Holiday boat parade launches Dec. 12 on Lake Wylie

Larry Watts attended his first holiday boat parade last year with his grandchildren. They’ll make sure it wasn’t his last.

“They told me immediately after that they wanted me to enter my boat,” Watts said.

The Lake Wylie resident and his family will be part of the Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce’s 27th annual holiday boat parade on Dec. 12. Boats large and small dock at T-Bones on the Lake and travel both sides of the shoreline. Each year, vessels of varying sizes don lights, inflatables and other items to show holiday spirit.

Watts, who grew up in Belmont and spent plenty of time on the water before last year’s parade, will enter the largest of his three boats. The 1964 houseboat is in the hands of grandchildren, ages 5 to 13, who picked out a Jamaican Christmas theme. It’s “just something fun to do,” Watts said, though he admits he hasn’t decorated a full houseboat with lights before.

“We’ve got a box full of them, so we’ll see how it goes,” he said. “I’m going to let them decorate it how they want to.”

Last year, the holiday event came ashore with activities at Buster Boyd Access Area in addition to the parade. This year there will be a nativity with live animals, Santa and Mrs. Claus passing out treats to children, music and decorated boats docked early for onlookers prior to the parade.

“This is the second year for Christmas at the Lake along the shoreline,” said Susan Bromfield, chamber president. “There will be warming tents with hot cider, hot chocolate and Christmas cookies provided by area churches.”

Doug McSpadden, event chairman, said success from the event last year bodes well for the festivities this year.

“What we experienced last year was nothing short of a scene straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting,” he said.

Live singing and children dancing to a backdrop of boats decorated in lights were memories he still recalls vividly, and would like to replicate this year.

“It was truly a magical evening,” McSpadden said “If this doesn’t put you in the spirit of Christmas, nothing will.”

Land events run 4-7 p.m. The boat parade begins at 6:30 p.m. and will travel from T-Bones on the Lake to RiverPointe to Camp Thunderbird and back, following all shorelines in between.

This story was originally published December 4, 2015 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Holiday boat parade launches Dec. 12 on Lake Wylie."