Where does a boat parade actually happen? For most of the crowd at Santa Barbara's Parade of Lights, the answer is the end of Stearns Wharf. That's where the judges sit, where the boats finish and where the fireworks go off nearby. Before any of that, every illuminated boat in the 40th annual parade will head east from the harbor, turn north toward the beach and round a buoy just off Cabrillo Pavilion before heading back west.
The parade is Sunday, December 13, from 2:00 to 7:30 p.m., and this year's theme is "Hawaiian Holiday." The wharf is where the boats get scored. East Beach is where they make their turn.
The course, buoy by buoy
The City of Santa Barbara's Parade of Lights page publishes the skippers' instructions in full, and they read like a sailing course. Boats gather between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. off the Breakwater and the Santa Barbara Yacht Club. They circle counterclockwise until Harbor Patrol, marked by a blue flashing light, announces the start over VHF Channel 06. At 5:30 p.m., Harbor Patrol leads the fleet out in order:
- Past the flashing white "SB" buoy, then the southwest "Outfall" buoy.
- East to the flashing yellow buoy at the east end of the Mooring Area, then a port turn toward East Beach.
- North to the buoy off Cabrillo Pavilion, which the instructions point out has white lights on the building.
- A turn west, past buoys about half a mile and then a quarter mile from Stearns Wharf.
- Past the buoy off the Stearns Wharf Wye, around the end of the wharf and past the judges' stand on the Moby Dick restaurant patio, where the route ends.
The rules hold boats to an average of 3 to 5 knots with about 200 feet between them. With around 30 boats in the procession, the parade passes as a long, slow string of light. At the wharf, the string goes past. At East Beach, it comes straight toward shore, bends around one fixed point and heads back the way it came.
Why the turn is the better view
Most of the route runs parallel to the beach, so from any one spot you see the boats side-on as they slide by. The leg toward East Beach is the only one that points at the sand, and the turn at Cabrillo Pavilion is the only spot on the course where each boat swings through a full change of direction close to shore. The Pavilion's own white lights mark the turn, so the backdrop is a lit 1926 bathhouse rather than open dark water.
The City lists East Beach among its best viewing spots for both the boat parade and the fireworks, along with Stearns Wharf, the breakwater and West Beach. Last year proved it. Edhat's coverage of the 39th parade reported crowds at East Beach watching the procession glow against the night sky. It also reported that the marine layer lifted in time for a sunset before the boats gathered. At the other end, Noozhawk reported hundreds of people on Stearns Wharf and families picnicking along the waterfront.
The fireworks launch from West Beach, between Santa Barbara Landing and Stearns Wharf, at about 7:00 p.m. and last about five minutes. From East Beach you'll see them from a distance across the water, after the fleet has turned and headed back toward the wharf.
The afternoon happens at the other end
East Beach gets the evening. The daytime program is in the harbor, and the two ends make for an easy afternoon and evening. Here is the City's 2026 schedule:
| Time | What happens | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. | Human-powered parade of stand-up paddlers and kayakers in costume | Harbor, looping Stearns Wharf |
| 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. | Winter Wonderland with Santa and Mrs. Claus, elves, 10 tons of snow and goodie bags | City Pier, in the Harbor |
| 3:30 p.m. | Stearns Wharf closes to vehicles | Stearns Wharf |
| 5:30 p.m. | Illuminated boat parade begins | Near Leadbetter Beach, east to Cabrillo Pavilion, back to the wharf |
| About 7:00 p.m. | Fireworks | West Beach |
The paddlers stage at the Travel Hoist Pier, and Santa Barbara Paddle Sports gives a safety briefing at 1:45 p.m. They launch from the Fish Float North and the Launch Ramp. They stay on the eastern side of the main channel, circle the wharf counterclockwise and loop the Wharf Wye, where the Christmas tree stands, before heading back into the harbor. The Montecito Journal placed last year's Winter Wonderland across from Brophy's Restaurant and counted 10 human-powered entrants.
Daylight is the reason for the split. The Journal described the human-powered category's afternoon slot as a safety consideration for paddlers in the harbor. The boats with generators and rigging lights wait for dark and the open water of the longer course.
