likelihood of spot: low

Remember that you get 1 hour free in the Hillman Garage and two hours in meter spots by using the code ParkDTA on the ParkMobile app until New Year’s Day.

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40 years and counting for the Eastport Yacht…

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40 years and counting for the Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade in Annapolis Harbor

This year the parade will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Dec. 10 , when boats decked out in holiday lights will be paraded up Spa Creek and through Ego Alley.

The Light Parade started as a one-man show in the early 1980s when Jim Langer, while living on his boat in Spa Creek, adorned it with Christmas lights and paraded around Annapolis Harbor. It caught on over the years, turning into a multi-boat extravaganza over the next four decades. By 1988, the event was proclaimed the official Maryland Winter Celebration.

Annapolis invites everyone to find a good spot along the parade route to see colorfully lit boats on a crisp December evening.

“Make sure you come out early because in the past it’s been pretty busy,” said Trudy Stalder, an Eastport Yacht Club member who hasco-chaired the Light Parade for the last four years with husband Tom Stalder.

Spectators can see the parade from several places, from the Eastport Bridge to finding a spot at the Eastport Yacht Club. There will also be vantage points along City Dock, Susan Campbell Park, the Naval Academy sea wall and other spots along Spa Creek.

During the event, Watermark is teaming up with We Care and Friends to host a dockside fundraiser from 5:30 to 9 p.m. aboard the Harbor Queen. There will music, drinks and a front-row seat to the parade. In lieu of a ticket, We Care and Friends, a nonprofit organization based in Annapolis that helps people struggling with substance abuse, will be collecting monetary donations as well as toys, linens, bedding, blankets, toiletries, clothing, and non-perishable food items.

Watermark has partnered with different organizations like this since 2011 and are excited to uphold the tradition to help a worthy cause.

“It is an absolute pleasure to partner with We Care and Friends for this year’s Queen of All Fund Drives. They do phenomenal work to help our community,” said Jake Iversen, president of Watermark, in a statement. “The Lights Parade is an Annapolis tradition, and we hope to see a big turnout to enjoy the festivities and support this wonderful organization.”

This year, there will be more than 40 boats participating in the parade, a number Tom Stalder said he hopes will continue to increase as the event gets closer.

“This show was up to 65 boats in the late ’80s,” he said. “It’s been down into the 30s recently but last year we were up to 40 before we canceled and this year we have more than that and counting. Hopefully, the trend continues.”

Stalder said he believes LED lights have allowed more boaters to light their crafts for a more reasonable price. He recalls when boaters needed a generator to keep their boat lit up.

“We expect to see all kinds of creative lighting ideas some by theme and others with moving lights spelling out fun holiday messages,” Stalder said.

Stalder said they are seeing new registrations every day, adding that participants don’t need to be part of the Eastport Yacht Club.

The Stalders said they take great pride in being able to help present the parade to the city each year because it starts the holiday season in Annapolis.

“It’s like our gift to the city,” Trudy Stalder said.

The event will coincide with other holiday events happening in the city. The Annapolis Holiday Market will be open from Dec. 8 to 11 at City Dock, along with Midnight Madness, when downtown businesses stay open late on Dec. 1, 8 and 15, leading up to Christmas..

The city of Annapolis asks those planning to watch the parade to be mindful of the potential for cold air and water temperatures along with slippery surfaces on boat decks and near the water’s edge.

The rain date for the event is Dec. 9.

Check the Eastport Yacht Club’s website for registration and inclement weather information. Deadline to register a boat in the parade is Dec. 6.

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Light up the Season 2022

November 1, 2022 (Moscow, Idaho) — The City of Moscow invites residents and visitors to Light up the Season! Offered through the Parks and Recreation and Community Events departments, Light up the Season is a holiday event which includes a downtown tree lighting, parade of lighted floats, and storefront decorating contest! There are two ways for interested individuals and organizations to participate in this event:

Submit a float entry for the Light up the Season Parade.

Float registrations are free and are being accepted from now until 5 pm, Sat., Dec. 3. Prizes will be awarded for the best entries in the following categories: Best General Entry, Best Youth Entry, Best Use of Lights, Best City of Moscow Entry, Best Military Entry, and Best Business Entry. Registration forms are available at the Hamilton Indoor Recreation Center, 1724 E. F Street or by contacting Tyler Ochoa, Recreation Coordinator at [email protected], 208-883-7087

Register as a contestant in the DeLIGHTful Downtown storefront competition.

Businesses on and near Main Street may register from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30 via Submittable at https://moscowarts.submittable.com/submit/240663/light-up-the-season-2022-delightful-downtown . Registered businesses must have storefronts decorated and on display by Thu., Dec. 1 for the judging panel.

Join us on Main Street and Friendship Square at 6 pm, Thu., Dec. 8 for all of the lighted festivities!

Festival Dance & Performing Arts 50th Jubilee Celebration

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