For three consecutive weekends in December, residents can celebrate the holidays at the Belmont Shore Christmas Parade, the Shoreline Yacht Club Parade of 1,000 Lights, and the Naples Island Annual Holiday Boat Parade. These special events have become holiday traditions, and planning begins months before the first parade passes by.

Stepping off on Saturday, December 5, is the largest celebration, the 27th Annual Belmont Shore Christmas Parade, created with humble beginnings by local organizations. “It started as a small thing as a promotion for businesses and the Shore, and grew rapidly from there,” says Harry Saltzgaver, Associate Publisher and Executive Editor of the Grunion Gazette. “Now it’s a community parade — big, colorful and a lot of fun.”

Presented by the Belmont Shore Business Association and coordinated by its Executive Director, Brooke Kennard, the parade has grown to where planning begins in early summer with the help of International City Racing, the organization that runs the Long Beach Marathon.

Fifty thousand spectators are expected to line both sides of Second Street and the median, and the parade now hosts more than 100 entries from local schools, community groups, churches, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and more than a dozen high school marching bands.

“Last year the Long Beach Ballet Nutcracker had a beautiful entry featuring a nutcracker on horseback, and [another] crowd pleaser was the Royal Syncopated Regiment — an allpercussion ensemble,” says Kennard, of the parade’s memorable entries. “We always love it when the Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride float makes it snow on Second Street!”

More than fifty volunteers help direct participants and carry sponsor banners during the parade, and volunteers from Beacon House of San Pedro assist with trash and recycle boxes, monitoring street barricades, and post-parade clean-up.

This year, the parade’s start time has been pushed back to 7 p.m., allowing businesses to remain open an hour longer, and the staging area has moved to the beach lot at Granada Ave., to smooth out pre-parade logistics. These behind-the-scenes changes improve the holiday atmosphere for spectators enjoying the evening.

“We have a very involved community of residents in the immediate area who are able to walk to the parade,” says Kennard. “This has become a night to celebrate with friends and neighbors. Most importantly, it’s good, old-fashioned, clean fun for people of all ages!”

The 27th Annual Shoreline Yacht Club Parade of 1,000 Lights follows on Saturday, December 12. Featuring up to 50 boats, the parade travels in and around the Long Beach Downtown Marina. Begun as an impromptu affair, the parade became so popular that the Lifeguards eventually were asked to provide an escort; then, the Coast Guard officially declared it an event.

This year, the entire Marina will be in the festive spirit, as boats in the slips will be decked out along with the boats on parade. “We really want to encourage the whole Marina to decorate, so that’s why we’re giving awards for boats that stay and for boats that are in the parade,” says volunteer Parade Committee Chairperson, Becky Happach.

Happach began her planning in February, ironing out the logistics — finding a range of possible dates based on the tides, calling neighboring parades to avoid scheduling conflicts, deciding on a theme, working with the city on permits and insurance, and filing applications with the Coast Guard and Harbor Master.

All boats are welcome, not only Shoreline Yacht Club or Marina members, and all participants must attend a pre-parade Skippers’ Meeting, where boat numbers are assigned and the Lifeguards and Marina office relay the expected weather. Strong winds are one of the only reasons the parade has been canceled, which actually happened last year.

The parade also offers an important safety seminar. “We make sure everyone understands electricals — how to plug things in, what you have to do and what not to do — because you have all of these lights on your boat,” says Happach. “So we have a Boat Decorating Seminar, where members who are electricians and have done the parade for many years volunteer their time and instruct people.”

Although this is her first year as Chairperson, Happach also is an enthusiastic parade participant. “I just love how creative everyone can get in decorating a boat. It is a lot of work, but it’s so fun just to be hanging out here [on parade day], watching it all come together.”

Saturday, December 19, marks the area’s longest-running parade, the Naples Island 63rd Annual Boat Parade. The parade is actually two parades in one — a format, according to volunteer Boat Parade Chairperson, John Schuman, that has been in place since the parade began.