The boats that keep coming back
Entry is free, and boats compete in five categories: human-powered, power, sail, commercial fishing and commercial other. Five surprise judges score each boat on how well its lights and decorations fit the theme, how well it uses its lights and its "wow factor." A boat number that isn't visible to the judges at deck level on the starboard side doesn't get scored, a rule that shapes how every serious entrant decorates.
The last two years of results, as reported by the Montecito Journal in its 2024 parade recap and its 2025 parade recap, show the same names winning more than once:
| 2024, "Yule Tide Pirates" | 2025, "Candy Cane Cove" | |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Prize | Rick Wallace, Bosporus | William Hahn, Blue Haven |
| Power, 1st | Blue Haven | Blue Haven |
| Sail, 1st | Bosporus | Ryan McCord, Rascal |
| Commercial Fishing, 1st | Chad McClintock, No Quarter | Bernard Freidman, Perseverance |
| Commercial Other, 1st | Shawn Hughes, Scruba Dub Dive Se What | Spencer MacRae, Kelpie |
| Human Power, 1st | Julie Gordon, Barkbeard's Bounty | Shawn Hughes |
Blue Haven won its category in both years and moved up to the Grand Prize in 2025. Shawn Hughes won first place in two different categories in back-to-back years, first with a commercial boat and then under his own paddle power. The 2024 parade, the 38th, was held December 8. The 2025 parade, the 39th, was held December 14.
The prizes went up last year. According to the Montecito Journal, Parade of Lights Committee Chair Captain Skip Abed, president of the Santa Barbara Harbor Merchants Association, announced at the 2025 awards party that cash prizes had doubled to $500 for first, $200 for second and $100 for third. Winners also received gift cards, wine and other prizes from sponsoring merchants. The same report credits Angela Rodriguez, the City Waterfront's Administrative Analyst II and Public Information Officer, with organizing the event. It also notes that Captain Dave Bacon and his wife, Cathy, have emceed for more than 15 years. KEYT's 2025 coverage picked out one entry in particular, a boat decorated with a green dinosaur.
The 2026 event is put on by the 2026 Parade of Lights Committee and sponsored by the City of Santa Barbara Waterfront Department, the Santa Barbara Harbor Merchants Association, the Stearns Wharf Business Association and the Santa Barbara Yacht Club.
The building at the turning mark
The lit building at the turn opened in 1926 and was donated to the City the following year, according to Noozhawk. Its recent history is a long renovation. The Independent described it as a four-year, $20 million project, and noted that the East Beach Grill's lease was not renewed at the end of 2017. Noozhawk reported that the work, which the pandemic delayed, covered the boardwalk, bathhouse, locker rooms, recreation spaces and restaurant.
The restaurant space is now Reunion Kitchen + Drink at 1118 E. Cabrillo Blvd., which took over the former East Beach Grill location. It takes reservations through its own site. Its listed Sunday hours vary, so anyone planning dinner around a 5:30 p.m. parade start should confirm the closing time directly before December 13. The appeal is easy to see. It's the one table on the route where the turning buoy sits right offshore.
Getting to either end
- Waterfront parking lots stay open as usual during the event. The City's waterfront parking page has the lot map. The City reported a successful launch of pay-by-phone parking in its waterfront lots on August 20, 2026.
- Stearns Wharf closes to cars at 3:30 p.m. for pedestrian safety. Cars still on the wharf can leave after the fireworks, at about 7:30 p.m., but should expect delays from foot traffic.
- For the afternoon in the harbor and the evening at East Beach, plan on the walk east along Cabrillo Boulevard from the harbor to the Pavilion. The boats make the same trip by water, staging off the Breakwater before heading toward the turning buoy.
- Questions about the event go to Waterfront Public Information Officer Angela Rodriguez at [email protected] or (805) 897-1962.
On the night, the fleet will leave the staging circle at 5:30 p.m., follow Harbor Patrol east past the Mooring Area and turn toward the white lights of Cabrillo Pavilion.
The stretch of Cabrillo Boulevard between the harbor and the Pavilion is part of the waterfront Sharon Jordano advises on, and its December traditions are part of what gives its homes their value. If you own near East Beach or along the waterfront and want to know what your property is worth this season, request a private home valuation.
