Trimming the light fantastic

Mathis Winkler

BALBOA ISLAND -- Standing on the pier in front of her South Bayfront

home, Donna DiBari still seemed unsatisfied with the light extravaganza

covering her house.

“Oh, it’s still in progress,” the interior designer said Thursday,

unhappily eyeing a dark spot on one of the 40-foot-high palm trees.

One of the strands of lights that tightly wrapped the trees, framing

DiBari’s house between two glistening columns, had blown out.

A perfect appearance was important, however, because jurors for the

92nd annual Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade were making the rounds

to choose the most beautiful house decorations in the annual “Ring of

Lights” contest.

Residents could enter their lighting designs in categories ranging

from “Best Humor and Originality” to “Best Lights and Animation” to “Most

Traditional.”

DiBari took second place in the “Most Traditional” category last year

and said she hoped to score even better this year.

Apart from the trees on either side of the house, DiBari put colorful

lights on smaller trees and railings, wrapped baby palm trees in red or

green lights and added a lighted wreath to the balcony.

In the front garden, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was still waiting

for his sleigh. Visible from the street, a life-size Santa stood inside

the living room.

The one thing still missing was DiBari’s Christmas tree. Having

already spent four days on the decorations outside, she said it would

take about three more days to finish the tree.

Soon after moving to Balboa Island, DiBari said she won a “Ring of

Lights” award for the prettiest house.

Since family members and friends come over to watch the parade, she

said dropping the ritual of lighting the house wasn’t possible.

“You do it one year and then everyone expects you to do it,” she said.

“It’s nice to have the house all decorated.”

DiBari said she enjoys boat rides on the bay, but that swimming in the

water doesn’t seem too appealing.

“It’s too cold to swim,” she said. “I’m from Ohio, but I also lived in

Florida for 12 years.”

Turning her head to a neighbor’s gaudy light arrangement, which

included a reindeer carousel on the roof, internally lit candy sticks and

an army of glowing Santas, nutcrackers and snowmen, DiBari made it clear

that she had no hard feelings about being out-glowed. “We’re not

competing,” she said.

And while the lights have always come down in early January in past

years, DiBari said she might keep the palm trees covered.

“I could plug them in on the 4th of July,” she said, adding that it

took cranes to wrap the trees with lights.

On Friday, DiBari had reason to celebrate. The “Ring of Lights” jurors

awarded her first place in the “Most Traditional” category.