DeLand Boat Parade — Saturday, Dec. 12

By Jen Horton
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Nov 25, 2009 - 12:09:13pm

Holidays are a little different in Florida. There’s no white Christmas; heck, often there’s no cold weather.

In West Volusia, we like it that way. The holiday season races from town to town, from tree to tree, and street to street. Or, from boat to boat.

Just as it wouldn’t be Mardi Gras in West Volusia without a dog parade, the holidays just wouldn’t be complete here without the annual Festival of Lights Boat Parade.

Jet Skis pulling Santa’s sled, followed by pirate ships, boats growing palm trees made of Christmas lights, and seaplanes are just a few of the cool boats Roger Woywood has seen at past parades. This year, Woywood is president of the 45th annual St. Johns River Christmas Boat Parade.

“I’ve been involved with this for about six years. I’ve been president for three years,” he said. “We’ve had just about everything come through the parade.”

The boat parade is one of DeLand’s annual traditions, and people crowd along the banks of the St. Johns River to check out the floating floats.

The parade begins at 6 p.m. Boats line up at Catfish Bend (Marker 36), north of Whitehair Bridge.

The boats, led by Woywood, travel up the St. Johns, wrapping up the parade about 8 p.m. at the north end of Lake Beresford. The awards ceremony follows at Lake Beresford Yacht Club.

Woywood said the event — although it is in its 45th year — actually started 80 or 90 years ago, in the mid-1920s. World War II caused the parade’s cancellation.

“It came back to existence in the 1960s, and was incorporated in 2000,” Woywood explained.

Currently, the parade is seeking participants.

“The parade travels south on the river, so the port side of your boat should be decorated,” Woywood said. “The decoration is up to you. You can do a wreath on the front, or you can do more. We had one boat decorated like an old-fashioned paddle boat, with the big wheel on the side.”

Entries are limited only by imagination.

To watch the parade, Woywood said, folks can hang out at Ed Stone Park, Hontoon Island State Park, the Lake Beresford Yacht Club, or any of the restaurants along the St. Johns.

To enter your boat, or get more information, call Woywood at 386-775-8399. Entry fees are $15 per boat if paid before Nov. 25, and $25 if paid Nov. 26 through Dec. 6.

— jen@beacononlinenews.com

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