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Community Corner

Travel 'Back to the Future' at Parade of Lights

The annual boat parade takes place on San Diego Bay this Sunday and next.

 

This weekend and next, San Diego is taking a trip back to the future. But instead of using a DeLorean (the most convenient way to travel at warp speeds), the trip will be made on yachts—lots of them.

The takes place this Sunday and next Sunday, Dec. 18. The traditional boat parade is making big splashes with this year's theme, “Back to the Future.”

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Power boats, sail boats and self-powered boats will be decorated with bright lights and flashy fringe related to the theme while they make their way through the bay. 

Spectators can line up anywhere alone the bay to get a view of the shiny show, just make sure you stake out a spot early enough—around 80,000 spectators are expected to watch.

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The parade will begin at the Point Loma end of Shelter Island and proceed along the island, pass the Bay Club Hotel and Marina then off of Humphrey's Half Moon Inn and the Bali Hai. It then proceeds to Harbor Island near Tom Hams Restaurant, past The Boathouse Restaurant and The Sheraton Harbor Island, then past the Island Prime Restaurant.

The route will cross the bay over to the Embarcadero at the end of Grape Street, then head south down the quay wall to the Maritime Museum. It will loop around the Berkeley to the Star of India and Anthony's Restaurant, and then loop again around the Cruise Ship Terminal and USS Midway to pass by Seaport Village and Embarcadero Marina Park.

It will continue to sail past the Convention Center and Hilton San Diego and then cross the bay to where it turns north along the Coronado shoreline to Peohe's Restaurant and ends off the .

Did you catch all that? Let's make it simple: As long as you have a view of bay, you’ll be able to see the colorful boats. Click here for a map and check out during the parade.

All boats that enter the parade are judged on things like:

  • Holiday lighting (Was it used creatively? How much was used? Etc.)
  • Music (Could it be heard from the shore? Did it match the theme? Etc.)
  • Special effects (Were the crew in costumes? Were there other decorations besides lights? Etc.)
  • Originality (Was there a twist on the theme? Were more than just lights used? Etc.)

You can click here to see last year’s winners to compare them to this year’s competitors.

Fireworks will kick things off both nights of the parade at 5:30 p.m. over the bay. The boats will start making their rounds as soon as the sky show is done. Here are some estimated times when the vessels will be at big destination points on the bay:

  • Shelter Island (start of parade) - 5:30 p.m.
  • Harbor Island – 6 p.m.
  • The Embarcadero - 6:30 p.m.
  • Seaport Village – 7 p.m.
  • Ferry Landing on Coronado - 7:30 p.m.

The parade is expected to last about one and a half hours. Bundle up, bring a thermos of hot cocoa or coffee and enjoy the show with the whole family!

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