Christmas Parade, Boat Parades, Holiday Lights On Tap Dec. 7-8

TAMPA BAY, FL — Between parades, light displays and ice skating, there's no shortage of things to do in Tampa Bay this weekend.

Ride & Run With The Stars

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Ride & Run With The Stars will kick off its 26th year supporting area families in need on Saturday, Dec. 7 at Fort DeSoto Park.

The event was initiated and coordinated by members of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and its community partners. Proceeds from the ride benefit the Sheriff's Christmas Sharing Project, providing food, clothing and toys to families who need assistance over the holidays.

The events begin at 8 a.m. and registration will be open at 7 a.m. at Fort DeSoto Park in south Pinellas County near Tierra Verde and just off the Pinellas Bayway.

There will also be a silent auction, a climbing wall, food, giveaways, children's crafts, Sheriff's Office displays and a visit from Santa, Mrs. Claus and the elves. All activities will be staged from the fort picnic area.

Registration is $40 for the 5K chipped race and $35 for the 10K family bike ride, 1-mile family fun run and the 25-mile bike ride.

Snowfest

St. Petersburg will host its annual Snowfest Saturday, Dec. 7 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Straub Park, 400 Bayshore Drive, St. Petersburg.

The popular Snowfest includes big kids and kiddie toboggan slides, an art tent, karaoke, inflatables, the Nomad Art Bus, food trucks and more.

Teens can stop by TASCO's Teen Area to play video games, charge their phones, listen to music and hang out with their friends.

Wristbands are $5 and are required for all activities.

Jolly St. Nick In St. Pete

Santa will be at Straub Park, 400 Bayshore Drive N.E., St. Petersburg, on select evenings in December beginning Saturday, Dec. 7 from 6 to 9 p.m. Kids can also meet with Santa Sunday, Dec. 8, Thursday, Dec. 12 and Monday, Dec. 23 from 6 to 9 p.m. Cameras are welcome at this free event.

Family WinterFest And Tree Lighting

The Seminole Recreation Department will present the Family WinterFest and Tree Lighting Saturday, Dec. 7 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Seminole Recreation Center, 9100 113th St. N., Seminole.

This free event features entertainment, bounce houses and slides, free make-and-take crafts, a 25-ton snow hill and a visit from Santa.

Miracle On Cleveland Street

Macy's presents Miracle on Cleveland Street, a Ruth Eckerd Hall Experience that will include an ice skating rink, horse-drawn carriage rides, pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus, live music and the lighting of the Downtown Clearwater holiday tree from 5 to 10 p.m in downtown Clearwater.

The free festival will take place in the 400-600 blocks of Cleveland Street. Entertainment will include a free concert by The Romantics.

Santa & Suds 5K Run/Walk

The annual Santa & Suds 5K Run or Walk and Fun Street Party will take place at 418 Cleveland St. in Clearwater Sunday, Dec. 8 from 4 to 7 p.m. Register online or the day of the race beginning at 2 p.m.

Holiday Chalk Walk

Armature Works and the Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts (TBBCA) have teamed up to present the second annual Holiday Chalk Walk on Saturday, Dec. 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Armature Works South Lawn, 1910 N. Ola Ave., Tampa

Get in the holiday spirit while artists live chalk to the theme, “Holiday Stories.” Voting will take place for People’s Choice with the winner receiving a gift card from Armature Works and the vote donations. The finished holiday chalk art scenes will be on display for at Armature Works throughout the holiday season.

Dunedin Holiday Boat Parade

The Dunedin Boat Club, Dunedin Parks & Recreation Department and Marker 1 Marina will present the annual Holiday Boat Parade Saturday, Dec. 7 from 6 to 9 p.m.

The parade starts at Marker 1 Marina and travels south along the Intracoastal to Union Street then turns back north, arriving at Dunedin Marina at about 7 p.m.

Afterward, there will be festivities at Edgewater Park at 51 Main St. including Santa's arrival by boat, the Dunedin annual tree-lighting ceremony, concessions by Olde Bay Cafe, holiday music and s'mores. Seat is limited so bring lawn chairs.

