4th Annual Candle Lights On The Creek 2023

Join us on Carroll Creek this New Year’s Eve to send off 2023 and welcome in the new year!

We will start with a big candle launch at 10pm all along Carroll Creek!

Here is what to expect:

Candle Launch: 10pm

Candles officially launch at 10pm to kick off our event! Come grab your candles from the Trellis at Carroll Creek and Market Street and launch them into Carroll Creek with us! This year, we want to do it together!

Firepits: 9pm – Midnight

Stay warm in front of the fire! We will have a few firepits along the way to keep everyone cozy!

Games and activities: 10pm – Midnight

Our Sailing Through The Winter Solstice Boat sponsors will be at the Carroll Creek Amphitheater from 10pm – Midnight with games, photobooth, and fun activities for everyone!

Food Trucks: 9:30pm – Midnight

We will have Arepa Queen and Mr. Cheesecake parked at Carroll Creek Amphitheater with food, desserts and hot chocolate!

The Dapper DJ’s: 9pm – Midnight

The Dappy DJs will be on the creek playing the best music to welcome 2024!

Schedule of events

8:45pm – 9:45pm boat rides; line up under the suspension bridge.

9pm – 10pm Key 103 & Volunteers handing out the candle, a performance by Theatricks and you can also start your scavenger hunt (Trellis area).

10pm – Count down and community candle launch!

9pm – midnight vendor interactive games, fire pits and food trucks along with Dapper DJ (Amphitheater)

9pm – 11:30pm scavenger hunt by Surelocked In (all along the creek)

FOX 5 Field Trip to STTWS

FOX 5’s Kevin McCarthy took a field trip to STTWS. Enjoy this segment with Kyle discussing the STTWS’s history, boats, charities and impact on downtown Frederick!

STTWS ’21 Is In Full Swing!

Sailing Through the Winter Solstice is in full swing!

With the final additions of “Mystere”, “Stargazer” and The Holly Jolly Roger the 2020-2021 fleet is now complete.

Twenty-five light ships are moored in the water on Carrol Creek linear park, on her shores, as well as atop the Brewers Ally rooftop.

The boats are lit up and can be viewed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through takeout in early March 2022. No admission fee. .. yep absolutely free!

Beautiful in the day, the lightships are stunning at dusk and beyond. Parking is plentiful at 4 downtown garages in Frederick.

Spread the joy bypassing the word and your photos to family and friends this season.

You can make a difference too by supporting your favorite boat and charity at “Vote for Your Boat” at Coloronthecreek.com. Voting is easy and secure. 100% of donations flow to local registered 501(c) 3 charities.

STTWS 21 Ornaments

STTWS '21 Ornament

Artwork on this Frederick ornament depicts a picturesque wintery scene along Carroll Creek during the annual event “Sailing Through the Winter Solstice.” This two-sided ornament is dated and is the first of an annual series of ornaments for this event.

3″ diameter porcelain with satin ribbon.

The Road Trip Mercantile will donate $2 per ornament to “Sailing Through the Winter Solstice by Color on the Creek”.

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STTWS Boat Rides

Hello Frederick! We are so glad that you love our 2021-2022 Sailing through the Winter Solstice fleet and want to experience them up close with one of our very own C.C.C.G. captains!

Boat rides are on a first come, first serve basis and are dependent on a few factors. We need a captain, favorable weather conditions and to be sure there are no icebergs in the water.

Important things to know

Is there a fee?
No, the rides are completely free.
We do ask that you consider a donation of a non perishable, or personal hygiene item for the Frederick  Rescue Mission. If you forget an item but feel moved to donate consider scanning the QR code we have available to donate directly to them or any of the other amazing charities via a vote for  Sailing Through The Winter Solsitce
How to know when you can go cruising down the creek in the USS Hamster?
We post on our Sailing Through The Winter Solstice Facebook and Instagram Stories when all the above factors align.
Where to park?
There are multiple parking decks throughout downtown Frederick the closest being the Carroll Creek Garage at 44 E Patrick St.
Where to wait?
Under the suspension bridge along the creek

Stargazer II

Sponsored by the Wine Kitchen Supporting Color on the Creek

STARGAZER I was made in the back of a coleman jon boat in 2016 as the first and only boat in Sailing Through the Winter Solstice.

She also wore the name USS Hamster in honor of Jason Kremers who had deployed to Iraq that winter.

Sponsored by The Wine Kitchen and Mayer BB&T bank she served for four years in the growing arctic sailing armada. The Wine Kitchen now supports her namesake Stargazer II.

Sailing Through The Winter Solstice begins sometime in mid-November every year when the boats that have been constructed and planned are launched into Carroll Creek. The 12+ week event benefits the city of Frederick in more ways than one. Each boat supports a local charity. Sailing Through Winter Solstice endures through the weekend of Fire and Ice – the first weekend in February. Shortly after that weekend, the boats are lifted from the creek and put into storage – only to be refurbished and polished up for the next year. For 2020 there were 24 boats raising funds for charitable organizations, and one smaller boat, USS Hamster, constructed to serve as a maintenance and rescue boat for repairs, as needed during winds, snow and ice conditions.

