Holiday spirit floats the Columbia River

Picture a fleet of floating Christmas trees, merrily bobbing and splashing in a waterborne conga line, each one a testament to the combined do-it-yourself spirits of tree decoration and maritime life.

It’s not a dream, though it may look like one.

The 62nd Christmas Ships Parade, a 15-night festival of Santa Claus on the river, gets underway the night of Dec. 2 and wraps up Dec. 18. Every evening (except Sunday the 4th and Monday the 12th), local skippers who are more or less submerged in holiday cheer show off the vessels they’ve decorated with dancing lights, seasonal characters and other eye-grabbers that really stand out after the sun goes down.

Santa driving a team of reindeer is just the start of what you’ll see on the water. Nutcrackers and snowmen, candy canes and glowing wreaths, graceful swans and smiling whales, joyous elves and the wicked old Grinch himself are all part of this wishy-washy convoy. Organizers expect as many as 60 different crafts to take part this year. It’s a great example of riverborne, just-for-fun, labor-of-love volunteerism; some skippers spend hundreds of dollars and countless hours developing plans and decorating their boats — all so they look just so from the banks of the river.

“Wires, wires, wires. I’ve been running lots and lots of wires,” was what Vancouver Christmas shipper Larry Aberg said as a Columbian reporter climbed aboard his boat, the Bubinga, last year. Aberg, an electrical engineer, has also taught some “decorating for Christmas shippers” classes during organizational meetings of this group, and he’s been glad to share how technology has improved in recent years.

Once upon a time, a skipper might dip light bulbs in red and green paint, one by one, and try to improvise some way of keeping the whole assembly dry while bouncing and splashing on the water; nowadays, you can buy dazzling, plastic-encased rope lights that are programmable to create whatever sorts of illusions you’re looking for — like galloping reindeer legs and spinning fire engine wheels.

The views from here

Every night, there are actually two parades. One is along the Columbia River, usually departing at 7 p.m. from the Gleason Boat Ramp in Portland, at Northeast 42nd Avenue and Marine Drive — which makes for great viewing from numerous sites along the Clark County waterfront. The other usually starts at 7 p.m. at Riverplace Marina in Portland, and generally goes south on the Willamette River to visit spots like Milwaukie, Ore., and Lake Oswego, Ore.

Handy, detailed maps (which were actually made by The Columbian, “loaned” to the Christmas Ships organization) can be found on the Christmas Ships website under “Schedules” — or in the Life section of The Columbian. They’ll help you figure out the best viewing each night.

The maps even note the locations of Washington-side parks and restaurants that serve as front-row seats. Wintler, Marine and Waterfront parks, the pedestrian Renaissance Trail, and restaurants like Beaches and McMenamins, Who Song & Larry’s, Joe’s Crab Shack and the new WareHouse ’23 are all perfectly positioned for the parade routes on Dec. 5, 6, 8, 13, 14 and 15. On Dec. 9, the ships will head east along the river as far as Steamboat Landing.

Perhaps the biggest, best viewing will be when the two separate convoys join up for a “combined fleet” parade. It’s set to begin at 6 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Port of Camas-Washougal, where there’s a public park as well as the floating Puffin Cafe; the parade will loop around for about an hour before heading back to Portland.