It’s once again time for the annual Seattle Christmas Ship Festival!
Did you know? Its actual name is the Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship™ Festival and it has been a Seattle holiday tradition since 1949. Argosy Cruises runs the sailings while the onshore bonfire events are organized by local communities. This year the festival runs from Saturday, November 23 through the grand finale on Monday, December 23. There will also be the ninth annual Parade of Boats on Friday, December 13.
There are two ways to enjoy the Christmas Ship Festival: aboard a ship or at an onshore event. If you’d like to experience the festival from the water, you can get tickets for either the official Christmas Ship™, dubbed the Spirit of Seattle™, or the 21+ follow boat. The Spirit of Seattle Christmas Ship is a 1.5 hour cruise for all ages that has an on-board choir, a Santa, and a full-service bar. The follow ship is for adults only and in addition to a full-service bar it has a photo booth. Both ships stop in front of an onshore bonfire event to broadcast a choir performance.
Note that the ships depart from different locations and host different choirs depending on the date. Also if you book a 2:00 p.m. sailing, your kiddos will get to enjoy cookies with Santa while onboard. Kids age 3 and under can sail for free.
The other way to enjoy the Christmas Ship Festival is by watching from the shore. You can stay warm by the bonfire as you listen to the choir’s performance broadcast from the ship. Best of all, it’s free!
Each choir performance runs for 20 minutes. Here are the dates and locations of just a few of the onshore bonfires in Seattle (these are the ones sponsored by Seattle Parks and Recreation):
- November 23 at Alki Beach Park with the choir performance starting at 8:35 p.m.
- November 24 at Carkeek Park at 4:35 p.m. and Golden Gardens at 7:15 p.m.
- November 30 at Pritchard Island Beach at 2:35 p.m. and Seward Park at 5:35 p.m.
- December 7 at Madrona Beach Park at 2:20 p.m. and Stan Sayres Memorial Park at 8:35 p.m.
- December 8 at Ferdinand St. Boat Launch at 4:35 p.m. and Mt. Baker Beach at 7:35 p.m.
- December 21 at Matthews Beach at 5:35 p.m. and Madison Park at 8:35 p.m.
- December 22 at Warren G. Magnuson Park at 8:35 p.m.
- December 23 at Gas Works Park at 9:10 p.m. (the final event of the festival’s Grand Finale)
There are many more than those, including a few onshore events on the Eastside. To see more information, including the full schedule of both the Christmas Ship sailings and the onshore events, visit the Argosy Cruises website.
Finally, don’t forget about the annual Parade of Ships on December 13! The parade will sail across Lake Union starting at 8:00 p.m. and the choir performance can be enjoyed at 8:20 p.m. from the Evanston Plaza in Fremont. You should also have a good view from Gas Works Park. This is a Seattle spectacle that you won’t want to miss!
📅When: Nov. 23 – Dec. 23, 2024
📍Where: Various locations