Sparkling lights will illuminate shorelines along Alabama’s Coastal Connection during lighted Christmas boat parades in December in both Mobile and Baldwin counties. The boat parades are on different weekends, giving you the opportunity to catch both.
Throw on a scarf, grab your chairs and some hot cocoa, and head to Mobile’s oldest and largest boat parade: the 41st Annual Dog River Christmas Boat Parade on Dec. 3. The parade rolls – er, floats – from the Alba Fishing & Hunting Club to the Grand Mariner Restaurant on Dog River. Nineteen boats participated in the 2015 parade.
On Dec. 10 at 5:30 p.m., take your chairs and blankets to the 31st Annual Christmas Lighted Boat Parade in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. Beginning at LuLu’s Homeport Marina, the sparkling spectacle travels east down the Intracoastal Waterway Canal, past The Wharf, around Bear Point and the south end of Ono Island, west to Perdido Pass, north into Terry Cove Harbor, south to the bridge, and finally ending at Cobalt Restaurant in Orange Beach.
Ed Rodriguez, president of the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber of Commerce, encourages visitors to get a good spot on Canal Road early if they want to have a tailgate party. Other viewing spots include The Wharf and many restaurants along the canal.
This year’s parade will be televised, Rodriguez said, and Sinclair Communications is already preparing a 30-minute TV special on the parade, now going into its 31st year. Last year’s event drew about 50 boats ranging in size from kayaks to yachts.
The Annual Lighted Boat Parade is part of the Coastal Christmas initiative on the Alabama Gulf Coast, Rodriguez said. The Coastal Christmas website includes holiday events to which the public is invited from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day.
For more information about the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach boat parade, call the chamber at 251-968-6091 or visit their website.
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