Don't forget that the Christmas Ships will be arriving on our shores at about 4:55 this Saturday afternoon. Weather permitting, there will be a bonfire, hot chocolate, goodies--and of course, caroling. The ships are scheduled to depart precisely at 5:15 for a return trip to Kirkland, so if you're very late you'll miss the show. The choir on the lead Argosy ship for this year's trip to Madison Park is the Rainier Ensemble. Officially, I am told that it is actually the Christmas Ship (not Ships), a term which Argosy Cruises has now trademarked. The other ships that follow along in the wake of the "Christmas Ship" (aka The Spirit of Seattle) are officially designated as parade boats, follow boats, or jazz boats. Who knew? The tradition of lighted boats parading on the Lake in December has supposedly been around for 60 years or so (predating Argosy Cruises for sure), so I am sticking with the term Christmas Ships.
At least we haven't gotten so politically correct as to be calling it the Holiday Ship (yet).
[Photo courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives]
Actually, it was never "Christmas Ships" but in fact was originally named the "Seattle Civic Christmas Ship Festival" back in 1949 by then Superintendent of Parks Paul Brown as a way to commemorate Seattle's proud maritime history. The original parade was over one weekend. Over the years Argosy has extended it to touch as many different waterfront communities as possible. Today it goes for 25 days (Argosy has had the lead ship since 1984)
ReplyDeleteArgosy, originally named Seattle Harbor Tours, celebrated it's 60th Anniversary this year as well!