As
the Grand Marshal rapper Flo Rida led the 43rd Winterfest Boat Parade
in Fort Lauderdale on the New River. Known as ‘the greatest show on H2O
it is the most watched boat parade. Starting at the downtown riverfront
and going for 12 miles decorated boat after boat--this year the theme
being TV shows--each boat tries to outdo each other for all the grand
prizes.

There
was a disruption by demonstrators trying to shut the boat parade down
without much success and instead of getting people on their side many
expressed the feeling that they were hurting the people they wanted to
enlist for their cause by antagonizing people who just wanted to enjoy a
Saturday night on the river relaxing away from the woes of their every
day life.

The
boat parade went on without a hitch lighting up the sky. I went to the
boat parade in 1981 watching it from a condo a friend of mine had but
now it has become so big just getting down there is a hassle. If you are
visiting Fort Lauderdale it is a must see and you can get general or
reserved seats for $20 to $50 plus many restaurants along the route will
reserve seats for you--at a price.

If
you live in Fort Lauderdale and don’t mind being a week behind you can
see the parade on television plus boat parades in other cities
surrounding Fort Lauderdale.

Many clips available on YouTube.