The Fourth of July boat parade at Lake Oconee has become a tradition in Morgan County.
Participants celebrated their sixth anniversary last Friday, with over a dozen boats participating. Each vessel was decorated in red, white, and blue, which is what makes the event special.
Joe Williamson usually organizes the parade, but this year he passed the torch to Lanier Massey, whose family has now won the award for the Most Patriotic boat four years running.
Massey said the event was a big success again this year. She thinks it helps bring the community together.
“I believe that it brings families of all ages together to come out to the docks, whether they’re watching or participating,” Massey said. “There were even some people with tents, DJs, and other things that I hadn’t seen before on the shoreline, which shows me they’re turning it into a tradition and inviting more and more people from Madison or out of town to come watch.
“I think it brings everyone together. Each year, our boat attracts more and more people who are drawn in by the experience and then want to join the following year. I believe everyone feels the same way.”
Massey estimated that 12 to 15 boats actively participated, but even more were on hand as the parade passed by.
“I bet there were more than 30 boats out there watching just from the center of the cove, which was really cool to see,” she said.
The parade has launched around 2 p.m. on Independence Day for the past six years. It gathers in the cove near the Apalachee Woods neighborhood and makes its way around that part of the lake.
“We actually extended the route this year because of neighbor requests wanting to be able to see the parade from their docks,” Massey said. “It starts one cove north of Swords Boat Ramp and goes all the way up to the last cove before the Appalachee River starts. We haven’t gone that far, but all of the neighbors were asking if we could make the route a little longer because they had people coming into town to watch from their docks. It was a little bit longer, and I think everybody liked it.”
Another new aspect of this year’s parade was awarding multiple prizes.
Massey’s family won the award for the Most Patriotic vessel again, but promptly donated their prize to another boat.
The Zohand family received the award for the Most Creative boat, a vessel decorated with red, white, and blue bunting, two American flags, and a pair of inflatable bald eagles.
The Sikes family received the award for the Most Spirited boat. They cheered and shouted the loudest during the parade as they pulled a tube with an Uncle Sam inflatable behind their pontoon.
Massey believes having multiple categories and prizes will encourage even more people to participate next year.
“I think we’ll make sure to keep doing that from now on, to add categories and just get more people excited about winning,” Massey said. “But overall, it’s just all fun, and the parade grows every year.”