It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas, when residents, friends and families, some several generations strong, turned out for the annual Moorings Christmas Lighted Boat Parade hosted by the Moorings Yacht Club, Moorings Club, Moorings Realty Sales Company and The Moorings of Vero Property Owners Association.
With dusk beginning to fall, landlubbers gathered along Cutlass Cove, the crowd swelling as viewers arrived to gather ’round and celebrate the holiday season. Many relished catching up over cookies and cider with neighbors not seen, in some cases, since the onset of the pandemic.
As the growing crowd awaited the armada of decorative watercraft, they joined together in song, just as a little Florida snow (aka rain) began to threaten the festivities. Revelers, however, caroled the raindrops away, by singing some holiday favorites.
Santa flew in just in time to visit with the children, before hopping back into his sleigh to head back to the North Pole and finish preparations for Dec. 25.
“We started this parade 28 years ago,” said emcee Vince DeTurris, noting that the original parade consisted of a few sailboats during the daytime. In the late 1990s it graduated into the festive nighttime nautical procession.
DeTurris kept up a running commentary during the parade, introducing each of the 21 boats, the most they’ve ever had in the parade, as they made the turn in front of the crowd before heading out to deeper waters, where they weaved in and out to ensure that they went by all the homes and condos on the water.
The lighted boats were decorated from stem to stern with lights, Grinches, a pod of leaping dolphins, Santa taking flight in his sleigh, snowmen, Christmas trees, and Florida’s fa-la-la’ing flamingos.
Residents along the watery parade route decked their docks with holiday cheer too, hosting their own parties with friends and families, while waving and offering greetings to the boaters as they passed by.
There was even some lighthearted entertainment offered up by Lisa Barganier and two friends, who did a Rockette-style routine on the lawn of her lagoon-facing home, to the delight of the parade participants.
“The land-based decorations were terrific this year and a delight for the boaters, with lots of people about,” said Sheila Marshall. She and husband George have participated in the parade 23 out of the 29 years that they’ve lived at the Moorings, and once again hosted a group of friends aboard their festively decorated boat, Blue Magic.
Photos provided
