Christmas on the beach is a unique experience. In Port Aransas, drive through an enchanted Christmas tree forest, take your photo with Sand Santa and/or the real Santa, ride your beach buggy or golf cart in the cart parade, or enjoy the Lighted Boat Parade. Only in Port Aransas!
Celebrate the season coastal style in Port Aransas. You can view the Lighted Boat Parade on Dec. 5, drive through an enchanted holiday forest throughout the season, and have your photo made with Sand Santa. Here’s what’s waiting for you this holiday season in Port Aransas.
SATURDAY, DEC. 5
• The Holiday Golf Cart Parade begins lineup at 4:30 p.m. at Port A Pizzeria, 407 E. Avenue G. Decorate your cart and bring $5 for an entry fee and you, too, can be part of the parade. Money funds the Emergency Services Toy Roundup for Port Aransas kids in need. Parade route is west down Avenue G to Alister Street and then a right turn to Cotter Avenue. The parade then goes left on Cotter to J.C. Barr Boulevard, where it will end at the Fred Rhodes Memorial Pavilion in Roberts Point Park. Arrival will be just in time for the Lighted Boat Parade.
• Lighted Boat Parade begins at 6 p.m. with boats traveling along city harbor for about 45 minutes. Best place to watch: the pavilion bulkhead, along the dock walkways, or at local bars and restaurants along the marina.
SATURDAY, DEC. 12
Visit Santa in the Park from 6-9 p.m. at the Fred Rhodes Pavilion in Roberts Point Park. Bring your own camera for free photo ops with a socially distanced Santa. Other activities include goody bags, coloring, crafts, gingerbread, stories, live carolers, and musicians.
MORE HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS
• Sand Santa is available for pictures at Roberts Point Park throughout the season. Professional sand sculptor Albert Lucio Sr. brings Santa to life as a sand sculpture. Sand Santa and his surfboard are available for photos free of charge from Dec. 5-Jan. 3.
• Drive through the 2020 Enchanted Holiday Forest, which opens at dark and runs Dec. 10-Jan. 3 at Roberts Point Park, 301 J.C. Barr Blvd. This year’s theme is “Rise and Shine.” The Enchanted Forest is being held outside this year due to COVID-19 concerns.
• Holiday drive-in movies are free at Community Park on Clark Parkway off of Ross Avenue at 6 p.m. Dec. 10-12. On Dec. 10, watch “The Polar Express.” The Dec. 11 movie will be “Elf,” and on Dec. 12, it's “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” Concessions with hot chocolate and cookies are available for purchase. Register online to attend.
