Christmas in August? Meet the man behind the Summertime Parade of Lights
Shawn Welch untangles red tube lighting while decorating his 207 Sea Ray Amberjack boat at Aspasia Marina in South Portland on Friday. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer)
SOUTH PORTLAND — Shawn Welch knelt on the deck of his boat, a pack of zip ties in one pocket of his cargo shorts and wire snappers in the other.
He held a few zip ties with his teeth as he unfurled blue icicle string lights — an on-sale find from Walmart a couple of years ago. He needed both of his hands to wrap the lights around the rail along the front of the boat.
The sun was already high by 11 a.m. on Friday, and Welch was already sweating in the sticky heat. He’d been decorating his boat for three hours, and he brought a cooler packed with water and tea to keep him refreshed for a few more hours of work.
By the end of the day, more than 2,000 string lights decorated Welch’s 2006 270 Sea Ray Amberjack for the Casco Bay Summertime Parade of Lights, his masterpiece.
The idea for the parade started as a chat with his buddies at Aspasia Marina about why there was a winter boat parade but not a summer one.
Shawn Welch uncoils red tube lighting on boat in preparation for the Parade of Lights. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer)
“That’s when people’s boats are on the water,” Welch said. His friends goaded him into organizing the parade, now in its 13th year.
Advertisement
This year, the parade begins at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday by Bug Light Park — which Welch recommends as an optimal viewing location — and the boats loop between the park, Portland, South Portland and the Casco Bay Bridge.
Anyone can show up and participate — there are no sign-ups. Welch usually keeps a couple of extra boxes of lights on hand to pass out to people as needed.
“Whatever gets you out there,” he said. The parade welcomes boats of all sizes. One year, someone participated in an 8-foot-long Zodiac.
Fred Terison, who docks his boat a few spaces down from Welch, participated for the first time last year, after watching for years. He decorated his house boat on Friday with his youngest son, Liam, for a few hours. “The parade gives us permission to do some goofy things,” he said, like putting inflatable characters on a boat. “We’re all just a bunch of overgrown kids on our giant bathtubs out here.”
LIGHTING UP A GOOD CAUSE
Welch only wanted to host the parade — in partnership with the city’s Lions Club — if it supported a cause, and he picked Toys For Tots because it has a broad reach serving Greater Portland.
Each participating boat must donate at least two unwrapped gifts to the partner organization, though they’re encouraged to donate more. There were already a few games and toys inside the giant donation box, covered in Santa hat wrapping paper, by Welch’s boat the morning before the parade.
Advertisement
“Every boat that’s participating is helping a kid get a present on Christmas Day,” Welch said. To date, they have raised $23,000 and donated nearly 1,500 toys. Welch hopes this year will bring them past $25,000.
Welch paused while unraveling string lights to check his phone. A neighbor messaged him saying that she donated $200. He wiped sweat from his upper lip and grinned before getting back to decorating.
CHRISTMAS IN SUMMER
As morning crept into afternoon, people began to flock to the marina. They wore bathing suits and carried bags full of snacks, ready for a day on the water. Welch meticulously wrapped another string around the railing.
“How’s the parade prep?” asked a woman in a floppy hat and sunglasses.
“Everything works so far,” he said. “We’ll really find out at dark.” He laughed. She wished him luck before continuing on her way.
He greeted everyone who passed by, regulars who knew about his devotion to the parade and less frequent boaters who asked him why he was putting Christmas lights on his boat in August. He does his own marketing.
Advertisement
Welch has always loved boats and the water. To him, they’re synonymous with Maine summer.
Welch is the driving force behind the summer boat parade, which will be held on Saturday night, starting around 8:30 p.m. near Bug Light in South Portland and continuing across the harbor along the Portland waterfront. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer)
He grew up on Meetinghouse Hill, and his family had a 1937 wooden boat for 30 years. He remembers taking it out to Great Diamond Island, and sleeping on it in the cove. Now, he likes to go fishing a few times a month, after work when he can.
“It’s kind of what gets me through winter,” he said. “It’s what you look forward to.”
He looks for any excuse to spend time at the marina during the summer, even when it means lugging plastic bins of Christmas lights on one of the hottest days.
DEDICATED TO JOY
Welch attached an orb made of chicken wire and wrapped with red lights to a wooden post with four zip ties. He twirled the post while wrapping more string lights around it, pausing to add zip ties along the way to secure it.
He climbed up on a seat and stuck the wooden post in the railing, next to two fishing rods. He’ll string lights along the lines, too.
Advertisement
Over the years, Welch has developed tricks for securing his lights, partially from his own ingenuity and some of it borrowed from his marina neighbors. Zip ties are crucial, he said. He had more than 10 packs on board. Electrical tape is a must for securing the connections between strings and making sure water doesn’t get in. You can string lights through office binder clips.
He powers his display with the boat’s generator. One year, when he discovered that didn’t work just a couple of hours before the parade, he borrowed an inverter from a friend. It kept over-heating and the lights kept shutting off, so his friend Randy Vanier rode the entire parade on the floor, holding a bag of ice to the machine. It takes dedication to deliver the joy, he said.
Welch has learned from his previous woes. He checks every string of lights before placing it. They light up blue and green, faint beneath the beaming sun.
Come Sunday morning, he’ll have to take his whole display apart.
“It’s a lot faster than the setup,” he said, wiping his brow.
Copy the Story Link
Tagged: Boating, Bug Light Park, Casco Bay, parade
Dana Richie is a community reporter covering South Portland and Cape Elizabeth. Originally from Atlanta, she fell in love with the landscape and quirks of coastal New England while completing her undergraduate. More by Dana Richie
