Santa & Mrs. Claus as well as elves, pirates, clown & lions, oh my

Lions Santa Ship
December 14, 2024 – 12:00 pm
Orcas Ferry Landing

||| FROM ORCAS LIONS CLUB |||

In parts of the world, Santa arrives by sleigh, slides down chimneys or walks through front doors. But for people living in small island communities in the Pacific Northwest, access to the mainland is limited – and children rarely have the chance to visit Santa.

The Lions Step In
The start of the “Christmas Ship” goes back 74 years to a very humble beginning. Lions Clubs in the Pacific Northwest saw the need, and wanted to do something to make the holidays happier. “The kids on the islands didn’t have transportation to and from the big cities,” according to Don Wight of the Bellingham Lions Club. “One of the islands asked if a boat that had lights on it could possibly come out to the islands with candy and toys for the kids.

That marked the beginning of the Christmas Ship. Every December for the past 74 years, Santa has suited up and stepped off the Christmas Ship to bring gifts and joy to people living in remote islands off the coast of Bellingham, Washington in the United States and British Columbia, Canada.

The program has taken many twists and turns over the years and was in serious danger of becoming a thing of the past. An introduction of this project to “Lions” came in 1995, that introduction was to the Bellingham Central Lions Club, by our now PDG Don Wight. The first boat to do this was the Bellingham Sea Scout boat, with Captain Don Wight Sr.

As a result of COVID, the ship encountered a new problem. The owner of the vessel that the Lions secure lost all his Canadian business to other interests in Canada, and the cost for licensing to dock in Canadian waters became prohibitive. The ship now sails only to the San Juan’s.

There is another group of Canadian Lions who ensure Santa makes it to the islands we used to visit; just with a much smaller contingent, armed with the same amount of joy and exuberance. The team visiting the San Juan’s is comprised of Lions from Lions Multiple District-19 District O, in Canada and the US. MD-19 is made up of British Columbia, Northern Idaho and Washington. The Orcas Lions are part of District O, which is made up of 76 Clubs with 1,950 members.

This project has continually grown in scope over the past 29 years to a point where it has now completely developed its own identity, known throughout the Lions MD-19. In 2022, Lions and Past District Govender’s Don Wright and Judy Portas, retired from their many years of service to the ship and the Foundation.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving
Today, Lions dressed as pirates, elves, clowns and Santa all climb aboard the Christmas Ship to create a unique holiday experience. Almost all of the islands that the ship visits are home to a Lions Club.  And every island offers its own brand of hospitality.

2024 Santa Ship Comes to Orcas Island
The “Christmas Ship” has always set sail the 2 nd full weekend in December, and the 2024 sailing will be December 14th ,2024.

The ship will be leaving Bellingham Bay at approximately 8:00 AM on Saturday morning. The Saturday morning departure sees the first stop being Waldron Island, then continuing on to Orcas, Shaw, Blakely, Lopez and Decatur Islands. The ship has added Stewart Island back in this year, and will make its way back to Bellingham at approximately 7:30 pm. A long day but a happy day.

Join the Orcas Lions Club at 12:00 pm at the Orcas Ferry Landing to welcome Mr. & Mrs. Claus and the holidays to our magical island. There will be all the usual pirates and clowns and best of all Santa. Santa will give out approximately 400 gift bags made up of several different treats as well as a stuffed animal and a handmade wooden toy. They will also have 30 separate, special bags for babies.

Thank You to:
The Orcas Island Lions wants to thank Ron & Mary Russell from the Orcas Village Store for providing the refreshments, San Juan County and the Washington State Ferries for the use of the building, Islands Sounder, The Orcasonian and the Orcas Chamber of Commerce for publicity and all the volunteers that come out to greet the holidays.

Additionally, a big thank you to the International Lions Christmas Ship Foundation, MD19-0 Clubs and San Juan Charters for bringing the Santa Ship to the islands.

The Christmas Ship voyage costs roughly $20,000 which comes from Lions and public donations. The Orcas Lions welcomes any donation to the effort to help offset the expenses. Donations can be placed in the donation box at the event or through the Orcas Lions website at orcaslions.org. Checks should be made out to International Lions Christmas Ship Foundation.