Photo courtesy Savannah Hunter Photography
The 2020 Lake Lanier Holiday Boat Parade drew many by water and land on December 12 to celebrate the season.
“We had about 35 beautifully decorated boats but donations are down and we’ve only raised about $4,000,” said Leslie Kauk, who with Richard Pickering organized the event. “We expected to have less participants because of the pandemic, but we are still working to collect donations.”
The grand prize winner was Tom Stepnowski of Gainesville, who brought his 55-foot houseboat to the parade. Barkley Geib, a Lake Lanier fixture for decades, served as grand marshal.
“This year we changed the route to allow places for people to watch from land,” she said. “I was really excited about the number of people who showed up all along the route to watch from the shore.”
In 2019, the parade hosted a land-based event at Margaritaville where there was an opportunity to collect donations.
Kauk said that the group continues to accept donations through LanierPartners.org. Funds raised will be donated to support the children in the Georgia Sheriff’s Youth Homes.
