Date/Time
Date(s) - 12/07/2014
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Location
Lowry Park Boat Ramp
Address
7525 North Boulevard
Tampa, FL, 33604
Categories
The 15th Annual Hillsborough River Holiday Boat Parade happens Sunday, December 7th. All boaters and paddlers of canoes, kayaks, etc. in the Tampa Bay area are invited to JOIN the FUN at the Boat Parade for Everyone!
Paddlers and boaters are needed to help create this annual community event, sponsored for the 15th consecutive year by Friends of the River, a community organization of people who believe in restoring and protecting the health and beauty of Tampa’s #1 natural asset, the Lower Hillsborough River.
WHEN: Sunday, December 7, 2014. Boaters assemble @ 5:30 pm at Lowry Park Boat Ramp. Parade begins @ 6:00 pm, arriving upriver at Sulphur Springs Park @ approximately 7:00 pm.
WHERE: This event begins and ends at 2 City of Tampa Parks:
Begins at Lowry Park Boat Ramp, on the Hillsborough River: 7525 North Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33604
Ends at Sulphur Springs Park, 701 E. Bird St. Tampa, FL 33604. Enter along fishing bridge just north of Pool Pavilion. One may also enter parking area via Nebraska Ave. entrance between Bird St. and the Hillsborough River bridge.
PARADE: Owners of anything from yachts and power boats to canoes, kayaks and paddleboards – whatever floats! are invited to enter their decorated watercraft. The tide will be high so the risk of running aground will be minimal for boats with a deep draft.
All boaters in the Tampa Bay community are invited to put in at Lowry Park Boat Ramp and be part of a MAGICAL evening on the river. Assemble on the river @ Lowry Park Boat Ramp @ 5:30; parade goes up river @ 6:00 to Sulphur Springs Park.
Participating boaters are asked to decorate boats, canoes, kayaks, etc. with battery operated LED lights that run on 2 AA batteries, available everywhere decorations are sold. Power boats may wish to display yard decorations with an inverter and car battery.
SAFETY: Friends of the River urges all participants to use common sense boating safety. For everyone’s safety, paddlers go 1st up front in the parade, followed by power boats. Participants accept all responsibility and risks inherent in event. Friends of the River assumes no liability for any injury that may be incurred as a result of one’s participation in this voluntary community event.
WHY: In addition to the Holiday Season, we celebrate life in a city with a river flowing through it, a river that not so long ago was written off as dead. 8 years of uninterrupted daily flow of fresh water has brought Tampa Bay’s estuary back to life after decades of abuse and neglect, restoring the health & beauty of the Hillsborough River to a degree few believed possible. Also helping is Tampa’s urban fertilizer rule, protecting the river’s fish from toxic algae blooms. More fish, more birds, more life in the Hillsborough means a better quality of life for all of us in Tampa and Tampa Bay! Now, THAT’S something to celebrate! The entire Tampa Bay community is invited to come join the celebration, December 7, on Tampa’s River!
