2009 Tybee Island Beach Bum Parade-It was a Blast!
The wild and wacky event, the Beach Bum Parade was a blast!! Watch for next year’s date.
This one-of-a-kind event featured a parade of floats, outfitted with the most outlandish and wild contraptions to get those on the sidelines wet! In turn, many on the sidelines prepared to fight back with their own wild and wacky, water-squirting tactics. It was just a hoot to see the antics, and those who watched this parade on the street got soaked whether they wanted to or not!
The origin of the Beach Bum Parade has been embellished and retold enough times, perhaps we’ll never know the real story. For certain, Lloyd “Jiggs” Watson and Jack Boylston decided a little exercise was in order for their social entourage, so they created the Beach Bum softball team. In the understandable rivalries that ensued, a water shot was fired over the bow of one of the teams, whether by their opponents or by the onlookers. So was born an annual affair that no doubt results in the sell-out of squirt guns Island-wide and further!
The event has grown to include more than just the parade. Tybee Fest will use the funds raised during this event to help with their other annual events, like Pirate Fest and the Christmas Parade.
If you’re coming to Tybee, or you think you’d like to, this is a wonderful and fun family event to build a trip around.
In case you do come, here are the rules to good beach water-bumming:
Please remember, if getting wet is not your idea of a good time and you find yourself on Tybee Island around dinner time on Friday, be sure to use alternate routes to reach your final destination! By the same token, the event is meant to be fun for all, and the City and organizers ask that residents and visitors use some common sense in choosing and soaking your targets.
Tybee Island’s Mayor Jason Buelterman notes, “The City of Tybee and the organizers of the parade recognize that many of our neighbors in other parts of Georgia are enduring ongoing drought conditions. Out of respect for these communities, we are encouraging folks to take a few steps to conserve as much water as possible during the parade:
· “Use water guns rather than garden hoses and buckets.
· “Do not begin activities along the parade route until the parade actually begins.“Tybee Island takes great pride in our recent designation as a ‘Water First’ Community and is working to ensure that the 20-year-old Beach Bum Parade will continue to be a Tybee tradition celebrating the beginning of the summer season.”
In addition,
· Water balloons, buckets, and pressure washers are not allowed; they can hurt people and damage things, neither of which are fun!
· Ice water is not allowed. We want everyone to have fun, not suffer!
· Please restrict your targets to parade participants and on-lookers.
· It is illegal to open car doors or homes to spray inside. Open windows may be fair game, but people close up for a reason. Please do not abuse them!
· It is also illegal to squirt police officers. Such activities will result in incarceration and a $700 fine!
By following these few guidelines, everyone can have a great time. Come join the fun on Tybee this Friday and Saturday, too. Be prepared to GET WET, and be sure to wrap your dry change of clothes in a plastic bag! The squirting ends after the parade.
We hope you’ll join us next May for all the festivities.
If you’d like more information about any of the above, contact the Concierge at 912.786.5852.
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Photo gallery from 2008 Beach Bum Coronation Party
Photo Gallery from 2007 Beach Bum Parade.
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This is a short video which will give you a sense of the Beach Bum Parade. Please understand that it is a water fight so GOOD videos are impossible.
