This Independence Day marked the 30th anniversary of the Annual Findley Lake Boat Parade, and the theme this year was Favorite Band. Pontoon boats and motor boats, decorated with Blues Brothers, Beatles, Beach Boys, Backwoods Jug Band, and Kiss themes, paraded around the lake for all to see and hear.

The boat parade was initiated 30 years ago by Sally Porter, Shirley Breter and her son, Craig Breter. They coordinated the event for 18 years, after which the Findley Lake Chamber of Commerce took it over.

In 2017, Krasa’s Kove of Sunnyside Drive in Findley Lake championed the boat parade, and then passed the baton to the Paradise Bay Park Family Campground , which organized the event both this year and last.

Co-owner of the campground, Jennifer Mazur, and her husband, Todd, along with their volunteer judges, took over the parade in 2018, just as it was in danger of disappearing from Findley Lake’s Fourth of July activities. “The second year was a little bit easier for me because I’m more familiar with everything,” Mazur said.

The Beach Boys pontoon won for its class and for the people's choice at the Findley Lake Boat Parade.

This year’s judges included a young woman who attained her US citizenship in December of 2018. Diane Sanchez, of Pittsburgh, Pa., was proud to be a judge and to be celebrating her first Fourth of July.

Additional judges, which included Jason and Natalie Loucks, Julie Moore and Francisco Reyes, all of Erie, Pa. had the task of selecting the first and second place winners in both the pontoon boat and motor boat categories. Each year, there is also a “People’s Choice” award given to the participant with the most votes from the public.

This year’s award recipients were: Best Pontoon Boat — The Beach Boys with Screaming Fans, and Second Place Pontoon Boat — The Blues Brothers; Best Motor Boat — Kiss, and Second Place Motor Boat — The Beatles with Strawberry Fields. The People’s Choice Award went to the pontoon boat decorated with The Beach Boys with Screaming Fans. “I was thrilled with their enthusiasm and the creativity,” Mazur noted of the contestants.

As a special tribute to the parade’s 30th anniversary, Craig Breter, one of the originators of the event was on hand. “When we started it, there were three categories -pontoon, motor and wooden boat,” Breter said. “Then there got to be so few wooden boats that we had to drop them.”

Breter said being present at this year’s boat parade gave him special satisfaction. “I’m glad it’s still going,” he said. “I’m sure when we thought of this 30 years ago, we had no idea it would last this long.”

The Beatles Yellow Submarine cruises past the judges stand at the Findley Lake Boat Parade.

The boat parade has continually brought people from other places to Findley Lake and that is its real purpose. “I think it just brings a lot people into the area. It’s a good publicity event,” he said.