You may have heard the Christmas ships if you were by the water any evening in the past few weeks; they have been parading in the waters of the greater Seattle area since the end of November. But the best chances for viewing them near our neighborhood are still ahead of us, and the grand finale, on Monday, December 23, can be viewed from Gas Works Park.
If you’re asking yourself, “What is he talking about?” here is a bit of an explanation. The Christmas ships are a holiday tradition around these parts. Lead by an Argosy cruise ship with a live band or choir onboard, a parade of boats decked out with festive lights make their way along the Puget Sound and Lake Washington shorelines with a different area targeted each night. You can book a spot on the Argosy boat, or, if you own your own boat or know someone who does, you can join the parade of ships by falling in behind the Argosy.
A complete schedule is here. Approximate times for the location of the parade ships for the grand finale on December 23 are:
- 2:35-2:55: Ballard Locks
- 5:35-5:55: Ivar’s Salmon House
- 8:30-8:50: Portage Bay Park
- 9:10-9:30: Gas Works Park
These times are identical to last year’s.
Once again this year, in coordination with the Christmas ship parade locations, Seattle Parks will be having bonfires at select park properties. Some of these have already occurred, but here are the ones still to take place:
- Dec. 21, 5:35pm: Matthews Beach Park
- Dec. 21, 8:35pm: Madison Park
- Dec. 22, 8:35pm: Magnuson Park
- Dec. 23, 9:10pm: Gas Works Park
