Bonita Springs Historical Society preserves holiday boat parade
The colorful lights and decorations made a double image as they reflected off the calm waters of the Imperial River during the annual boat parade Dec. 9. For the first time the parade was organized by the Bonita Springs Historical Society.
“Their mission is to preserve, protect and promote any history of Bonita Springs,” said president Derrick Botana.
This is the fourth time the torch has been passed along for running the parade. It began in 1984 when Carl Johnson and the Weeks family, decided to start a holiday boat parade. Both families were long time local fishermen and wanted to celebrate being on the water. In the 1990s the Bonita Springs Chamber of Commerce took over. Bay Water Boat Club took the helm in 2004.
“They (Bay Water) decided this year not to do it anymore and myself being president of the historical society thought it was important to keep it going.”
It takes about 15 volunteers and several thousand dollars to put on the parade every year, Botana said.
The 2023 parade featured a variety of decorations. Santa arrived on a shark, in an airplane and a Jet Ski. Boaters dressed up as Santa and elves. There was even a tiny lighted canoe powered by a small engine and a jet boat with a trail of neon lights.
Antonio Correia was on the US 41 bridge taking photos of the boat parade for the historical society.
“There were so many people at the bridge,” he described. “It was full. It was almost shoulder to shoulder on the entire bridge.
Correia said his favorite boat was the one with Santa and two penguins on the front and passengers dressed as elves.
“That one stood out to me,” he said.
Karin and Matt O’Leary anchored their boat along the Imperial River to watch from the water.
“We grabbed a pizza and a salad from Enzo’s and went out on the boat,” Karin O’Leary said.
She enjoyed the music from the first boat that featured a Christmas tree and a little white dog on the front. But her favorite had a huge inflatable plane.
“I loved the one with the plane on the front. That was my favorite,” she said. “It was super cute.”
That boat was owned by Brian and Maria Mitchell. They put the inflatable red and white airplane with Santa on the front of their Bennington pontoon and then added a lighted flamingo and palm tree along with a bunch of lights. This is the second time the Mitchells have entered the parade.
“I like when all the boats are lined up, looking back and forward at them,” Brian Mitchell began. “It is a lot of fun to see all the house parties along the river.”
The Mitchell’s say the boat parade in Bonita is the best one in Southwest Florida because the river is narrow so the boats are always close to the people viewing them along the shore.
“Being closer to shore makes it more fun,” Maria Mitchell said. “You see more people watching the parade from shore and in their own boats.”
They plan to enter the parade next year with a whole new look.
“Next year we will change it up,” Brian Mitchell said. “We will retire those decorations and think of something new for next year.”
First prize went to Jeffery Aroy who had a double decker pontoon boat with a snowman going down the slide. It also featured reindeer and Santa on the top of the vessel. Second place was taken by John Maloney whose boat was full of inflatables and lights including a Santa and a tree on top. Michael Ross won third prize for his deck boat decorated with a huge inflatable dog with antlers. There was $1,000 in prize money including $500 for first, $300 for second and $200 for third.
This should have been the 39th year, but since it was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid and in 2022 because of Hurricane Ian, this is the 37th annual event.
The parade took its usual route starting at Bay Water meandering up the Imperial River past the US 41 Bridge and up to Jolly Roger Lane before turning around. The boat parade was much smaller this year with only 16 boats heading up the river. In past years there have been as few as 10 and as many as 40 entries.
Botana said the low turnout was caused by a few factors. Since there was no parade last year, the enthusiasm has to be rebuilt, he explained. The parade was also put together very quickly. When Bay Water decided not to run it, Botana scrambled to find another organizer.
“I just threw it together in 10 days,” Botana said. “That is why there were not as many boats in it. It was last minute.”
In the past more planning has gone into the organization and into the boats that meander up the river.
Ben Nelson of Nelson Marine had the most talked about, entry in the boat parade back in the early 2000’s when he turned his crane into a glowing, water spewing dragon. In 2013 Dave Raupp wanted to break records so he entered a boat float that was about 100 feet long. His creation was a pontoon sleigh pulled by seven personal watercraft. A single Jet Ski in the front had a red light like Rudolph’s nose. White lighting connecting the personal watercraft to the boat was constructed to look like the reins.
Boats often feature a nautical theme such as in 2015 when one of the most popular boats had upside down umbrellas with plastic dangling to look like jellyfish. There was also a vessel featuring pink flamingoes.
Botana says the 2024 parade will be bigger and better since he has a lot more time to plan. Just days after this year’s parade he was already meeting with other members of the historical society to brainstorm.
“We will try to get the community more involved,” Botana said. “We want to get the homes along the river to decorate too and turn the whole area into a winter wonderland.”
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This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Bonita Springs Historical Society preserves holiday boat parade
