{"id":2088,"date":"2025-12-01T15:37:41","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T15:37:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sunbythesea.com\/ww\/?p=2088"},"modified":"2025-12-01T15:38:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T15:38:30","slug":"from-bikes-to-boats-and-floats-trams-santa-sleighs-how-magnolia-bikes-brings-wildwood-nostalgia-back-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sunbythesea.com\/ww\/from-bikes-to-boats-and-floats-trams-santa-sleighs-how-magnolia-bikes-brings-wildwood-nostalgia-back-to-life\/","title":{"rendered":"From Bikes to Boats and Floats, Trams & Santa Sleighs :\u00a0How Magnolia\u00a0 Bikes brings Wildwood nostalgia back to life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Dorothy Kulisek<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When it came time to create floats for the 2024 Wildwood Christmas Parade, Charles Eyster of Magnolia Bikes knew he wanted something special. His first idea was to build replicas of the island\u2019s iconic lifeguard boats\u2014but space and structural challenges quickly sank that plan. Instead, inspiration struck closer to home: Wildwood\u2019s beloved sightseeing boats of yesteryear.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Charles Eyster of Magnolia Bikes & Parking spends months in hs garage transforming bicycle surreys into Christmas parade floats!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eyster and his team, (he, himself and him \ud83d\ude42 transformed three-bench surreys into whimsical versions of two classics\u2014the Big Blue Sightseer and the Pink Flamingo. Built almost entirely from recycled materials, including old float parts, foam board, and wood, the project became both a labor of love and a nod to Wildwoods history. The Sightseer was decked out with seahorses and, for a festive twist, the Grinch himself at the helm\u2014complete with a Burger King crown. The Pink Flamingo sported a second deck, filled with doll-sized \u201cpassengers\u201d enjoying the ride.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding to the magic, Charles Eyster arranged for two retired sea captains\u2014Chuck Schumann of the Sightseer and Captain Sinns of the Big Flamingo, to pilot the floats during the parade. With the frigid winter temperatures however, Capt. Sinns was unable to make it out.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For Eyster, the project carried a wave of nostalgia. As a child, he had ridden those same tour boats, which themselves had fascinating origins\u2014 after the war, they were repurposed WWII PT boats to carry sightseers and fishermen along the Wildwood coast.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With clever craftsmanship, heartfelt detail, and a dash of humor, Eyster succeeded in giving Wildwood loving parade-goers more than just floats. He brought back memories of summers past and celebrated the spirit of Wildwood, where even a bicycle can set sail.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the best part? The story doesn\u2019t end here. Wait until you see what Charles has been working on for this year\u2019s Christmas Parade!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Come and see for yourself on\u00a0Friday, December 5th at 6 p.m.\u00a0in Downtown Wildwood<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t Miss the Magic!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Santa\u2019s reindeer & his Sleigh in 2022 Christmas Parade<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Charles Eyster & his 105 year old father-in-law, Vince riding shotgun in 2023 Christmas parade<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Dorothy Kulisek When it came time to create floats for the 2024 Wildwood Christmas Parade, Charles Eyster of Magnolia Bikes knew he wanted something special. His first idea was to build replicas of the island\u2019s iconic lifeguard boats\u2014but space and structural challenges quickly sank that plan. Instead, inspiration struck closer to home: Wildwood\u2019s beloved […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[3,1,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sunbythesea.com\/ww\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2088"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sunbythesea.com\/ww\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sunbythesea.com\/ww\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sunbythesea.com\/ww\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sunbythesea.com\/ww\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2088"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/sunbythesea.com\/ww\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2099,"href":"http:\/\/sunbythesea.com\/ww\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2088\/revisions\/2099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sunbythesea.com\/ww\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sunbythesea.com\/ww\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sunbythesea.com\/ww\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}