Boat parade expected to be grand

By Mena El-Sharkawi
The Facts

Published December 8, 2006

BRAZORIA — For the 20th annual Friends of the River San Bernard Christmas Boat Parade and Home Decorating Contest, the event’s committee and residents are going over the top.

“I’m really excited about this,” event chairwoman Vanessa Nelson said. “I’m just looking for a huge parade.”

At 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Brazoria County residents can stand at one of five viewing areas to watch the festively decorated boats cruise down the San Bernard River or see the Christmas lights on participating homes along the river, Nelson said.

The viewing areas are at the FM 521 boat ramp, Dido’s Restaurant, the FM 2611 Churchill bridge boat ramp, High Five Bar and Grill and the Las Playas boat ramp, she said.

“This is when the river celebrates Christmas, and it’s to meet your neighbors because we have no way to meet on this river — and it’s fun,” Nelson said.

So far, 18 boats and 12 homes, whose Christmas decorations will be judged by a panel, have registered for the event, Taylor said. Normally, Nelson receives about eight boat participants a few days before the actual parade, and the majority wait until the last minute to sign up, she said. So Taylor’s expecting many more to sign up by Saturday, she said.

“I think this is going to be the most outstanding that we’ve ever seen on the river,” said Tom Valliere, vice president of the Friends of the River San Bernard. “Weather permitting, we have more houses decorated than we’ve ever had. The decorations are far more elegant than they’ve ever been, and we have promises right now, if the weather cooperates, of having more boats than we’ve ever had.”

This is the first year the Friends of the River San Bernard, a non-profit organization striving to restore and maintain the San Bernard River, joined efforts with the boat parade committee, Nelson said.

“It has been our intent since the start of this to bring all of the river’s activities under one organizational umbrella,” Valliere said.

Those interested in participating in the parade must have their boats in the river by 5 p.m. Saturday. The parade starts at the FM 521 bridge and ends at the Las Playas bridge.

Boat and home decorators are invited to Nelson’s home at noon Sunday for an awards banquet. Door prizes and plaques will be given to participants, and dinner-for-two gift certificates will be given to first-place winners of the decorating contests.

For information, call Taylor at (979) 964-4402 or visit www.sanbernardriver.com.