This is our ninth year of the Skegness Light Parade which took place on 23 September 2023. This year we had 106 inscriptions for the event and over 90 bikes/trikes on parade. The weather on Friday a bit dodgy with black clouds and rain making its way across from the West coast to the East. Unlucky for those travelling across country. However, the afternoon and evening turned out fine. We booked into the Golden Palm Holiday Park at 4.00 o'clock and made our way to a nice comfy 6 birth caravan with all the amenities. Having unloaded our packed up bikes, we slipped across the road to JW's pub for a cracking dinner. Us Lincs wingers then had to assemble for a Safety brief given by Sandy and Peggy whilst we were all allocated our official roles for the weekend. At 7.00 o'clock, we moved our bikes up to the top car park where we did a static light display for the holiday makers at the Golden Palm. Then by 8.00 o'clock, we cleared out and headed for the pub !
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This year had almost seen the demise of the SKLP. Throughout the year, Sandy and Peggy work tirelessly to get the appropriate permissions to hold the event and more importantly to find the sponsorship money that would allow the event to take place. Unfortunately, nothing is free and we have to find the funding to pay for Road Closures and Traffic Control, Lost Children, First Aid, Fire appliances and the list goes on. However, with the closure of the BID (which used to fund events for the East Coast) we were coming up short. Fortunately the Owner of the HIVE in Skegness heard about our plight and recognised the tremendous amount of business that the SKLP brings to Skegness at this end of the season. So he happily stepped in to support our cause and even had his staff out in force to wield collection buckets amongst the crowds of onlookers.
On Saturday morning, Lincs wingers showed up early on the Lumley road to set up stalls for inscription, cake stall and face painting and to make the site ready to receive bikes and visitors. Marshalls patrolled the ends of the street so that only Goldwing bikes/trikes and emergency vehicles could enter. Our steadfast Lincswings ladies manned the inscription desk and the ladies from the Macmillan Trust took over the Cake stand. A professional Face Painter took over the end stall, whilst Alan with his iridescent purple Trike set up at the other end to do photos of visitors sitting astride his trike. The rest of us patrolled the street to get bikes and trikes in safely without crushing any innocent bystanders. As in previous years, our good fellow showed up on his Penny-Farthing bicycle and he offered to take round a collection bucket for the charity.
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The static parade was inundated with visitors, lasting from 10.00am until 4.00pm, after which many bikes returned to camp for a rest and sustenance. We then re-assembled at 6.00pm to get ready for the light parade. More than 80 bikes and trikes formed up for the parade and we were greeted by The Jolly Fisherman, the Mayor and the lovely 'Summer' our Carnival Queen making her final appearance before she starts studying for her GCSEs. We also had a host of celebrities who took the care to dress up and parade around. These included characters from Shrek, Starwars, Minnie Mouse and many others.
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We were pleased to see one regular visitor to our parade. Jack is now 17 years old and he has attended almost every year. Jack has cerebral palsy, which means he has no controls over his muscles. However, inside he is still a 17 year old kid with all the wants and wishes of other kids his age. In the past we have been able to lift Jack onto my Goldwing and you can always see the thrill in his face as his eyes light up. This year, he had grown a bit too big to manhandle onto the bike so he made do with sitting next to it and enjoying the sound of the engine. Well done Jack, and we look forward to seeing you again next year.
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After enjoying a tasty dinner at the Golden Palm, we returned by 6.00pm to begin assembling the parade on Lumley Road. As more bikes arrived they took position along the road and as the evening closed in, more bike-light displays came on. The parade set off at 7.30pm sharp heading down to the clock tower and then up and down the beach road for four full circuits. Sandy led the way with the Lincs wingers right behind, then followed by the rest of the parade. Each junction along the route was closed off by our specialists, whilst staff from the HIVE patrolled the crowds with collection buckets. Pictures of Light Parades are always hard to get good images but these are a few of our best.
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Skegness Light Parade 2023
Video of the Parade
After the parade we returned to the Golden Palm Club house
where awards were presented as follows:Best bike: Simon Biggs
Best Trike: Dave Crowley
Furthest travelled: Dave Hacket 356 miles
Jayne Sands best in show: Graham Eagles
Best attended Region went to Trent Wings
Albums:
Static Light Parade
Skegness Static Parade
Celebrities on Parade
Skegness Light Parade 2023
SKLP 2023 AwardsThis year's parade raised over £4840 for the Macmillan Trust, which Lincswings decided to top up to £5000. We would like to thank everyone for their generous support, donations and participation.
if anyone’s has photos of the 2023 Skegness Light Parade
please post them to Skegness Light Parade Facebook…., Thank you all
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