Look, there! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a boat covered in Christmas lights! Make that 40 boats, as a twinkling fleet of yachts, sailboats, motorboats, and even kayaks cruises down Tempe Town Lake, at Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway, on Saturday, December 11, for the APS Holiday Boat Parade. Awards will be given in several categories, with a $1,000 Best of Show grand prize to the boat with the best decorations. Entertainment begins at 6 p.m., with the Margo Reed Jazz Duo and the First Institutionalized Baptist Church Choir performing at Fifth Street and Mill Avenue. Luminarias will be available for purchase at Tempe Town Lake, with all proceeds benefiting Friends of the Orphans. The boat parade starts at 7 p.m., and as far as decor goes, it's Christmas lights galore, although some previous entrants have gone with themes, turning their boats into igloos and reindeer. See www.downtowntempe.com for more information. -- Niki D'Andrea
Jingle All the Way
Hike and seek Santa at Thunderbird Park
SAT 12/11
Little Billy doesn't have to hoof it to the North Pole to find Santa. On Saturday, December 11, the kid needs only to maneuver a one-mile hike at Thunderbird Park, 59th Avenue and Pinnacle Peak Road in Glendale, beginning at 9 a.m., to see St. Nick at the end of the journey. Call 623-930-2384 for details. -- Joe Watson
Terrain or Shine
Feel the burn at Tempe Papago Park Duathlon
SAT 12/11
Don't let the cold and drizzle fool you. Running and biking almost 20 miles in the Tempe Papago Park Duathlon on Saturday, December 11, will make you break a sweat. So leave the parka at home. The race begins at 10 a.m. Registration is $45 per person, $60 for relay entry. Call 480-460-5052. -- Joe Watson
