The City of Bullhead City lists the Christmas on the Colorado Lighted Boat Parade for 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 19, 2026. The Laughlin Chamber of Commerce invites people to the same parade "Saturday, December 19th at 5:00 PM." Those two times describe the same boats on the same stretch of river at the same moment, though the Chamber page has a wrinkle of its own, covered below.
From November 1 through New Year's Eve, the Colorado River between Bullhead City and Laughlin is a time-zone line, and holiday listings on each bank print their own side's clock. Once you know which clock a listing uses, you can plan a full evening across both banks without showing up an hour off.
November 1 at 2 a.m., Nevada Only
According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, daylight saving time in 2026 ends on November 1 at 2 a.m. local time. Arizona does not observe it, with the exception of the Navajo Indian Reservation. Laughlin follows Nevada and falls back to Pacific Standard Time. Bullhead City stays on Mountain Standard Time, as it does all year.
So through October, the two banks show the same time. That's why this month's events need no conversion. Bullhead City's free Fishing Adventure Day runs 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday, October 16, at Rotary Park, with loaner poles while supplies last and registration required. The Laughlin Desert Classic runs October 15 through 19 at the Laughlin Events Park, with UTVs, motorcycles and quads, and it is free to watch. Clocks on both banks read the same for all of it.
From the first Sunday in November on, Laughlin runs one hour behind Bullhead City. When it's 6 p.m. at Community Park, it's 5 p.m. on the Laughlin side of the river.
The Parade With Two Start Times
The two listings for the boat parade show this most clearly. Here is how each one prints the time:
Bullhead City: "Dec 19, 2026 · 6:00 PM MST"
Laughlin Chamber: "Join us Saturday, December 19th at 5:00 PM"
6:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time and 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time are the same instant. One detail on the Chamber's event page doesn't match the rest. Its structured date field reads "4:00 pm PST - 5:00 pm PST," while its own description says 5:00 p.m. The page names the Bullhead Chamber of Commerce as organizer and says more information is coming. Until that update arrives, the safest reading is 6 p.m. Arizona time, which is 5 p.m. Laughlin time. Check with the organizer before the night.
The city's parade page suggests watching from anywhere along the river, or from the Bullhead Belle, which it calls "one of the best seats in the house" for the parade. That puts the corridor's biggest river night at an Arizona venue on Arizona time.
The Holly Jolly Holiday Bazaar on December 5 at the Anderson Auto Group Fieldhouse in Bullhead City shows the same split. The Laughlin Chamber's event fields list 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. PST, and the description on the same page says 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Arizona time. Once you allow for the hour, those are the same hours.
Every Listing, Both Clocks
Here are the main timed holiday listings on both banks through December 20, converted across the river. New Year's Eve gets its own section below. Each "as listed" time comes from the venue or organizer. The other column is simple one-hour math for dates after November 1.
| Event | Date | As listed | On the other bank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ted Vigil: John Denver Tribute, Avi | Nov 21 | 7 p.m., Laughlin | 8 p.m., Bullhead City |
| Holly Jolly Holiday Bazaar, Anderson Auto Group Fieldhouse | Dec 5 | 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Arizona | 9 a.m.–4 p.m., Laughlin |
| Light the Belle, Community Park | Dec 7 | 5:30 p.m., Bullhead City | 4:30 p.m., Laughlin |
| Whey Jennings "Rockin' Country Christmas," Riverside | Dec 16–20 | 7 p.m. PST | 8 p.m., Bullhead City |
| Christmas on the Colorado Lighted Boat Parade | Dec 19 | 6 p.m. MST | 5 p.m. PST |
| Aquarius weekend lounge bands | Fri–Sat, Nov–Dec | 7 p.m.–midnight, Laughlin | 8 p.m.–1 a.m., Bullhead City |
The Aquarius lineup is easy to plan around once it's converted. Whiskey Maiden plays November 6 and 7, Gregg Peterson Band November 13 and 14, Kevin Jaxon & Midnight Sun November 20 and 21, and Robert Rauch November 27 and 28. December brings Gregg Peterson Band on the 4th and 5th, Outlaws & Angels on the 11th and 12th, Jimmi Ellis Experience on the 18th and 19th, and Lorinda Leigh Band on the 25th and 26th. All of them play 7 p.m. to midnight on the Aquarius calendar, which is 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. on a Bullhead City clock.
