Newport, RI – Sail into the most wonderful time of the year at the 21st Annual Newport Harbor Illuminated Boat Parade on Friday, November 23rd, 2018 at 6:15 p.m. Spectators can view this highly anticipated dazzling display of nautical holiday spirit along Newport Harbor’s waterfront from the Newport Yacht Club (open to the public for the event), Perrotti Park, Bowen’s Wharf, Bannister’s Wharf, and points around Newport Harbor.
Viewing of the parade is free of charge, making this a great family event to get into the spirit of the holiday season. At 6 p.m., parade boats will rendezvous just south of the Goat Island Causeway and then proceed east leaving Newport Yacht Club. Boats will then travel south along the downtown waterfront and then return to the Goat Island Causeway area.
“This year we are excited to have Dick Cromwell, owner of Maritime Solutions Inc. and Freedom Boat Club of RI, as our Parade Marshall”, states Harbormaster Tim Mills in the press release provided by the City of Newport’s Harbormaster Office. Each year Dick rallies the crew to enter 2-3 festively decorated boats in the parade. “The parade will feature a variety of watercraft that call Narragansett Bay home including leisure boats of all sizes, commercial fishing boats, tug boats, and Coast Guard and Navy vessels,” adds Mills
Magnificently decorated vessels will compete for prizes in the following categories: Best Decorated Sailboat (commercial and recreational), and Best Decorated Powerboat (commercial and recreational), Best Decorated Fishing Boat, Best Decorated Porch or Docks, and finally, arguably the parade’s most entertaining category, Most Team Spirit.
Parade organizers encourage all Newport Harbor waterfront owners to decorate porches and docks for the event through the holiday season. An award will be presented to the most dazzling landlubbing display as observed by the Harbormaster from the water that evening.
To contribute to the community this holiday season, participants and spectators are asked to bring a non- perishable food item to donate to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center. There will be a donation box set up inside the Newport Yacht Club.
Any organization, business, or boat owner that would like to get involved in the 21st Annual Holiday Harbor Lights Illuminated Boat Parade should contact Newport Harbormaster Tim Mills at (401) 845-5815. Participants are asked to register by 12 p.m. on November 23rd.