The spirit of Christmas comes every year to Morgan Hill in the
form of a ship.
The spirit of Christmas comes every year to Morgan Hill in the form of a ship.
Anyone who has spent a holiday season in Morgan Hill has seen the Magic Ship slowly making its way around town with lights ablaze and Santa at the helm. Santa and his crew will be on board Saturday during the Holiday Lights Parade that begins at 5:30pm Saturday in the downtown.
The parade will be followed by a tree lighting ceremony.
The town has also come to enjoy seeing The Magic Ship and Santa in his summer attire, Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops at the 4th of July parade.
The Magic Ship is run as a community service project by the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 799. The Magic Ship is now a 30-year Morgan Hill holiday tradition spreading the Magic of Christmas to the young, and the young at heart for three decades.
The tradition began when the Troop was given a 1962 Studebaker that had been modified into a parade float shaped like a ship. The ship is still afloat, maintained completely by volunteers who stock the larder and give it new brakes, tires and, all too frequently, a new clutch.
The troop’s Scoutmaster, the late John Espinoza, had been growing a beard, and some of the Scouts mentioned that he looked “just like Santa!” He was encouraged to “don the disguise” with the scouts agreeing to fill in for his elves and thus was born The Magic Ship of Christmas. From that day to this, the Ship has been visiting neighborhoods, businesses, schools, day care centers, rest homes, the 4th of July Parade, the Downtown Tree Lighting Ceremony and the Christmas Parade.
The Magic Ship of Christmas can be scheduled for block parties, corporate events or shopping centers. Santa and Boy Scout Troop 799 will sail to your holiday event offering visit and picture with Santa; candy, toys and old fashioned ho, ho fun.
If you want to schedule The Magic Ship of Christmas, contact Gretchen at (408) 892-9015.
