Frank Cunnane says Tybee Island parade drew thousands along 3 miles

Thousands lined tybee island streets on Friday for the Tybee Beach Bum Parade, turning 3 miles of road into a moving water fight. Frank Cunnane called it the best parade in town as spectators traded water with float riders.

“This is a town that loves a parade, and this is the best one,” Cunnane said while drawing water for his super soaker pistol from three large trash cans in front of Doc’s Bar. The parade has run since 1987, when it began as a homecoming march for the local softball team called the Beach Bums.

Jack Boylston and the Beach Bums

Jack Boylston organized the Beach Bums softball team and has carried the title of HBIC, or Head Bum in Charge, throughout the parade’s history. He said, “We want to play real bad … and we will.” He also said, “The best parties are those where you don’t send out invitations,” and added, “That’s what this has been.”

The parade’s route has remained a local draw in a small place. Tybee Island is a Georgia barrier island with a population of 3,200, and Friday’s turnout put thousands of locals on the same 3 miles of streets for a day built around the island’s own crowd.

Tybee City Hall plaque

Boylston said only six of the original Beach Bums team members are still alive. Sixty-four original team members have died and are honored on a plaque at Tybee City Hall. Bar regulars along the route began using water balloons against parade participants in 1988, and the fight has stayed part of the event ever since.

Beach Bum Friday is described as a holiday, and the parade now serves as the last locals weekend before Memorial Day opens beach season and brings tourists to Tybee Island next weekend. For residents, the day is both a reunion and a marker that the island is about to shift from local crowds to the start of summer traffic.