CAPTIVA ISLAND, Fla. (Dec. 2, 2013) – This year’s Captiva Holiday Village’s Decorated Golf Cart Parade will take place on Saturday, Dec. 7 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. along Andy Rosse Lane in Captiva’s “village” center where its colorful restaurants and shops will also be festively decorated.

Sponsored by Royal Shell Companies, the Fourth Annual Decorated Golf Cart Parade encourages Captiva locals to outdo their neighbors by extravagantly decorating their personal or rented golf carts in lights, garland, balloons and more in celebration of the holiday season and the island’s quirky lifestyle. Fun, festive and sometimes gaudy outfits go along with the decorated cart tradition.

 

 

A portion of the parade’s entry fee benefits the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation.

Last year’s Decorated Golf Cart Parade will be featured in one of the Travel Channel’s holiday specials “Xtreme Xmas,” which will premiere Sunday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m.

From a California Christmas ice kingdom and an underwater holiday mermaid show to an extravagant festive boat parade and a turbo-charged manmade Santa-sleigh, “Xtreme Xmas” takes viewers inside America’s most unusual, wild, wacky, awe-inspiring and bizarre Christmas celebrations. The Travel Channel crisscrossed the country featuring the men and women who take Christmas celebrations to ultimate heights and dive deep into holiday celebrations unlike any other, including a Christmas golf cart parade in Florida, a holiday doggie dress-up contest in Conway, SC, an all-night rave in San Francisco aptly titled “The Elf Party” and more.

The four-weekend-long Captiva Holiday Village launched its 2013 spectacular the Friday after Thanksgiving with fireworks, tree lightings, holiday readings, musical performances and more.

Each special-themed weekend will be a fun-filled extravaganza of sight and sound, set against the backdrop of the Gulf of Mexico and evening sunsets. During the event weekends, visitors will enjoy everything from a lighted boat parade and Junkanoo dancers to a Marching Mullet Parade and newly added Holiday Stroll at South Seas Island Resort.

For more information or a complete schedule of events, visit www.CaptivaHolidayVillage.com.

 

The 2013 Captiva Holiday Village continues with the following events:

 

Dec. 5

  • Dolphins of Pine Island Sound lecture presented by Scientist Kim Bassos Hull and sponsored by the SCCF at 7.30 p.m. in the Wakefield Room at ‘Tween Waters Inn

 

Dec. 6

  • Sunset Arias performs at ‘Tween Waters Inn
  • Sanibel Luminary

 

Dec. 7

  • Royal Shell’s Decorated Golf Cart Parade from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
  • Decorated Golf Cart Awards Presentation Party at South Seas Chadwick’s Square following parade
  • Captiva Luminary

 

Dec. 12

  • Ancient Mariners lecture by Archeologist Theresa Schober and sponsored by SCCF at 7:30 p.m. in the Wakefield Room at ‘Tween Waters
  • South Seas Holiday Stroll from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

 

Dec. 13

  • Marching Mullet Parade at Jensen’s Twin Palms at 5 p.m.
  • Captiva Memories and Holiday Captiva Island Historical Society film at Jensen’s Twin Palms at 7 p.m.
  • South Seas Holiday Stroll from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

 

Dec. 14

  • Seafood and Fishing Festival at Jensen’s Twin Palms from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • American Realty of Captiva Junkanoo Parade
  • The Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Lighted Boat Parade at 6 p.m.
  • Post Boat Parade Party at Keylime Bistro with live entertainment, food and beverages
  • Holiday Hayride through the village to South Seas Island Resort and back from 6 to 11 p.m.
  • South Seas Holiday Stroll from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

 

Dec. 15

  • Carol Sing at Chapel By the Sea followed by refreshments at the Captiva Community Center
  • South Seas Holiday Stroll from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

 

Dec. 19 to 22

  • South Seas Holiday Stroll from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

 

 

About Captiva Island

Captiva Island is a barrier island in the tranquil Gulf of Mexico on Florida’s southwest coast. North of Sanibel Island and West of Fort Myers, world-renowned Captiva is also just three hours from Tampa and Fort Lauderdale by car. A narrow seashell-laden island famous for its dramatic sunrises and sunsets, celebrity visitors and creative residents, Captiva is home to private waterfront estates, two large resorts and several charming small inns. The heart of the island is its vibrant ‘downtown,’ coined “the village,” in which visitors and locals stroll among colorful galleries, shops and restaurants with live music and water views. As the gateway to the out-islands within Pine Island Sound, Captiva is also a watersports destination and offers boaters multiple marinas with overnight dockage. It has been featured in countless magazines and newspapers around the world.