Photo by Evan Micho for Visit Alexandria
2022 Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights, sponsored by Amazon
More than 50 boats competed for prizes in 11 categories Dec. 3 at the 22nd Annual Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights sponsored by Amazon.Thousands of locals and visitors came out to experience one of the region’s most beloved holiday traditions at Alexandria’s historic waterfront. The mile-long parade was led by Alexandria’s fireboat Relief and Fireboat 2 from Washington, D.C.’s Fire Department.
Best of Alexandria Show was awarded to Dark Star and Captain Doug Savage, who presented "A Charlie Brown Christmas," complete with familiar costumed characters like Lucy, Linus and Snoopy dancing to the nostalgic theme song.
Best Powerboat went to Beer Hunter and Captain Chris Johnson for "Land Before Time," which took the judges on a festive Jurassic journey.
Best Sailboat was awarded to Tuesday and Captain Joe Landa for "From Odessa with Love,” featuring scenes in support of Ukraine projected on the sailboat’s mast alongside elegant lights. Find a complete list of winners below:
2022 Winners
· Best In Show: Dark Star, Captain Doug Savage, “A Charlie Brown Christmas”
· Best Powerboat: Beer Hunter, Captain Chris Johnson, “Land Before Time”
· Best Sailboat: Tuesday, Captain Joe Landa, “From Odessa with Love”
· Thinking Outside the Christmas Box: Miss Behavin, Captain Kirt Barbee, “Have a Chesapeake Bay Crabby Christmas”
· Most Holiday Cheer: Titan Rowing (Alexandria City High School), Captain Patrick Marquardt, “Holiday”
· Best Spirit of America: Luthien, Captain John Newton, “Boy Scouting and Christmas”
· Most Spirited Crew: Magical Knots, Captain Brian Dollinger, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”
· Best Theme: Nauti Office, Captains Chelsie Bain, Greg Noble, Liz Cannon and Alex Kandalaft, “A Christmas Story”
· Hardiest Soul: American Girl, Captain John Gaydos, “Potomac Sleigh Ride”
· Best Movie or TV Theme: Moovin, Captain Tom Cordell, “Mario Bros”
· Best Try: Consuelo, Captain David Robbins, “Bah, Hum BUG”
A slideshow of the winners can be found on ALXBoatParade.com.
The parade’s dockside festivities included a pop-up beer garden from Alexandria’s award-winning Port City Brewing Company, hot chocolate from Dolci Gelati, gourmet popcorn from America’s Favorite Gourmet Popcorn and holiday music and giveaways from 97.1 WASH-FM.
First-time boat parade offerings included New York style pizza by the slice from RedRocks Old Town and a delicious lineup from Common Plate Hospitality’s Alexandria-based restaurants Augie's, Mason Social and Urbano 116.
Guests enjoyed hand-on activities from independently owned Alexandria businesses including Shop Made in Virginia, Penny Post and AR Workshop Alexandria.
New this year, two family-friendly events in Old Town North offered live music, treats, artist vendors and more. At 3:30 p.m., Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived by fireboat at the Alexandria City Marina before attending the annual Holiday Festival at Torpedo Factory Art Center.
The Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights sponsored by Amazon is part of Alexandria’s Biggest Holiday Weekend, which featured top signature holiday events including the 51st Annual Alexandria Scottish Christmas Walk Parade.
The parade was produced by Visit Alexandria in collaboration with the City of Alexandria, City Cruises anchored by Hornblower and the Old Dominion Boat Club.
For more information, visit ALXBoatParade.com
