North Beach residents are in for quite a treat this weekend! Two back-to-back events will be celebrating the holidays and offering up lots of fun for the whole family.

On Friday December 11th Miami Beach Parks and Recreation will be throwing a Winter Wonderland bash. Attendees will be able to enjoy dance performances, a tree lighting ceremony, take pictures with the Coca-Cola polar bear, plenty of rides and games and a visit from Santa Claus himself.

All the fun will take place at North Shore Park, located at 501 72^nd St, from 6 to 9 in the evening. Admission is complimentary and snacks will be available for purchase. The best part? The park will be covered in over 50 tons of snow! Yes, you read that right, snow. We recommend bringing a camera, as there will surely be plenty of photo opps for kids of all ages!

The following evening, December 12th will mark the third annual North Beach Boat Parade. Started by the Stillwater Drive Neighborhood Association in 2013 to bring together the community in celebration of the beautiful waterfront, the event takes place along the entire west shoreline of North Beach. Participants can choose to either light up their boats and ride in the parade, or decorate and light up their homes to host a holiday party and celebrate as the boat parade passes by. The parade will start at 7pm and will reach the finish bay at 9pm.

Guests can also enjoy the parade from several Public Viewing areas:

Normandy Shores: Fitness Circuit across from Golf Course

Normandy Isle: Trouville Esplanade and Rue Bordeaux Mini Parks

Indian Creek: 69th St Open Space park behind Fire Station #4

The event has grown in just three years, with 40 – 50 boats being expected this weekend. A new, exciting addition to the boat parade this year is a US Coast Guard vessel, which will be joining alongside the Miami Beach Police and Fire Departments. Carolina Jones, founder and organizer of the parade shared with us that “Although this is the “North Beach Boat Parade” it’s really the Miami Beach Parade hosted in North Beach.  We welcome boats from all over, especially Miami Beach and hope that our friends from Mid and South Beach join in the festivities.”

Carolina also said that she is “so excited to be hosting this Parade for the 3rd year. It started as a small community event to celebrate the holidays together and has become a date that residents really look forward to every year. North Beach is finally getting some attention from investors and City Government through the revitalization efforts. But at the core of North Beach are our families and our neighborhoods. We are celebrating what we have known all along, that we live in a very special place. We have a special connection to our community and we are very, very fortunate. ”

Interested in taking part? The Captains Meeting will be held on December 9^th at Stillwater Park in order to go over all safety regulations. Interested participants should be registered by this date. Click here to register your boat.