Fantasy of Lights Boat Parade sends shimmers across Tempe Town Lake

A holiday celebration doesn’t necessarily have to be on land. In Tempe, holiday lights will take to the water.

During the 17th annual Fantasy of Lights Boat Parade, 40 to 50 boat owners and groups will share their floating holiday light displays as part of a parade on Tempe Town Lake.

The Fantasy of Lights celebration kicked off on Nov. 26 with an opening night parade – the street kind – and tree lighting ceremony in downtown Tempe.

Miranda Edwards, director of messaging for Downtown Tempe Authority, said the boat parade adds to the holiday spirit on Mill Avenue and brings together people of different generations.

“People are already spending a lot extra money on gift-giving, holiday travel, entertaining, donating to charitable causes, etc., during the holiday season. This type of free and affordable holiday programming is essential for the local community, and it’s the only time of the year that motorized boats are permitted to operate on Tempe Town Lake, so that in and of itself is special,” Edwards said in an email.

This year, the event will start earlier in the evening and offer more activities throughout the night.

Along with the boat parade, the event will have family-friendly entertainment such as Santa visits, fireworks, face painters, food trucks and live music.

The draw, though, is the boat parade, an annual display that started in 1999 as a way to bring people out to the newly-renovated Tempe Beach Park. It also celebrated the completion of Tempe Town Lake, a man-made lake that hosts 40 special events annually.

In past years, boat owners have drawn inspiration from films such as "Up," "Minions"  and "The Polar Express"  for their themes. Boat owners have also shown off their creativity with Santa’s reindeer and North Pole decorations.

Edwards said the parade has become part of many participants’ and spectators’ annual holiday festivities.

“Like a lot of activities that revolve around the holidays, the boat parade has become a tradition for local families,” Edwards said. “I think that, in addition to it being such a unique event in the Valley, keeps families coming back year after year.”

Along with individual boat owners, local groups such as the Rio Salado Rowing Club and the Arizona Gila Dragons dragon boat team will take part in the parade.

The winning entry in the boat parade receives $1,500, and the runner-up takes home $1,000.

For the boat parade, Tempe Boat Rentals, a paddleboard, kayak, peddle boat and pontoon rental company on Tempe Town Lake, decorates its dock, boats and office with lights and holiday-themed decorations. At the dock area, guests can take pictures next to an inflatable snowman and Santa.

Tempe Boat Rentals manager Clint Page said Tempe Town Lake offers a completely different experience than other Arizona lakes because of its location in the center of a bustling city.

Page said the parade spreads a feeling of holiday merriment by lighting up the sky around Tempe.

“You can see it from the freeway. You can see it from the bridge. The planes flying over will be able to see it,” Page said.

During the parade, Tempe Boat Rentals will sell fully-loaded hot chocolates with marshmallows, sprinkles and whipped cream; hot dogs; gummy worms and sharks; ice cream, chips and trail mix.

Local business owners will add to the festive atmosphere in Tempe with their own December holiday displays.

For the second year, local establishments on Mill Avenue will take part in a Holiday Tree Contest in which they decorate wooden trees and display them outside of their businesses from Dec. 10 to 24.

Visitors can vote for their favorite trees online, and the winning businesses receive bragging rights and advertising space in the Downtown Tempe directory.

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Fantasy of Lights Boat Parade

When: 4:30-9 p.m. Saturday, Dec.10.

Where: Tempe Town Lake, Tempe.

Admission: Free admission for spectators.

Details: downtowntempe.com/explore/our-events/fantasy-of-lights.