On Saturday evening, thousands of Canyon Lake residents and guests gathered at lakefront parks and homes to watch the Parade of Lights boat parade, a time-honored holiday tradition sponsored by the Yacht Club for the past 42 years.
The parade kicked off with the Yacht Club’s iconic fire-breathing Green Dragon leading a fleet of 23 festively decorated boats through the East Bay to Holiday Harbor Park for intermission and then around the main lake.
During intermission, the floats gathered at Holiday Harbor Park, where visitors could get a close-up look at each float and enjoy free hotdogs and hot cocoa, Santa photos, and holiday music provided by the Yacht Club.
Among the creative entries and crowd favorites, “Santa’s Bathtime” float by Paul Klobetanz and Tracy Watkins earned the coveted Commodore’s Award.
Additional winners are as follows:
- Best Use of Lights: Gum Drop Good by Rob Mora and Lainie Cooney
- Best New Entry: Here Comes Santa by Troy Lee
- Best Club Entry 1st Place: Guild’s Rockin Santa by Cindy Cameron
- Best Club Entry 2nd Pace: Car Club’s 1956 Chevy by Doug Ray
- Best Themed: Christmas Story Leg Lamp by Holly and Dave Durston
- Best Pontoon 1st Place: Disney Dreamin’ by Trisha and Matt Rugh
- Best Pontoon 2nd Place: Canyon Lake Express by Diann and Brian Oltman
- Best Ski Boat 1st Place: Santa Claus by Sandra and Earl Rehder
- Best Ski Boat 2nd Place: Ski Club’s Seahorse by Jay Fitzpatrick
The winners will be honored at a reception in January.
“We couldn’t have done it without the help of our sponsors, volunteers, judges, and parade participants,” Yacht Club Commodore Rob Mora said. “Thank you to everyone who helped to make this a wonderful event for the community.”