The small boat parade, for boats under eight feet in height that can fit under the bridges, and the large boat parade, begin half an hour apart and travel in opposite directions. The small boats travel along the seawalls, then through the canals, while the large boats follow the main channel along the Belmont Peninsula from the Davies Bridge to the Bay Shore and Second Street Bridge.

The parade is organized by the Naples Improvement Association, and more than 15,000 spectators fill Alamitos Bay and the Naples Canals every year. Planning begins a year in advance, when the theme is chosen in January, and the date is set on the weekend with the lowest tide, so boats can easily make their way through the canals.

Naples also has a mandatory pre-parade Skippers’ Meeting. “We make sure that everyone is signed up that needs to sign up. We give a safety speech and make sure everybody knows the parade route,” says Schuman.

The Gondola Getaway is celebrating its 25th year in the parade, and provides its boats for local dignitaries. Owner David Black is a Naples native and has personally been part of the parade since he can remember. “I started on the parade when I was four or five,” he laughs. “It’s one of those things you just do — you’re required — if you grow up here.” The Naples parade also has organic roots, the result of boat owners finding themselves out on the same evening every year. Legend has it, as a highlight of parades past, a firebreathing dragon with six-foot flames finally met its match in insurance coverage. Santa, however, still arrives by sleigh at the end of the parade.

“The entire community participates in the event — the houses are all decorated, [and] carolers are walking around,” says Schuman. “It’s a festival atmosphere, with everything decorated to the nines. Everyone has a big party, and people go from house to house and watch the parade go through.”

For first-time visitors, all three organizers recommend a coat and plenty of time. “It’s at night, it’s December — and even if it’s a beautiful day, it starts to get cold,” cautions Happach, of the Parade of 1,000 Lights. She suggests tailgating in the parking lot or walking along the Marina to make an evening of it.

Black agrees. “Come early and park in Naples or Belmont Shore, or wherever you want to watch — it’s a great day and night,” he says. “There’s something about it that’s really friendly and nice, and people pick up on the vibe everywhere you go.”

So whether you take in the sights of one event or make the rounds to all three, you’ll find a celebration of community on the water or at the Shore. There really isn’t a better place than Long Beach for a holiday parade.



“A Magical, Musical Christmas”

Date: Saturday, December 5
Start time: 7 p.m. (Note: this is a new time this year)
Parade duration: 2 hours
Number of entries: 100
Parade route: Begins at Livingston Ave., heads east on E. Second St., makes a U-turn at Bay Shore Ave., and returns to Livingston Ave. Chairs and blankets can be set up beginning at 5 p.m.
Awards: Most Outstanding Float, Most Outstanding Commercial Float, Best Theme

More information: belmontshore.org



“California Adventure”

Date: Saturday, December 12
Start time: 7 p.m., viewing begins at 6:15 p.m. as boats leave their slips
Parade duration: 1 hour
Number of entries: 25-50 boats
Parade route: Begins at the Queen Mary and travels throughout the Long Beach Downtown Marina. Spectators can wander along the walkways or dine in restaurants. Boats in the Marina can be viewed on the public walkway by the Shoreline Yacht Club
Awards: Grand Prize, Best Theme, Most Ooriginal, Most Complex (for boats in the parade or in their slips)

More information: shorelineyachtclub.com or syclb@hotmail.com



“California Dreamin’”

Date: Saturday, December 19
Start time: 6 p.m., small boat parade; 6:30 p.m., large boat parade
Parade duration: 1½ to 2 hours
Number of entries: 60 boats and several kayaks
Parade route: According to organizers, the best places to watch are along the seawall in Naples, from any of the bridges, along Bay Shore Ave. in Belmont Shore, and E. Bayshore Walk along the peninsula.
Awards: Best Overall Boat, Theme, Lights, Music, Costumes, and Originality

More information: naplesca.com