Carroll Creek Clipper 2020

Sponsored by The Rotary Club of Carroll CreekChosen Charity Second Chances Garage Designed to celebrate Rotary Club of Carroll Creek’s 25th anniversary year, the Carroll Creek Clipper Team started planning in March 2017. We purchased a fiberglass 12-foot one-mast sailboat in May, and spent about 400 man-hours over the following 6 months through weekly construction meetings.

The Team built a structural wooden frame inside the boat, added a second mast, used PVC for the deck, customized the railings, welded bowed aluminum sails, and stringed rope lights on sails and deck. The Rotary 25th anniversary wheel was added to commemorate the special year.

Rotary Club of Carroll Creek is proud to participate in the Sailing through the Winter Solstice festival for the 4th consecutive year, and in the process, help contribute to local charities.

Sailing Through The Winter Solstice begins sometime in mid-November every year when the boats that have been constructed and planned are launched into Carroll Creek. The 12+ week event benefits the city of Frederick in more ways than one. Each boat supports a local charity. Sailing Through Winter Solstice endures through the weekend of Fire and Ice – the first weekend in February. Shortly after that weekend, the boats are lifted from the creek and put into storage – only to be refurbished and polished up for the next year. For 2020 there were 24 boats raising funds for charitable organizations, and one smaller boat, USS Hamster, constructed to serve as a maintenance and rescue boat for repairs, as needed during winds, snow and ice conditions.

Ribbon Cutter 2020

Sponsored by Morgan Keller
Supporting Habitat for Humanity of Frederick County

We put together a team of about 10 people at our company. The team met virtually throughout COVID to plan our boat. And then we met in person to do the actual work (with masks of course). I am proud that we built our first boat for its maiden voyage through COVID.

It was a fun and rewarding process with a committee of people from different groups within the company that came together to make this happen.

Sailing Through The Winter Solstice begins sometime in mid-November every year when the boats that have been constructed and planned are launched into Carroll Creek. The 12+ week event benefits the city of Frederick in more ways than one. Each boat supports a local charity. Sailing Through Winter Solstice endures through the weekend of Fire and Ice – the first weekend in February. Shortly after that weekend, the boats are lifted from the creek and put into storage – only to be refurbished and polished up for the next year. For 2020 there were 24 boats raising funds for charitable organizations, and one smaller boat, USS Hamster, constructed to serve as a maintenance and rescue boat for repairs, as needed during winds, snow and ice conditions.

Spirit of Apprenticeship

Sponsored by Dynamic Automotive
Supporting United Way of Frederick County’s Path to Transportation

Chris Kline Sr, who helped us buy both our Urbana and New Market location, suggested a 25th anniversary edition this year. We wanted to raise awareness to what Maryland was doing. Which helped us pick the Maryland Flag as a design, we upped our game from last year with painted sails. We used black light to illuminate the sails along with LED rope lights. We chose the United Way of Frederick County’s, Path Road to Transportation to support. It’s a great fit for us to support a transportation program that helps lift people up with reliable transportation.

Sailing Through The Winter Solstice begins sometime in mid-November every year when the boats that have been constructed and planned are launched into Carroll Creek. The 12+ week event benefits the city of Frederick in more ways than one. Each boat supports a local charity. Sailing Through Winter Solstice endures through the weekend of Fire and Ice – the first weekend in February. Shortly after that weekend, the boats are lifted from the creek and put into storage – only to be refurbished and polished up for the next year. For 2020 there were 24 boats raising funds for charitable organizations, and one smaller boat, USS Hamster, constructed to serve as a maintenance and rescue boat for repairs, as needed during winds, snow and ice conditions.

 

Key To Freedom 2020

Key to Freedom 2020
Sponsored by Matan
Supporting: Frederick Health Hospice Veterans Program

For the last several years Matan’s Philanthropic Committee took a pledge to “Be the Change” and has worked at increasing our community involvement to give back in Frederick County.

At our holiday lunch at the Wine Kitchen back in 2018, we admired all the amazing boats on the creek, and decided to take on the challenge of building our own boat. In May of 2019 we began the process of acquiring, designing, and building a boat that could be displayed along the creek.

We acquired a fourteen foot, 1973 O’Day Javelin sailboat from the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

We polled our employees to get theme ideas. Patriotic was the popular vote. The Key to Freedom’s patriotic theme aligns with Frederick’s rich history of Francis Scott Key and The Star-Spangled Banner. High Rock Studios helped us design the overall look and the six members of our Philanthropic Committee worked countless hours to bring that design to life.

This is the second year Key to Freedom has participated in STTWS. This year we chose “Frederick Health Hospice Veterans Program” as our local non-profit, ensuring that our veterans and their families continue to receive the support they need within our community.

Sailing Through The Winter Solstice begins sometime in mid-November every year when the boats that have been constructed and planned are launched into Carroll Creek. The 12+ week event benefits the city of Frederick in more ways than one. Each boat supports a local charity. Sailing Through Winter Solstice endures through the weekend of Fire and Ice – the first weekend in February. Shortly after that weekend, the boats are lifted from the creek and put into storage – only to be refurbished and polished up for the next year. For 2020 there were 24 boats raising funds for charitable organizations, and one smaller boat, USS Hamster, constructed to serve as a maintenance and rescue boat for repairs, as needed during winds, snow and ice conditions.