Winterfest Boat Parade Celebrates 45th Year

The Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat Parade celebrated its 45th anniversary last Saturday, with the theme “Comics & Cartoons Rockin’ the Night Away.”

The parade started on the New River in downtown Fort Lauderdale at 6:30 p.m. and wound its way up the Intracoastal north to Lake Santa Barbara in Pompano Beach, forming 12 miles of the “Greatest Show on H20.”

Everything from private boats to corporate megayachts were adorned with hundreds of thousands of lights, music, entertainment, decorations, celebrities, musical groups, beauty queens and many other exciting entries that were viewed by more than 1 million spectators.

Parade highlights included the Grand Marshal Showboat, hosted by Pitbull, the Galleria Mall Reindeer Barge and the Santa Showboat. Captain Lee Rosbach of Bravo’s “Below Deck” was the official captain of the parade. 

The parade took approximately 2 1/2 hours to view from one location (starting locations stagger as you travel north). Here is a list of approximate times bridges were up during the parade:

• 7th Avenue Bridge: Bridge Up: 6:20PM; Close: 8PM
• FEC Railroad Bridge: Bridge Up: 4:30PM; Close: 9PM
• Andrews Avenue: Bridge Up: 6PM; Close: 8PM
• 3rd Avenue Bridge: Bridge Up: 6PM; Close: 8PM
• Las Olas Boulevard: Bridge Up: 7PM; Close: 9PM
• Sunrise Boulevard: Bridge Up: 7:20PM; Close: 9:30PM
• Oakland Park Boulevard: Bridge Up: 7:40PM; Close: 10PM
• Commercial Boulevard: Bridge Up: 8PM; Close: 11PM

The New River closed to boat traffic except for parade vessels at 2:30 p.m. The Intracoastal closed 5:20pm south/north of the Oakland Park bridge at 6:20 p.m.