Holiday Lighted Boat Parade
It’s holidays season!
On Small Business Saturday, my family has a tradition to do some shopping in Mystic and then see the annual holiday lighted boat parade. The first stop is always at Olde Mistick Village which is an outdoor mall consisting of mom and pop shops. More about the village can be read at this blog here.
After shopping at Olde Mistick Village, we head to downtown to shop more of the mom and pop shops that adorn Mystic River. It’s an afternoon of shopping with a beautiful scenery, can’t beat that! I love this time of year when we see the holidays themed window displays in many of the shops.
We usually grab some dinner at one of the many, many options in Downtown Mystic. It is my suggestion to make reservations, as it can be busy on this day with Small Business Saturday and the events! Then it’s off to Mystic River Park to get a good spot for the holiday lighted boat parade. The holiday lighted boat parade is our annual tradition to kick off the holidays season.
The Christmas tree in Mystic River Park is donated every year by someone in the area. It gets lit every year on the night of the boat parade. It is displayed in center of the river park filled with multi colored lights. The countdown to lighting the tree is always loudly cheered by the people surrounding Mystic River Park.
The holiday lighted boat parade is unique event that Mystic has and it’s always delightful! The boats are decorated creatively every year. One year a guy proposed to his girlfriend by using the lights to spelling out her name, and “marry me?” (I was able to find out on social media later on that she did indeed accepted the proposal!). The event is typically a mix of private vessels but we do get to see a tugboat and Mystic Fire Department Marine One.
Also same day of the lighted boat parade, Santa Claus always comes to downtown by a tugboat! He sits in the Mystic River Park during late afternoon to take photographs and chat with everyone.
The holiday lighted boat parade is always the Saturday after Thanksgiving every year. I love our tradition of supporting local and a fun festive holiday event!
