VERO BEACH — Two annual Vero Beach events are just days away, and the Vero Beach City Council Tuesday invited everyone to come out and take part in the city’s long-held Christmas traditions.
On Friday, Royal Palm Pointe will host Holiday Fest from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Santa arrives at 5:45 p.m. and activities for kids include games and face painting. Numerous booths and food vendors will be set up, as well as a beer and wine garden. Music will be provided by the Rip Tides.
The boat parade of lighted, decorated sailboats and power boats will sail past Royal Palm Pointe down the Intracoastal Waterway as part of the festivities.
The parade will form just north of the Barber Bridge and proceed south to Quail Valley and back. During that time, there will be two viewings of the colorfully lit boats from the dock at Royal Palm Pointe. As they pass by, each way, between 7:00 PM and 7:30 PM.
According to the city website, Royal Palm Pointe will be open to traffic and parking will be available in all business parking lots other than the restaurant lots, as well as the parking lots at the Florida Eye Institute on Indian River Boulevard and First Presbyterian Church, Royal Palm Boulevard. No coolers will be permitted.
A portion of the proceeds of the event benefit the city recreation department’s Royal Palm Pointe Fountain. For more general information, contact Rob Slezak of the Recreation Department at 567-2144.
Then on Saturday night, the Oceanside Business Association and Sunrise Rotary Club’s holiday parade kicks off at 6 p.m. down Ocean Drive in the city’s oceanfront business and tourism area.
Rotarians will be collecting new, unwrapped toys for Toys for Tots and local Boy Scouts will be collecting non-perishable food for the Chuck Wagon project.
For those who would like to participate in the parade, a mandatory Christmas Parade meeting will be held atat 5:30 p.m. Dec. 4 the Bethel Creek House on A1A. All drivers of floats must be present.
The entry fee is $50, or $25 for nonprofits. Entry forms can be found at the Oceanside Business Association website.