Jacksonville lights up for fall

  • 2019-10-14
The annual Jacksonville Light Boat Parade will be floating through Downtown Jacksonville at the end of November. This Jacksonville holiday tradition has been around for over 30 years.

All kind of boats of all sizes are decorated for the season and pass through town along both sides of the St. John River. Spectators line the banks to get a good view of all the lights and lighted scenes.

Crafts will be judged in four categories – corporate, sailboat, boats over 30’, and boats under 30’. Prizes and awards will be announced at the Captains Party after the parade.

The Jacksonville Light Boat Parade will start at 6:30 pm in front of the Hyatt Regency Riverfront Hotel. It will then go to the fuller Warren Bridge via the north bank Riverwalk. The procession will go over to the south bank and proceed on to the Duval County School Board building.

Corporations that enter units in parade such as this often have pictures taken of the vessels as they float down the river and use them in their advertising brochure printing.

Around 9:00 pm, the evening finale will be the First Coast fireworks show. A barge between the Double Tree and Hyatt Regency Riverfront hotels will be the staging area for the show. The show will end as it always does with the “waterfalls” off the Acosta and Main Street Bridges.