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This pontoon boat, filled with a lot of patriotic pride, won the prize for the most-decorated boat. LANCE MCCURLEY/Staff -
Participants in Joe Williamson's boat wave to spectators as American flags fly in the background. LANCE MCCURLEY/Staff -
Matt Massey (left) and Brett Bell (right) celebrate after learning their pontoon won the prize for being the most decorated boat. LANCE MCCURLEY/Staff -
A participant waves her flag in celebration of Independence Day. LANCE MCCURLEY/Staff -
Host Joe Williamson's boat featured an inflatable Uncle Sam on top of his pontoon boat. LANCE MCCURLEY/Staff
Freedom and glory kept flying at the fourth annual Lake Oconee 4th of July Boat Parade on Tuesday. The parade took place at the northern end of Lake Oconee in Morgan County near Buckhead. A record 21 boats showed up for this year’s event, and all of them came decked out in patriotic attire.
Buckhead resident Joe Williamson thought up the idea for an Independence Day boat parade on Lake Oconee a few years ago and the event has become a huge draw for people on that end of the lake.
“It’s just a great activity, and it gives people something to do.
You don’t have to leave home.
Just decorate your boat and head up the lake,” Williamson said last year. “People in this area love to celebrate the 4th of July. They know what it’s all about. It’s about liberty and the freedom of this country.”
The boats participating were on full-patriotic display, with a lot of them displaying American-pride-themed banners, streamers, and inflatables. The vessels were decked out in red, white, and blue.
Every year, the most patriotic-themed boat wins a prize from Crowe Marine, which this year was a Yeti-insulated tote bag that acts as a cooler.
The boat that won last year’s prize won again on Tuesday.
The winner’s pontoon consisted of about a dozen people, who were all decked out in holiday attire. Their boat also held two inflatables, one of George Washington and another of a man riding a plane with an American flag.
“We went back-to-back, just like the [Georgia] Dawgs!” yelled a member of the boat. “We did it again!”
This year’s record number didn’t surprise Williamson, who pioneered the idea for the parade four years ago.
“It grows every year,” he said last week. “I’ve had so many calls and emails about it the past few weeks.”
Everyone that participated had fun. There was an estimated 100-plus people on the 21 boats in the parade. And there were lots of people celebrating and watching the parade go by from their docks.
One dock, in particular, was even shooting off a small canon as the parade floated by. Those on their docks cheered, with some of them even dressed up. One man on a dock had an Uncle Sam costume on.
In the years to come, Williamson wants the parade to grow even bigger. He hopes people from the southern end of Lake Oconee can make it up to the Morgan County side for the parade.
“It’s an annual event,” Williamson said. “Can’t wait until next year. Hopefully, it will grow even more.”