Thank you: For ‘Light Up The Night’ boat parade

Last Saturday evening Beaufort enjoyed another annual “Light Up The Night” parade of boats. This year marked the 10th year Beaufort residents, families and friends were treated to a display of colorful lights and music from the various vessels ranging from 22 feet to 46 feet in length.

Boats came from Beaufort, Port Royal, Lady’s Island and Bluffton to participate. Each boat had its own lighting theme, such as Snoopy’s Christmas Party, Disney Christmas, Happy Hula Days, Loggerhead Santa, Ice Queen and Mickey’s Winter Wonderland, to mention a few.

As this year’s Beaufort Sail & Power Squadron Commander, I would like to thank all the folks who came out to our Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park for the parade.

Thanks also goes to the Beaufort Water Search and Rescue team that provides extra safety for all our boats, kayaks and paddle boarders who participated in the parade. We had 13 boats participating this year.

Special thanks goes to state Rep. Shannon Erickson, Beaufort Mayor Bill Keyserling and special volunteer Jake Ginder for being our judges this year.

Big thanks go to The Greenery for providing all the folks with hot chocolate and to Donna Patrick’s sound equipment for musical entertainment and a microphone for our announcer.

Last, but not least, a thank you to the Port Royal Marina for providing the venue for our after-parade chili and hot dog feast for the parade participants and their onboard friends.

This story was originally published December 6, 2016 at 9:12 AM with the headline "Thank you: For ‘Light Up The Night’ boat parade."