Jun27🤝 Community
🤝 Community
Tampa Holiday Lighted Boat Parade
Date
Saturday, Dec 19, 2026
Location
Tampa Riverwalk
Tampa Riverwalk, Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, 600 N Ashley Dr, Tampa, FL 33602
Tampa Riverwalk, Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, 600 N Ashley Dr, Tampa, FL 33602
Organized by
Friends of the Tampa Riverwalk
About this happenin
Boats launch near the Davis Islands lighthouse at 6:15 and turn Tampa's waterfront into a drifting line of light-wrapped hulls, rooftop trees and reindeer. The route runs past Sparkman Wharf, Harbour Island and the Tampa Convention Center, where the large vessels finish. Anything under twelve feet of air draft keeps going up the Hillsborough River, past Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and Ulele, ending near Water Works Park and Armature Works, which means the whole Riverwalk works as a grandstand. Friends of the Tampa Riverwalk runs it, and it is the largest lighted boat parade in the city. Skippers go all in, with inflatable characters on the bow and light strings traced along every rail, and the reflections on the water are half the show. Know before you go: viewing is free at any point along the Riverwalk, and the parade begins at 6:15 PM. Judging and a VIP viewing area are at Sparkman Wharf. Registered boats compete for prizes in small-boat and big-boat classes.
Where
Tampa Riverwalk · Tampa Riverwalk, Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, 600 N Ashley Dr, Tampa, FL 33602
Open in Maps
