NEWPORT, R.I. — Decorated boats strung with holiday lights will loop through Newport Harbor on Friday, Nov. 27, when the Newport Illuminated Boat Parade returns for its 27th year at 6 p.m.
The Newport Yacht Club hosts the free event with help from community volunteers. Then-Harbormaster Jake Farrell started the parade, and over nearly three decades it has grown into the informal kickoff of the holiday season in the City by the Sea.
Boats will line up south of the Goat Island Causeway, then travel east past the yacht club, where the judges sit, then cruise along the downtown waterfront by Perrotti Park and the Bannister’s and Bowen’s wharves before swinging back toward the causeway to finish.
Organizers say the two wharves and the yacht club grounds offer the best views. Watching costs nothing, but people are asked to bring a nonperishable food item to benefit the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center in Newport, and a donation box will sit at the yacht club.
Judges will hand out first, second and third place prizes for Best in Show. A separate Tim Mills Team Spirit Award, named for a former Newport harbormaster, goes to the crew that shows the most community spirit. Winners are announced at a 7:30 p.m. ceremony at the club, so crews and spectators can head indoors once the last boat clears the harbor.
Boat owners, businesses and groups that want a spot in the lineup have until noon Thursday, Nov. 26, to sign up online. If the weather does not cooperate, the parade shifts to Saturday, Nov. 28.
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