Sailing Through The Winter Solstice

Every year Carroll Creek Park is filled with individually designed lighted sailboats. This floating light installation sets sail in November and is on display through March.

See the Boats Day or Night

The 2023-24 Sailing Through the Winter Solstice display will take place from November 2023 to March 2024.

You can view the boats anytime day or night. In fact, you may want to take a look while it's light out and again after it gets dark and the lights come on. Lights typically turn on at sunset, so this is a great time to see them both ways.

Sailing Through the Winter Solstice is a fundraiser - visitors can vote on their favorite boat, with donations supporting local non-profit organizations. The 2022-23 season raised more than $130,000 for charities in Frederick County!

Color On The Creek

This project is made possible by the local nonprofit Color On The Creek, the same group that is responsible for the beautiful lilies that float on the creek through the summer months.

Frederick businesses are invited to sponsor and design a boat to be on display. What many people might not realize is that this is also a competition! Vote for your favorite boat by making a contribution to the affiliated local charity to help determine the winner. Each dollar donated is one vote! The boat with the most votes at the end of the season is declared the winner and will receive the soon-to-be coveted traveling Sailing through the Winter Solstice Trophy.