Holiday Tour Of Homes

On Saturday, Dec. 7, the Dunedin Youth Guild will host its 50th Annual Holiday Tour of Homes. This year’s theme is “Celebrating 50 Years of a Holiday Tradition” It will feature five unique Dunedin homes and selected apartments at Mease Manor. Proceeds from this event benefit the Dunedin Youth Guild’s youth scholarship program and other youth-focused community improvement projects.

Advance tickets are available for $25 at the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce, Dunedin Community Center, Hale Center and Dunedin Fine Art Center. Advance tickets are also available for purchase from Dunedin Youth Guild members or online. Tickets can be purchased for $30 the day of the event at Mease Manor, 700 Mease Drive, Dunedin.

The tour is open from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and the Holiday Tea is open from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Call 727-734-0394.

Alafia Lighted Boat Parade

For the 36th year, boaters will deck out the decks of their vessels with colorful lights and decorations for the annual Alafia Lighted Boat Parade and Chili Cookoff Saturday, Dec. 7 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Riverview Civic Center, 11020 Park Drive, Riverview.

Hosted by the Rotary Club of FishHawk-Riverview, the parade of lighted boats will start at the U.S. 301 bridge at 5:45 p.m. and travel past the civic center and Beer Shed, then circle back to end at River's Edge Bar & Grill where awards will be distributed for best-decorated boats.

Boaters can compete in the boat parade for a $25 donation. The best-decorated boat will win $500.

In addition to the boat parade, residents will be able to sample chili prepared by the area's best chili chefs for a $5 donation.

A $100 gift certificate to an area restaurant goes to the first-place winner, a $75 gift certificate to second place and a $50 gift certificate to third place.

Also on tap is a gingerbread house competition, refreshments, live holiday music and a 50/50 raffle.

Santa Fest And Christmas Parade

Tampa's annual Santa Fest and Christmas Parade promises to be the largest ever with 95 floats, Krewes, dance troops, service organizations, bands, fire engines and festive classic cars.

The parade will kick off Saturday, Dec. 7 at 11 a.m. at Madison and Pierce streets, heading west on Madison before turning north onto Ashley Drive where it will end at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.

Parade viewers are encouraged to arrive by 9 a.m. to avoid road closures and to get good seats along the parade route. Parking will be available on Royal Street, 1200 N. Tampa Street; Jackson Street at East Kennedy Boulevard and Jackson Street; and the Ft. Brooke Garage, 107 N. Franklin St.

Mistletoe Market

St. Pete Beach Community Center and Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce will host a Mistletoe Market featuring a holiday market and tree lighting Saturday, Dec. 7 from noon to 6 p.m. at Horan Park, 7701 Boca Ciega Drive, St. Pete Beach.

There will be local vendors, a free Zumba demonstration, the chamber's Festival of Trees and the annual tree-lighting ceremony. Register here for the Festival of Trees.

Holiday Lights In The Garden

Florida Botanical Gardens, 12211 Walsingham Road, Largo, will sparkle with more than one million twinkling LED lights of all shapes and sizes as the gardens hosts its annual Holiday Lights in the Garden through Saturday, Jan. 4.

Open nightly from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., admission is a suggested donation of $5 per person over the age of 13. Donations support the ongoing maintenance, upkeep and expansion of the Florida Botanical Gardens. There will be entertainment nightly and St. Pete Concessions each evening to provide food and drinks. Pets are welcome.

Holiday Lights In Central Park

The City of Largo's Holiday Lights in Central Park holiday display will run through Jan. 1 from 6 to 11 p.m. at the park, 101 Central Park Drive.

The public is invited to stroll through more than two million LED lights throughout the park for free. A Ferris wheel and carousel will be available for $5 per ride, and there will be a bonfire and food for sale.

Wonderland Of Lights And Santa's Village

The Hillsborough County Fair is hosting its annual Wonderland of Lights and Santa's Village daily from 6 to 9 p.m. through Jan. 5 at the fairgrounds, 215 Sydney Washer Road, Dover.

