Palm Coast, Florida, November 7, 2023 – With new enhancements for boaters and viewers, The Palm Coast Holiday Boat Parade hopes to hold its status as the largest lighted boat parade in the State of Florida. This year’s Parade route will be lengthened by more than a mile and shuttle bus service for spectators will be provided. Registrations are growing for the Parade, now in its 40th year, to be held December 9, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. As always, the Parade is free to all. To register boats and for all details about the parade, The Palm Coast Yacht Club, which sponsors the event, invites all to visit www.palmcoastyachtclub.com.
To improve Parade access, parking will be available at the Palm Coast Community Center and the Daytona State College campus, both on Palm Coast Parkway. Flagler County buses will shuttle viewers between designated parking and European Village. Lit parking signs will be posted between along the Parkway. Parking will also be open at Waterfront Park. As always, Parade viewers are advised to seek parking early. All parking and shuttle service is free and will be available continuously between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. on December 9.
This year the Parade will begin at Cochise Waterway, the city’s northern-most cut to the Intracoastal Waterway, and head south. The parade will pass the Cimarron and Club House Waterways and sail under the Hammock Dunes Toll Bridge past St. Joe Walkway and Waterfront Park. Boats will turn at the Gazebo in Grand Haven and return to home port.
The Parade will be held in honor of the late Al Krier, a long-time Parade champion and major community activist. At the head of the parade will be Krier’s 18-foot Herreshoff Pilot which generously has been donated by his family to the Palm Coast Yacht Club. Grand Marshalls will be Palm Coast Mayor The Honorable David Alfin and Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly. Carrying the Grand Marshalls will be “Sunshine,” a 55-foot Viking owned by Club members Donna Heiss and Ken Mazzie.
Parade escorts include the Marine Unit of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and TowBoatUS. The Florida Inland Navigation District is endorsing the event. Once again, the Parade will be broadcast live by Flagler Broadcasting on KOOL-FM, 100.9. The City is providing worldwide simultaneous live coverage on YouTube.
