October 4, 2020
20th Annual Johns Lake Holiday Boat Parade
This year is the 20th Annual Johns Lake Boat Parade! The event will be held on Sunday, December 13th at 6:15 PM. Come out and decorate your boat with lights and join in the fun! We usually have many spectators in their back yards, as well as at the public boat dock on Lake Boulevard in Winter Garden.
All boats participating should gather by 6:10 PM in the NW corner of Johns Lake; otherwise known as Clear Lake (see map for exact location). THIS IS A NEW MEETING LOCATION FROM LAST YEAR. The lead boat will start the parade at 6:15 PM by blasting an air-horn several times. All boats should follow in-line and slowly head east. The parade route will follow the northern, eastern, and southern shores of Johns Lake (from Johns Lake Landing in Lake County to Twinwaters in Orange County, where the parade ends). The parade will take about 2 hours to complete. Please see the Parade Route Map.
If this is your first time decorating your boat for a parade, here are a few tips:
- Christmas lights run on 120v AC and are designed to operate from your home electrical current. To operate lights on your boat, you will need to purchase a DC to AC power inverter. Power inverters are available at most auto parts stores, Wal-Mart, and Harbor Freight. Power inverters convert your boat’s 12v DC power to 120v AC. Inverters do have a limit as to how much power they can generate from your boat’s DC battery. Inverters are rated by watts; the more watts the inverter can handle, the more lights you can put on your boat. Most power inverters above 150 watts will need to be connected directly to your boat’s battery terminals to provide full power as 12v outlet plugs (cigarette lighters) are power limited by a fuse.
- The use of LED lights provides the ability to power many more lights than incandescent lights. A 300-watt power inverter connected directly to your battery could power over 600 LED lights as opposed to 60 incandescent lights! Be careful though, as some units will overheat if too much load is placed on them. Test your lights for a period of time before the parade starts. Make sure you use UL-approved outdoor lights as the lights on your boat may get wet and you do not want to cause a fire or shock someone on your boat!
- If you do not live on the lake, you can view the boat parade from the public boat ramp on Johns Lake located at 13620 Lake Blvd., Winter Garden, FL 34787 (north shore of Johns Lake, off of Hwy. 50 at the Lake/Orange County line). The parade should be passing the ramp at approximately 6:45-7:15 PM. If you have any questions about the boat parade, please call Ann at 407-701-8033 for details.