The holiday event includes a 1-mile drive-through light display, Santa's village featuring Santa visits, food and drinks, the North Pole Express Train, a circus and comedy show, the Wolf Pack Project, amusement rides, pony rides, wagon rides, an Animals of Bethlehem petting zoo and camel rides. The cost is $25 per car.

Christmas Lane

Now in its 35th year, Christmas Lane is open at the Plant City Fairgrounds from 6 to 10 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays through Dec. 22 and Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 23 and 24.

Attendees will enjoy more colorful displays, uplifting living Nativities, kids' activities and nightly live entertainment.

An enthusiastic Santa and Mrs. Claus will greet and pose with guests each night for photos by Christmas Lane's professional photographer or with guests' cameras. Holiday icons Rudolph, Frosty and elves Holly, Jolly and Dolly will put visitors in the holiday spirit, as will larger-than-life items, including 100 glittering Christmas trees (some 40 feet tall), a Christmas Castle, two 10-foot-tall toy soldiers and a 14-foot-tall reindeer.

At the free Christmas Lane Kid Zone, kids can get their faces painted, enjoy children's performers, color ornaments for the Wishing Tree, build with LEGO® bricks (courtesy of Brick City Bricks) and write letters to Santa.

A Living Nativity, featuring live animals, will be staged at 7 and 8 p.m. every evening except Christmas Eve.

Food and carnival ride tickets will be available for purchase onsite. Christmas Lane admission is $5 plus tax.

Christmas Town At Busch Gardens

Head to Busch Gardens for some great thrill rides and to see the park transformed into a holiday wonderland with Christmas entertainment, holiday shopping and more than a million twinkling lights.

Additions this year include Luminosity Lane, an immersive light tunnel synchronized to favorite holiday tunes.

Christmas Town is open nightly through Jan. 6 at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and is included with admission or an annual pass.

Winter Village

Through Jan. 5, the family-friendly Winter Village at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year. It features an 5,000-square-foot outdoor ice-skating rink along the Hillsborough River, holiday light shows choreographed to music and other activities.

The Shops of Winter Village feature 10 boutiques located in PODS containers, offering decorative items, apparel, handmade toys, jewelry and dog accessories.

Ice skating tickets include 90 minutes of skating and skate rental. Tickets will be available at the ice rink entrance for $15.

Winter Village hours are Monday through Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m., Friday from 4 to 10 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 9 p.m.

Winter Village Express

For the second year, the Winter Village Express will make its way from downtown's Whiting Station to Ybor City and back on the TECO Line Streetcar.

Join returning hosts Bob and Gretchen Quackenbush for this one-hour, round-trip excursion that features a holiday sing-along, holiday trivia, milk and cookies, and other surprises along the way on Sundays through Dec. 22.

World's Largest Christmas Light Maze

Enchant Christmas, the world's largest Christmas light maze and market featuring larger-than-life light sculptures, is open at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg through Dec. 29.

Visitors will glide along the light-adorned ice skating trail, mosey through a Christmas market of more than 40 local artisan vendors, listen as carolers sing favorite holiday tunes, enjoy food and drinks, and visit with Santa at Santa's Landing.

Hours are 4 to 11 p.m. Friday through Sunday and 4 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday through Dec. 12. From Dec. 13 to 30, the event will be open from 4 to 11 p.m.

Tickets are on sale now, and vary from $14.99 to $32.99.

Winter's Wonderland

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium has been transformed into Winter's Wonderland with lights, holiday decorations, holiday-themed habitats and a kids' fun zone in the third-floor classrooms where kids will learn about penguins and polar bears, and watch Santa dive presentations at Mavis' Rescue Hideaway.

Families can also reserve a spot to enjoy a festive holiday cruise on the Sea of Lights Boat.

Winter's Wonderland runs through Jan. 6.

Symphony In Lights

The Shops at Wiregrass, 28211 Paseo Drive, Wesley Chapel, is celebrating its annual Symphony in Lights. This holiday light show is choreographed to music featuring the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and holiday classics. Guests will enjoy the display of dancing lights on the hour as well as a nightly snowfall.
The free show will continue nightly through Dec. 31 from 6 to 9 p.m.