I took a trip downtown to see an amazing display of decorative sailboats floating in Carroll Creek. Sailing Through The Winter Solstice is an annual event where charity organizations create unique, anchored sailboats to be placed on Carroll Creek in the Linear Park section.This year, there are 28 unique boats on the water. The boats are up now and free to view until early March 2025 when they are removed. The closest parking is available at the Carroll Creek parking garage next to the library which was a quick three minute walk away from the creek.
Don’t forget, this is a charity event. You can vote for your favorite boat by scanning the QR code on each boat or at https://fundraise.givesmart.com/e/2IgOKw?vid=1eqz7t for a $5 donation that goes directly to the organization who created the boat. Last year the voting raised a total of $133,000 for the organizations according to VisitFrederick.org. This year, in the lead for most votes is the “Dancing Queen” boat for Operation Paws for Homes with $2,761 raised already. You can check the leaderboard at https://fundraise.givesmart.com/e/2IgOKw?vid=1eqz7t to track how your favorite boat is doing.
It’s the perfect activity for kids and adults to enjoy, the lights are spectacular at night. I saw tons of families enjoying the boats and it clearly started conversations about the local charities. When I was done admiring the boats, I loved to listen to the wonderful musicians who play along the creek. I was then able to grab a bite to eat at one of Fredericks best restaurants right there along the creek. Located on Carroll Creek above the boats are restaurants like Plaza Mexico and The Wine Kitchen.
I enjoyed all the information set out about the event along the sidewalk. I learned the event is organized by Color On The Creek, a volunteer water garden in Carroll Creek’s Linear Park. Color On The Creek was founded in 2013 with a mission to bring more flora and fauna downtown during the spring and summer. They are now 400 members strong and working to improve Carroll Creek’s plant life every year. In 2016, Peter Kremers and Kyle Thomas launched the first sailboat (USS Hamster) in Carroll Creek and thus began the tradition of a winter sailboat fleet on the creek which grows in size yearly.
This year some of the charity organizations include The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Operation Paws for Homes, Hurwitz Breast Cancer Foundation, Days End Horse Rescue,Key City Rotary and more. Many of the charities work with sponsors for their sailboats such as the Coors Brewing Company for the Keys Care foundation boat “Kraken”. It seemed the most popular boats had an animal theme or kid friendly theme. I particularly enjoyed the “SS Pinwheel” put together by the Friends of the Child Advocacy Center. The cute lego-like design drew lots of attention and it definitely earned my vote.
I definitely enjoyed my time spent on Carroll Creek and it is always important to support local charities. Make a trip downtown to see the amazing craftsmanship on the sailboats and support the local charity organizations, you won’t regret it.
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