Move over Lake Orion, there’s a new boat parade in town.

A group of property owners on Lakeville Lake in Addison Township are organizing a boat parade for Saturday, July 2 beginning at noon.

“People like boats and it’s a great time to be on the lake. I think we’ll have a good crowd,” said Paul Woodring, who’s coordinating the parade. “It’s going to be a fun event.”

Anyone with a gasoline-powered boat is welcome to participate in the parade, regardless of whether or not they live on the picturesque 460-acre lake. There is no entry fee.

Woodring is hoping for a good turnout.

“I think 30 boats would be a nice bunch,” he said. “If we had more, I’m sure we could accommodate them, but 30 would be a good crowd.”

It is recommended that boats be decorated to reflect the parade’s theme, “Happy Birthday, America.”

Woodring is hoping to find a small group of musicians that would be willing to ride around the lake that day, playing the marches of John Philip Sousa, the famed 19th-century composer known for his military and patriotic marches.

“That would be nice,” he said. “I played in a band when I was in junior high school and I just love those Sousa marches.”

Boats will be judged and awarded prizes based on their decorations. In order to aid the judging process, parade participants are encouraged to pre-register their boats, so they can be assigned a number.

However, Woodring noted registration is not required.

“We’re not setting a lot of rules,” he said. “It’s not a strict thing.”

Parade participants will be asked to assemble with their boats at 11:30 a.m. along the lake’s west shore, south of the Salvation Army’s Echo Grove Camp and Retreat Center.

The parade will travel counterclockwise around the lake and include traveling partway into some of the larger bays.

Woodring explained the impetus for this event is to help Lakeville Lake property owners get better acquainted with each other.

“We have a lot of new people on the lake,” explained Woodring, who has owned property there since 1980 and lived there full-time since 1999.

“We want to do more activities, more social events that bring people together.”

He’s looking forward to this boat parade becoming an annual event that draws visitors to the lake and Addison Township.

“I think it’s going to become an attraction,” Woodring said.

In the event of inclement weather, the parade will be postponed until noon Sunday, July 3.

For more information about the boat parade or to pre-register for it, please send an email to lakelife627@gmail.com. Donations for parade prizes are being sought.