CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Hundreds of people celebrated the holiday spirit Saturday night when Cape Coral residents put on their own boat parade after last week’s got canceled.
When the City of Cape Coral canceled the annual Holiday Boat-A-Long due to bad weather, residents still wanted to continue the tradition. However, the City didn’t make plans for a new parade, so residents chose to make plans of their own.
“You know there’s so much going on in the world, right? Who doesn’t want to have some cheer and spread joy throughout the holiday season? And especially for Christmas, so I just think it’s amazing,” Cheryl D’asti said.
She organized the community led parade along with Walker’s Marina.
Over 844 people said they were interested in the boat parade on Facebook. Captain Ryan Hunt from Walker’s Marina led the parade Saturday on the original route. The boats gathered in Bimini Basin before embarking on the path.
With the large turnout, the Cape Coral Police Department’s Marine Unit was also on the water. D’asti tried to get a head count of all the boats, but so many people joined it got hard to tell.
People picnicked and sat in lawn chairs to watch the parade from Four Freedoms Park next to Bimini Basin. As the colored lights reflected on the water and Christmas music rang in the air, the holiday spirit was alive in Cape Coral.
