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Christmas Spirit: St. Croix Christmas Boat Parade


Each December the St. Croix Christmas Boat Parade brings holiday cheer and festive crowds to historic Christiansted.  While it goes without saying that the highlight of the evening is always the spectacular parade of Christmas themed boats that light up the harbor, before the parade the boardwalk comes to life with holiday merriment!  This year, Mocko Jumbies danced in the streets, Santa strolled the boardwalk taking pictures with passersby, ‘reindeer’ paddle boarded along the boardwalk, and live music from local artists, bands, choirs and steel pan orchestras filled the air.  As dusk approached, Seaborne’s seaplanes did a flyover to kick things off, and then when the sun went down Christiansted Harbor lit up!

This year 25 boats participated in the parade!  Each boat was decorated with thousands of colorful lights in a variety of fun themes, from traditional Christmas trees, to tropical sea life.  In addition to the light displays, many boats included music, entertainers, fire dancers, laser shows and one even had the Virgin Island’s own Pressure Busspipe performing live reggae!  The boats did two laps around the harbor to the cheering of the crowd, one lap included full-on ‘show-boating’ for the judges as some of the captains did 360s or sprayed water in a rooster tail behind their boats as they passed near the boardwalk.  The parade was enjoyed by a boardwalk full of spectators that stretched from the seaplane terminal all the way to Fort Christiansvaern, as well as those watching from Green Cay Marina, AND the masses that watched worldwide via the GoToStCroix.com Christiansted Harbor Webcam at Rum Runner’s Deck Bar! And, as the parade concluded, the sky exploded with a colorful array of fireworks which lit up Christiansted Harbor to the delight of the crowd, adults and children alike.

Each year this fun and festive community event allows residents and visitors alike to enjoy an afternoon of Christmas cheer including shopping in historic Christiansted, partaking of some local Caribbean fare from a variety of street vendors and, most importantly, spending quality time with friends and family.  While attending the annual St. Croix Christmas Boat Parade is a tradition for many, if you are thinking of visiting St. Croix you may want to consider making it a point to be here for next year’s boat parade and festivities!  What better way to get into the Christmas spirit than Crucian style?!

-Jennie Ogden, Editor

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