The Belle Runs on Arizona Time All Season
The hour gap stops being trivia when it's tied to a fixed Arizona schedule, and the Bullhead Belle provides one. The city's October 6, 2026 feature on Visit Bullhead City describes the riverboat replica in Community Park, with indoor and outdoor seating facing the water. Fall and winter hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, extended to 8 p.m. on Fridays, and parking at Community Park is free all fall and winter.
The menu is new this season. There are three loaded fries: Arizona Nacho Cheese Fries with bacon, jalapeños and chipotle ranch, Fire-Pit Nacho Pork Fries with pulled pork, and Riverbank Buffalo Chicken Fries. New hoagies include the Colorado River Italian, Roast Beef & Bacon, Tuna, BBQ Pulled Pork and Grilled Chicken. Quesadillas now come in chicken or crispy pork carnitas.
Friday nights have free open mic karaoke from 5 to 8 p.m., and free live music runs on Saturdays and Sundays. The lineup changes through the season, and BullheadBelle.com carries the current schedule.
Put those Arizona hours next to the Laughlin listings and the math works out neatly. On a Friday, the Belle's karaoke and extended hours end at 8 p.m. Bullhead City time. That's the same moment the Aquarius lounge band starts its 7 p.m. Laughlin set. On Friday, December 18, the Belle's last song and the first set by Jimmi Ellis Experience happen at the same instant, an hour apart on paper.
Light the Belle on December 7 follows the same logic. The city lists it for 5:30 p.m., which is 4:30 p.m. on the Laughlin side. The feature says thousands of lights turn the riverboat into a glowing landmark on the river, and they stay up through the holiday season. So on parade night, twelve days later, the best seat on the river is already lit.
New Year's Eve Gets Two Midnights
On December 31, midnight arrives in Bullhead City first, and an hour later in Laughlin. Here's how the confirmed Laughlin listings line up against both clocks:
- 8 p.m. Laughlin, 9 p.m. Bullhead City. Gregg Peterson Band starts its New Year's Eve set at Aquarius. The band is listed 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. that night, after a 7 p.m. to midnight show on December 30.
- 10:30 p.m. Laughlin, 11:30 p.m. Bullhead City. Riverside's Phat Cat Swinger plays its New Year's Eve show, part of a run from December 30, 2026 through January 3, 2027.
- 11 p.m. Laughlin, midnight Bullhead City. The new year arrives in Arizona.
- Midnight Laughlin, 1 a.m. Bullhead City. The new year arrives in Nevada, and the Aquarius set is still on its listed schedule.
- 1 a.m. Laughlin, 2 a.m. Bullhead City. The Aquarius set ends.
The Phat Cat Swinger show at Riverside starts half an hour before Arizona's midnight and ninety minutes before Nevada's. Someone who rings in the year in Bullhead City can still catch the Laughlin countdown an hour later. No official 2026 listing for fireworks over the river had been posted as of this writing, so the confirmed plans for the night are the casino stages.
The Listings That Don't Say Which Clock
Some of the season's events print a date with no time, or a time with no zone. Those are the ones to confirm.
- River Passage Water Taxi posts hours of 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, subject to water level and weather. The operator's page doesn't name a time zone or post a separate winter schedule, so after November 1 the last ride could be 10 p.m. on either clock.
- Cirque Musica Holiday Wonderland at Aquarius is listed for December 12 with no showtime yet.
- SNORE's Maxxis Tires Rage at the River runs December 11 through 13 in Laughlin. The Visit Laughlin listing describes Friday activities, two days of off-road racing and a Sunday awards presentation. It doesn't list start times yet.
- Riverside's November run gives dates without times: Garth Live: A Tribute to Garth Brooks November 11 to 15, Bailey Zimmerman November 14, Cher Live November 18 to 22, and December '63 November 25 to 29. Riverside's Whey Jennings listing prints its showtime in PST, an hour behind a Bullhead City kitchen clock, so check the Riverside calendar for each showtime before you cross.
Two clocks are part of everyday life on this river, especially for owners who split their time between the two banks or between here and Las Vegas, Phoenix or Southern California. If you're thinking about your own place on the water this season, Crystal Fletcher and the US SOUTHWEST® Luxury Collection can work on both clocks with you. Get Your Home Valuation and find out what your river address is worth this winter.
