Tybee’s Beach Bum Parade kicks off summer

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WTOC) -Tybee Island’s Beach Bum Parade rolled down Butler Avenue Friday night, kicking off what many consider the unofficial start of summer and tourist season with a tradition where getting soaked is part of the experience.

The Beach Bum Parade is part parade, part water fight, with parade floats and spectators spraying each other with squirt guns as the route moves through the island.

“If you’re dry you’re wrong. You’re going to be wet real quick,” attendee Glenn Price said.

“Like I said you’re not safe anywhere, you’re going to get wet. You’re participating whether you want to or not,” attendee Keaton Culberson said.

Organizers say this year marked Tybee’s 39th annual Beach Bum Parade. The event began in 1987 as a homecoming parade and has grown into one of the island’s signature traditions.

Families said the parade is a fun way to welcome the season, turning strangers into teammates as the water fight spreads through the crowd.

“It’s a nice little watergun fight… this is just a good way to spend some time together and to enjoy some fun in the sun out in Tybee,” Culberson said.

For visitors who did not know what to expect, the scene can be surprising. Holden Koak said he arrived for a beach day and stumbled into the event.

“Came in for a beach day and saw the police cars and seeing so many people spraying each other and we were like what is going on, what is this?” Koak said.

And on Tybee, that’s the point — come for the parade, stay for the splash.