Christmas Island Style premier events start this weekend

You better watch out! You better listen too! Christmas Island Style 2007 will be decking the halls — oops! — Island streets and waterways with several fun and family events, including a boat and street parade, decorating contest and gala award dinner.

Incidentally, the Christmas Island Style Events Committee Chairman Steve Stefanides and his 18 hardworking committee members, are in charge of hanging 80-plus Christmas banners with care on the street light poles along Collier Boulevard.

Now, on to the exclusive preview of upcoming holiday events along with highlighted hints on where to find a few prime viewing spots along both parade routes as well as printed marine and street maps for each parade.

The Christmas Island Style Lighted Boat Parade will illuminate Island waterways this Saturday beginning at 6 p.m. The festive fleet of sail boats and yachts will line up at Factory Bay and follow the coastline toward the Jolley Bridge before looping in front of the Marco Island Yacht Club. This will provide members and guests with both port and starboard views of vessels gliding past and turning back down river past the Marco Island Marina, the Pier 81 and Riverside Condominiums up to the judges stand at Snook Inn.

The boat parade will turn into Collier Bay, then continue along the shoreline into Smoke House Bay past The Esplanade and circle back out and around to head east along the shoreline of the Isles of Capri side of the Marco River.

File photo

The Barefoot Contessa was aglow in Christmas Colors, winning the best in sailboat over 35 feet in the 2006 Island Christmas Style Boat parade.

“The best venue is to get invited to one of the many house parties on the route,” said Stefanides. “I get to see the parade on the water with one of the support units from Marco Island’s Police and Fire Departments.”

Stefanides equally commended the exceptional efforts of the Island’s Coast Guard Auxiliary Public Safety Units.

“We have a very active Coast Guard Auxiliary that helps to ensure we have a safe and fun parade,” he said noting the immense endeavor expended by everyone involved in organizing 20 or more boats that signed up for this year’s parade that is expected to last a couple of hours. “We have boats up to 50 feet long — from sail boats to yachts. The 18 members on the committee began planning for the next year (2007) at the end of February!”

For more information on the parade, call Steve Stefanides at 250-8348.

The Christmas Island Style Gala takes place this Sunday at the Island Country Club. Festivities begin at 6 p.m. with a cocktail hour and sit-down dinner served at 7 p.m. followed by dancing to music generated by DJ Dominic.

Tickets cost $70 and are almost sold out according to impeccable sources.

The annual event sponsored by the Naples Daily News, The Marco Eagle, as well as M&I Bank and Physicians Regional Medical Center, will honor three of Marco Island’s outstanding individuals — The Naples Daily News Citizen of the Year; The Marco Eagle Volunteer of the Year and the Marco Island Area Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award.

Event co-sponsors are Cedar Bay Yacht Club, Marco Office Supply and Orion Bank

“This is the first year we’ll be presenting a Lifetime Achievement award to a business person, who has gone above and beyond working for the betterment of the business community — selected by a special, appointed chamber committee,” said Vicki Williams, representing the Marco Island Area Chamber of Commerce.

Marco Island’s 11 Annual Christmas Home and Business Decorating Contest kicks-off on Monday and Tuesday, with preliminary judging starting at 6:30 p.m. on both nights.

Better get out your most sparkling and colorful outside decorations ASAP and put them up by this weekend because the decorating event committee delayed the preliminary judging this year to allow homes and businesses an additional weekend.

Zone judging teams assigned to each of the nine residential home zones will visit each light-decorated house on every street and a similar team of judges will visit all storefronts and make their recommendation, said Dave Rice, the Marco Island Home & Business Decorating Committee Chair who started the enormously successful event in 1997.

LCEC has been the premier sponsor from the beginning, and has provided the funds for the new cash prizes that will be awarded in 2007 to all 20 Home Decorating Contest finalists ($500 to the winner and $100 to 19 finalists). The Business Contest Winner will also receive $100.

“Last year over 1,000 homes and 100 businesses were involved in the judging process. Every year more and more of Marco Island’s residents and business owners get involved in contributing to the holiday spirit and the committee’s theme ‘Light Up Marco,’ ” said Rice noting there are no entry forms to be eligible. “The final selection of the Best on Marco is an exciting evening with the judges and committee members going to all the contest finalist homes on the Marco Island Trolley.”

The traditional car caravan, following the trolley to see the top 20 first hand is fun for all, Rice said , adding the trolley leaves the Chamber of Commerce parking lot at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 14.

“Each home finalist receives an invitation to attend the awards ceremony held at a buffet supper at the Sanitasole on Jan. 5, 2008, and the Winning Home and Business each receive a lawn sign,” Rice said.

For additional information or to be a contest sponsor call Dave Rice at 250-2175.

The Christmas Island Style Street Parade will take place Dec. 15, at 6:30 p.m. The popular, annual event is sure to fill Island streets with award-winning colorful floats, music and merriment as soon as the parade participants assembled on Balfour Drive begin to march out to San Marco Road.

The parade route (just under three quarters of a mile) heads north on Balfour Drive and exits on to the section of San Marco Road just east of the Police Station and Government buildings complex. Here the procession turns right on to San Marco Road and marches in review down past the Judges Stand located in front the Boy Scout Christmas Tree Sales Tent — set up in a vacant lot next to the Ace Hardware Store on San Marco Road just above where it intersects with Barfield Drive.

“This will be the biggest parade we’ve ever had,” said Stefanides adding that over 50 community civic and social organizations have signed up to march in the parade, and that’s not including charter and high school bands and other entertainment performers.

Among the stellar musical marching groups scheduled to participate are the Florida Drum & Bugle Corps and the Scottish Harp and Thistle Bagpipe Band along with several high school bands and the Marco Island Charter Middle School Band to name a few.

A word to the wise: Bring folding chairs and get there early so you can find parking on side roads around Tommie Barfield Elementary or the YMCA along Sand Hill Street. Best parade viewing spots are anywhere along San Marco Road between Balfour and Barfield Drive which may also become the exit route at parade’s end.

For more information, call Steve Stefanides at 250-8348.

• • •

Addresses of the top Home & Business Decorating Contest winners will be published and visiting the homes is great entertainment during the holiday season.

Previous winners include:

1997 The Napior family, 489 Balsam Court

1998 The MacDonald Family, 1580 Villa Court

1999 The Ewing/Williams Family, 1227 Treasure Court

2000 The Sorenson Family, 164 Clyburn

2001 The Prigge Family, 1369 North Collier Boulevard

2002 The Fair Family,1306 6th Ave.

2003 Dwayne Thomas, 296 Rockhill Court

2004 The Liv Family, 1448 Collingswood

2005 The MacDonald Family, 1580 Villa Court

2006 The Schilke Family, 1299 Winterberry Court