Deck the Boats for Christmas in Sarasota!

Each December, the Sarasota area celebrates the holidays with a tropical twist – colorful boat parades. The communities of Sarasota, Venice and Englewood each host parades, so visitors to the area during December have a choice.

Parade participants work on decorating their boats for months, stringing up multi-colored, twinkling lights to create one-of-a-kind, often Christmas-themed, designs. In a recent Venice parade, one boater created a champagne bottle of twinkling lights, complete with a cork that popped out. While spectators watched in amazement, the bottle tipped and filled a glass.

Whole boats have been disguised as blue-light marlins, or have been decorated with single-file dolphins that appear to be jumping into the water. Santa Claus, reindeer, Christmas trees and other holiday symbols are often displayed on board, while sound systems pump out cheery holiday music.

On parade nights, sparkling processions of boats wind their way through canals and bays, often staying close to shore so that spectators can see even the smallest details. Visitors set up beach chairs, blankets, grills and tents and make the parades a complete night out. All the parades are free events.

Visitors can also view the processions from the water. For the best, most up-close views, rent a boat and anchor along the side of a waterway.