Free Community Seating on the Turning Basin Docks for Petaluma’s Lighted Boat Parade

You must register online here for a spot.

On Saturday, December 13th, more than 30 brilliantly illuminated boats will glide into the basin around 6:30 p.m., circling the curve of the river before docking downtown by the Yacht Club. Free Community Seating on the Turning Basin Docks is sponsored by The City of Petaluma and crewed by The Floathouse. This collaboration allows a full contingent of community members to claim free, front-row seats for this brilliant spectacle, right at the waterline. Register here to get a spot.

A little history: Petaluma’s Lighted Boat Parade is unlike any other—because our city was literally built around the Petaluma River, and the turning basin became our central gathering place.

In 1922, the Turning Basin was dredged from a natural river oxbow —to welcome—and dock—the many scows, barges, tugs and passenger boats that traveled daily and directly into the heart of our city. By the early 1900s, Petaluma ranked as California’s third-busiest port (after San Francisco and Sacramento), with the Turning Basin as its lively hub.

Today, this same location has become a joyful gathering place—where people stroll the riverfront, launch small boats, and enjoy river-centered events, like Bands on the Basin, Witches & Wizards on the Water, and, of course, the dazzling Lighted Boat Parade, organized annually for more than a decade by the Petaluma Yacht Club.

✨ This unforgettable experience is free, but limited. Check in begins at 4:45 p.m. Registered guests will receive wristbands at the gates, and folks will need to be seated by 6:15 pm. Once you get your wristband, you can stroll around town. Just be sure to be seated by 6:15 pm.

🪑 The seating is free, but limited, so you’ll need to register online right here.

🚤 Want to enter a boat in the parade (motorized or people-powered)? Register here via the Petaluma Yacht Club’s form.