The nonprofit St. Croix Boat Parade, Inc. returned to the Christiansted waterfront on Saturday as thousands of people gathered for one of the most anticipated events of the season.
Lit-up boats cruised through the Christiansted harbor as crowds looked on and cheered. Santa Clause arrived via dinghy to greet the crowd and hand out candy canes. After the show, the sky lit up with a firework show.
In addition to the parade, the event welcomes shoppers to come to Christiansted town early to get their holiday shopping in.
Twenty-two years ago, a group of St. Croix boaters got together and decided to give a gift to the people of St. Croix for the use of the beautiful waters surrounding their island. The crowd has grown from a couple of hundred to 7,000-plus.
The goal of the event is to bring the people of St. Croix together to celebrate the start of the Christmas holiday season and to support charitable children’s organizations.
