Dec 1, 2020

The North Carolina Holiday Flotilla

Each year on the Saturday following Thanksgiving in Wrightsville Beach, the North Carolina Holiday Flotilla takes place. This is traditionally a day in Wrightsville Beach that takes place on the Intracoastal Waterway. The event typically consists of fishing boats and leisure vessels decked out in lights, special effects, music, and decorations.

However, like many other things in 2020, the event had to make a new plan this year due to COVID-19. In August, the organizers of the event originally planned on cancelling the parade as a whole. This was due to the facts that sponsorships this year were harder to come by due to economic difficulties and the fear of encouraging people to gather in large groups during such a strange time.

In October, the Festival decided to sponsor a similar, safer event for those of Wrightsville Beach to continue its tradition. The Door to Dock decorating Contest took place on Saturday, November 28th and included docks from the Wrightsville Beach Drawbridge down to Motts Channel, Banks Channel, and to the Coast Guard Station.

By organizing the event this way, people were able to boat past others docks and still see all of the decorations and spread holiday spirit in a safe and fun way. Instead of giving out prizes in accordance with boat size and crew spirit, the event gave out four different prizes. These consisted of Best Residential, Best Commercial, Best Dock Spirit, and People’s Choice.

Although the event looked different this year, it was still a great opportunity for the boaters and residents of Wrightsville Beach to celebrate something, even during this strange time. Like always, we hope that all of you and your families are staying healthy and are enjoying your holiday season!

The Winners of the 2020 Door to Dock Decorating Contest are:

Best Residential: Dock 20 – the Omirly Family

Best Commercial: Dock 21 – The Coast Guard Auxiliary

Best Spirit: Dock 18 – the Conley Family

People’s Choice Winner: Dock 6 – Jimmy’s at WB

(Picture Sources: NC Flotilla Website)