Beacham Still is director of the annual Palm Valley Boat Parade, a holiday tradition that is growing in popularity.
As director of the Palm Valley Boat Parade, what are your primary responsibilities?
I’ve been involved with the Palm Valley Boat Parade since 2014, and this year marks my eighth season leading the event. My responsibilities cover the annual planning and administrative efforts, like promotion, registrations, fundraising and coordinating with local officials to ensure safety and smooth logistics.
Ultimately, the longevity and success of the Boat Parade is thanks to our incredible participants, patrons, volunteers and county staff. My role serves to help to facilitate their larger contributions — bringing people together, spreading holiday cheer, and showcasing some amazing creativity on the water.
What is the date for this year’s parade? Also, how many years has it been held?
The 2025 Palm Valley Boat Parade will take place on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 6 p.m. Typically held on the first Saturday in December, it’s a wonderful way to kick off the holiday season.
The parade has been an annual tradition on Palm Valley’s Intracoastal Waterway since 1993, though its roots go back even further to informal gatherings of neighbors in the 1980s.
In many ways, it reflects our community’s enduring connection to the water — the canal itself was dug around 1908, when this area was known as the Diego Plains. The resulting waterway supported development and ultimately gave rise to the Palm Valley we enjoy today.
While lighted boat parades aren’t necessarily unique to Palm Valley, ours has a one-of-a-kind legacy and feel.
Last year marked a big shift for the parade with a shuttle service, bleacher seating and more. Can you kind of give us a recap of the 2024 parade and how these amenities contributed to its success?
2024 represented a major milestone. After 31 years of independent production, we gratefully partnered with St. Johns County Parks & Recreation to grow the scope and accessibility of the event.
The limited amount of public space on the parade route has always been the primary constraint for wider participation. In partnering with the SJC Parks team we were able to introduce remote parking with shuttles, bleacher seating, expanded bathrooms and safety lighting – significantly improving accessibility for a growing number of attendees.
The remote parking shuttles also freed up some of the primary parking lot under the C.R. 210 bridge, giving us the ability to expand the programming with food trucks, kids’ games and on-site T-shirt sales.
We were thrilled with the results and excited to continue building on this partnership with SJC.
Looking ahead to this year’s parade, are there expanded or new improvements that people should know about?
Building on the successes of 2024, we are pleased to announce some expanded plans and features.
This year will mark the debut of an improved Dock Competition to be judged the night before the Boat Parade. While we have held lighted Dock Competitions in the past, we struggled with the logistics of judging both boats and docks on the same night.
By moving the Dock Competition to Friday, Dec. 5, we will be able to more comprehensively photograph and record all docks that chose to participate. Given that this competition is open to all private docks along our seven-mile route, we are hopeful that this change will lead to improved participation and prominence for the docks.
On another positive note, we are introducing online T-shirt orders for 2025 event shirts. The annual commemorative shirts have been a popular item for many years but being exclusively sold in-person sales limited our distribution. The online shop feature provides greater convenience and availability for all those interested in purchasing.
Finally, we will continue to expand on the general improvements introduced in 2024 – most notably, more seating, more food trucks and more family-friendly programming under the C.R. 210 bridge.
How can people learn more or register to participate?
Visit our website – www.palmvalleyboatparade.com
Join our facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/groups/Palmvalleyboatparade. With over 1,700 members, this is an active community built to share pictures, memories and updates among our fans.
With any specific inquiries, please reach out via our email – palmvalleyboatparade@gmail.com
Parade aside, tell me a little about your professional career.
For the past 12 years I’ve had the great pleasure of working in my family business, Syncworks. We are a telecom engineering company servicing critical infrastructure markets, including internet service providers, power utilities and transportation networks.
I personally work in a technical sales capacity and enjoy my small role supporting the technologies that enable our modern lifestyles.
What do you like best about living in this community?
Unquestionably the combination of people and natural beauty. I’ve traveled professionally for the last decade and have been fortunate to visit almost every state in our country. Having seen all that, I’m of the firm opinion that our area offers an unmatched charm and quality of life.
How do you like to spend your free time?
Live music and the great outdoors! My weekend activities include yard work, boating, playing golf or catching a show – ideally all the above.
