FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2025) — Winterfest is back next Saturday, Dec. 13, though it kind of sneaks up this time with the new 6 p.m. start. The smaller non-motorized boats slip out around 5:30, drifting in from the west side of Stranahan House, bunching up like they always do near the Broward Center. It’s quieter there before the real noise starts.
Then the parade finally moves — slowly — east under the downtown bridges, into the Intracoastal, and north on that long route toward Lake Santa Barbara in Pompano Beach. Twelve miles. If you camp out on a bridge on Las Olas, or that little bend by the Riverside Hotel, it’s going to take two, maybe two and a half hours for the whole chain of boats to pass. Sometimes longer. Depends on the tide, honestly.
Winterfest doesn’t really change. You get little center consoles squeezed between giant floating stages, and then the megayachts that look like someone ordered every string of lights in the county. The music mixes together, sometimes beautifully, sometimes not at all. Organizers keep saying more than a million people show up and if you’ve ever tried walking the riverwalk during the parade you probably wouldn’t argue.
Entry fees start at $30. Cheap enough that half the marina seems to jump in.
The theme this year — “Yacht Rock of Ages” — pretty much sets the mood. That soft, warm music people play with the windows cracked on A1A around sunset. Romero Britto and Montell Jordan are the co-grand marshals. Britto brings color, Jordan brings nostalgia. Miss Florida USA Lou Schieffelin and Miss Florida Teen USA 2025 Keira Morehead will also be somewhere in the mix, waving from whatever deck they land on.
Small aside here: Las Olas gets jammed ridiculously early.
The official Parade Viewing Area sits at Las Olas Intracoastal Promenade Park, southeast corner of the bridge. Gates swing open at 4 p.m. They turn it into a mini-festival — Santa photos, mascots wandering between families, vendors, games, and the Shane Duncan Band playing while the daylight fades. iHeart Radio folks handle commentary once the boats creep into view around 6:30 or so.
Tickets run $40 for adults and $35 for kids 12 and under. Under 3 gets in free. Rideshare is the suggestion because parking disappears fast. People will still try the side streets — some luck out, some circle until the boats are already halfway past.
Of course, plenty of spectators ignore the ticketed area and watch from bridges, hotel patios, restaurant decks. Waterfront places along the Intracoastal treat the night as a built-in sellout and usually aren’t wrong.
Winterfest says the parade brings more than $50 million into Broward County. Hard to prove on paper, but the A1A traffic jams usually tell the story before the numbers do.
For anyone staying home, WSVN 7 airs the parade Dec. 19, again on Christmas morning and midday, and twice on New Year’s Day. ABC Miami ASVN also broadcasts it on Christmas and New Year’s morning and noon.
Winterfest already has dates up through 2029, so it’s not going anywhere.
South Florida keeps the holiday traditions that float. Literally, in this case.
For more information, see the event’s official website.
More boat parades in our area: Holiday Boat Parades Continue This Week — Boca Remains on Shore
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