Solomons Celebrates 37th year of Christmas Walk!
With Covid 19 restrictions.
Solomons Business Association celebrates its 37th year of Christmas Walk a little differently this year! We will launch our Christmas celebrations with the fabulous Lighted Boat Parade on Saturday December 5th, however, some of our other events will be tweaked to reflect Covid precautions.
We urge you to keep social distancing and mask wearing precautions at all times during your visits to Solomons.
Saturday December 5th evening activities begin at 6 p.m. weather conditions permitting, the Lighted Boat Parade, coordinated by Solomons Island Yacht Club, Patuxent River Sail and Power Squadron, Solomons Yachting Center, Sail Solomons and Southern Maryland Sailing Association, will begin at dusk at the Solomons Yachting Center and end along the Riverwalk at approximately 7:15 p.m. Sail and power boats are welcome, and a captain’s meeting covering the route, safety issues and rules for judging will begin at 5:15 p.m. at the Solomons Yachting Center. The parade can be easily viewed from many of the restaurants and establishments in Solomons or the Patuxent Riverwalk. For registration or information on the boat parade contact Anthony Baratta of SIYC at 814-777-5654, ab2@psu.edu.
The lights on the Christmas tree at the Solomons Riverwalk Gazebo will be switched on at 6 p.m. Friday December 4th without Santa, this year. Look for Santa’s mailbox for letters to Santa, at the Gazebo. The island will be decorated with our lights & banners but no luminaries. Solomons Christmas lights are sponsored by Bird Barkman Daly Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors.
A beautiful 18 ft Christmas tree from Chesapeake Bounty arrives Monday, November 30th. Sponsored by Calvert County Department of Economic Development it will be decorated by the staff of Calvert Marine Museum commencing Tuesday December 1st & 2nd. The public are welcome to contribute at any time. Social distancing and masks are required.
Our decorating theme this year will be Santa’s Workshop. Deadline for judging is Saturday December 19th. Decorated houses and businesses in Solomons/Dowell will be scored and voted on by the public on our FB page. Starting December 1st, we will be watching as the decorations go up and adding them to our SBA FB page for the public to judge the best house decoration and the best business decoration. Extra points will be garnered if elements of our theme ‘Santa’s Workshop’ is included.
I will be sending out sponsorships and program forms next week. Please see our website at http://www.solomonsmaryland.com/ for further developments and information, or by contacting SBA Board Member Vandy Young on 240-577-1617, vandyoung@gmail.com.
2019 AWARDS
The 2019 Solomons Lighted Boat Parade was a success with 15 boats participating. Awards were given to the Best in Show, the best power boat and best sail boat. Second and third places in each category were also given. All participants received a participation award. The boats and crews were judged on technical merit, creativity, cohesiveness of theme, crew involvement, and overall presentation.
The winners were:
Best in Show – S/V Serenity from the SMSA High School Sailing/Sail Solomons
Power
First prize – M/V Miss Julie Capt. John Ashton
Second Prize – M/V Turtle Island Capt. Larry Reich
Third prize (tie) – M/V Brave Heart Capt. Roy Schultz
M/V Alorian Lady
Sail
First Prize – S/V Blue Goose Capt. Mike Basham/Navy Pax Sail
Second Prize – S/V Friandise SCC High School/Sail Solomons
Third Prize – S/V Friendly Capt. Yvonne Brand/Ship 1942
Team Award
S/V Friendly and S/V Respite Ship 1942
Participation Award
M/V Solitude, S/V Respite, S/V The D of St. Mary’s, M/V Uncle Roy, Towboat US, S/V Windhover, M/V The Mistress
We thank the following merchants for donating the 2019 awards:
The Ruddy Duck Charles Street
The Pier The Island Hideaway
No Thyme to Cook Annmarie Gardens
Holiday Inn The Lighthouse
West Marine Kingfishers