Last Friday, Page residents were treated to a sight they haven’t seen for more than a decade: the triumphant return of the Lake Powell Parade of Lights.

The event was brought back by Kelly and Trent Sutherland, who had fond memories of one of Page’s favorite Christmas traditions. 

“It used to be a really big event, pre-9/11,” said Kelly. “It used to be so much fun going to the docks, watching people decorating their boats, then going to the Canyon King to see Santa Claus. For anyone who grew up here, the Parade of Lights is one of their key memories.”

The Sutherlands began the process of resurrecting the Parade of Lights last August, a red-tape-intensive procedure that required getting permits from the Park Service and permission from Aramark to use their docks.

The Lake Powell Parade of Lights also included a gingerbread decorating contest, a coffee and hot chocolate bar, and a chance to meet Santa Claus at the Lake Powell Resort in Wahweap. 

Once Kelly had the permits and permissions in hand, she spread the word among the Lake Powell boating community for people to decorate their boats and join the parade. 

One of this year’s boats sponsors and participants was a group from Adventure Partners, a Page-based business that offers adventure tours for Amangiri guests.

“We wanted to support Kelly in her effort to bring back this great event,” said Heather Stears, one of the Adventure Partners owners. 

The timing for the Adventure Partner crew – a group of friends going back three decades – worked out well. The friends had two houseboats anchored at Lone Rock for a Thanksgiving get-together. The group – which included John and Heather Stears, Richard and Jenny Adkins, Paul and Alissa Jones, Adam and Elizabeth Straub, John Torgenson, Amanda LaRiche, Chris Bruno and Scott Brooks – not only decorated a boat they entered in the parade, but they also decorated the two houseboats they had anchored at Lone Rock. The houseboats were decorated with lights, an inflatable Santa and an inflatable frog.

The group also built and decorated a gingerbread houseboat (with homemade gingerbread0 that they entered in the gingerbread house contest, which won first place in the Most Creative category.

“It was so freakin’ great,” said Jenny Adkins. “I really love how it brought the community together. I hope they keep it going.”

Numerous other Pageites were happy to see its return, including Kate Sease. She and some friends made an evening of it, even going so far as to camp at Lone Rock the night of the parade.

“I moved in here in the mid-90s when the Parade of Lights was still an annual event and have greatly missed it,” Sease said. “Because of Kelly and Trent Sutherland making the effort to get this event going again, we went down to Lone Rock and camped to watch the boats. We had multiple locals come share time with us around the fire and cheer as the boats went by.”

Sease has loved seeing Page locals create new events and bring back old favorites. 

“It was so wonderful seeing so many friends from the community come outdoors and enjoy this tradition again. I want to thank all the boat owners who took the time out of their holidays to bring such cheer to our community.”

One of those boat owners was the Deither family from American Fork, Utah. Ammon and Kathy, and their children Sterling and Bridget, traveled through falling snow from American Fork to Page to decorate their yacht and take part in the boat parade. The Deither visit Lake Powell six to eight times a year to go boating on “The Gone Incommunicado,” a Sea Ray Sundancer 4200.

“I remember seeing a boat parade on Lake Meade when I was a kid, and ever since then I wanted to be a part of one,” said Ammon, owner and captain of “The Gone Incommunicado.” “As soon as we heard about it, we jumped on it.”

A variety of boats, about 10 in all – ranging from utility boats and power boats, to houseboats and yachts – joined in this year’s boat parade. Some of the boats and participants were from out of town, and some were locals. 

The captains brought their boats to the Wahweap launch ramp Friday evening, just as day was turning to dusk. Led by a Park Service boat, the flotilla launched just as the day’s last rays struck the cliff walls on the north side of Wahweap Bay. With the boats lit up, it was a beautiful sight. The boat parade traveled from the Wahweap launch ramp and traveled west to Lone Rock, where they turned around and returned. 

Overall, Kelly was happy with how it turned out.

“It turned out pretty good,” she said. “There weren’t as many entries as I hoped, but the community support was awesome! There were people watching all over!”

Indeed there were. Spectators gathered all along the parade route to witness the return of the Lake Powell Parade of Lights. Crowds watched from Wahweap launch ramp, from the overlook outside the Driftwood Lounge, from the Stateline Launch Ramp and from Lone Rock.

“It was a pretty cool sight to see,” said Alissa Jones, who was among the Adventure Partner group in the parade. “Suddenly there were a bunch of bonfires at Lone Rock that hadn’t been there before from the people who came out to watch the boats come by. I hope Kelly knows how excited people are to have this back.”

Or, as Ammon Deither, owner and captain of “The Gone Incommunicado” put it: “The world needs more Kellys.”