To accentuate the holiday cheer this year, Golden Gate Ferry will once again be decorating its merry ferry boats. However, it won't necessarily be Golden Gate Ferry employees doing the decorating, but rather local schoolchildren-kindergartners, first, second and third graders from schools in Marin, San Francisco and Petaluma.
Five Golden Gate Ferry boats will be decorated by local schoolchildren this year.
By Matt Larson
Published: December, 2015
To accentuate the holiday cheer this year, Golden Gate Ferry will once again be decorating its merry ferry boats. However, it won’t necessarily be Golden Gate Ferry employees doing the decorating, but rather local schoolchildren—kindergartners, first, second and third graders from schools in Marin, San Francisco and Petaluma. This is a beloved yearly tradition that Golden Gate Ferry employees and riders have enjoyed for decades.
Field trips begin on December 1 for the local schoolchildren to bring their decorations on board. By December 11, five Golden Gate Ferry boats will be decorated. We’d tell you to keep an eye out, but a ferry boat adorned with Santa Claus faces, paper reindeer and chains, cotton balls, glitter and holiday cheer will be pretty hard to miss. This year Golden Gate Ferry will be decorating the following boats: the Napa, Del Norte, Golden Gate, San Francisco and Marin, including both the Larkspur and Sausalito terminals’ boats.
While it’s a festive sight for the public when kids put up their decorations for all to enjoy, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes to make this all possible. For the last 32 years, Peggy Mackay, administrative assistant to the deputy general manager of the Ferry Division for Golden Gate Ferry, has been the mastermind whose hard work keeps the smiles on the students’ faces and ours. “It takes a couple months of organizing to get it all together,” she said. “I look forward to it. I start organizing it in October but the schools sometimes call me in September, as soon as school starts, to reserve their date.”
Crafts are made at school first and then brought on board during an exciting field trip day. The kids all board the ferries for either the 10:10 or 11:10 a.m. departure, so that the boats are not overly crowded with commuters. However, there are regular passengers on board when the kids take over to put up their masterpieces. “They’re really patient,” said Mackay—referring to the passengers, not the students. “Every time I’ve gone on this trip the commuters might either move to a different section, or they might stay seated where they are if they enjoy watching the kids decorating.”
It’s always good times for the Golden Gate Ferry crew when the kids come into the terminal. “As soon as they get here, you can tell,” Mackay said. “I can hear them from my office! They are pretty excited.” The teachers do a really good job of keeping them all under control. Because the kids are boarding a roundtrip ferry ride for the decorating, there is a requirement of having one adult for every five children. The decorating is done on the way into San Francisco, and fun is to be had on the way back as the kids get to enjoy the great experience of riding the ferry.
The number of participating schools has increased substantially over time, primarily via word of mouth. “I wish I could invite more schools than I do but we only have a limited amount of space and time to do this,” Mackay said. Sometimes other organizations, such as a cub scout or girl scout troop, have requested to be involved. Mackay has accommodated them at times in the past, but generally the spots are filled very early. If your student’s school is looking to be a part of the festivities, you can certainly try giving Golden Gate a call when school is in session next fall to see if there’s any room.
So when you board the ferry in December, don’t be too alarmed to see all the lovely decorations. And let the kids remind you how fun it really is to take the ferry. As part of a daily grind, most anything can lose its luster, but look around next time you’re on board and take it all in. Riding the ferry this holiday season is quite the luxury indeed, especially when compared to sitting in your car in traffic. Happy Holidays!
