You may have heard the Christmas ships if you were by the water any evening in the past few weeks; they have been parading in the waters of the greater Seattle area since the end of November. If you haven’t seen them though, it’s not too late. In fact, the grand finale will take place on Saturday, December 23, and can be viewed from Gas Works Park.
If you’re asking yourself, “What is he talking about?” here is a bit of an explanation. The Christmas ships are a holiday tradition around these parts. Lead by an Argosy cruise ship with a live band or choir onboard, a parade of boats decked out with festive lights make their way along the Puget Sounds and Lake Washington shorelines with a different area targeted each night. You can book a spot on the Argosy boat, or, if you own your own boat or know someone who does, you can join the parade of ships by falling in behind the Argosy.
A complete schedule is here. But here is the approximate schedule, i.e. the location of the parade ships, for the grand finale on December 23:
- 2:35-2:55: Ballard Locks
- 5:35-5:55: Ivar’s Salmon House
- 8:30-8:50: Portage Bay Park
- 9:10-9:30: Gas Works Park
This year, in coordination with the Christmas ship parade locations, Seattle Parks will be having bonfires at select park properties. Some of these have already occurred, but here are the ones to look forward to:
- Dec. 19, 5:35pm: Matthews Beach Park
- Dec. 21, 8:40pm: Madison Park
- Dec. 22, 8:35pm: Magnuson Park
- Dec. 23, 9:10pm: Gas Works Park
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