West Newport celebrates a calm Fourth
Deirdre Newman
WEST NEWPORT -- Throngs of partyers descended on the area Thursday,
maintaining a mellow mood throughout the day.
Scantily-clad women and bare-chested men cruised the streets hopping
from party to party while kegs flowed nonstop from early in the morning
until the wee hours of today.
Many of the revelers said the openness of the party scene made it a
comfortable place to hang out in light of the fall’s terrorist attacks.
“Everyone’s so open with each other, especially after Sept. 11,” said
Jeff Cooper, 18, who came from Temecula. “All the doors are open,
everyone’s going in and out and introducing themselves.”
In addition to walking, partyers used bikes, scooters, skateboards and
inline skates to navigate the crowded streets. Although the area between
32nd to 52nd streets were packed, the mood was fairly calm.
“I have not given a ticket out at all and haven’t seen anyone with
open containers,” said California Highway Patrol officer Aaron Knarr
around 4 p.m. More than 200 police personnel patrolled the area where
only about 55 arrests were made by 10 p.m. “It seems a little quieter
than in the past.”
That was not the case at Dennis Rodman’s house, where one of the most
crowded gatherings raged throughout the day.
“I’m having a sweet time with free alcohol and an abundance of
silicone,” said Jason Oppenheim, 25, standing on Rodman’s back patio
adjacent to the beach. “It’s kind of a chill place to drink and hang with
your boys.”
Later in the afternoon, when there was absolutely no breathing room
inside Rodman’s house, the host paced around outside, lamenting the fact
that he couldn’t get inside his own house.
Rodman, who did not open his house last year, said he was considering
going to Dallas for the holiday, but opted not to because it was raining
too much there.
The iconoclastic basketball player, who said he would return to the
NBA next year, good-naturedly hung out with the partyers in front of his
house and on his balcony.
The party scene attracted people from all across the nation, like Dan
Contento, who flew out from the East Coast for the occasion. Contento,
28, said he felt safer in Newport Beach on the Fourth of July.
“In New York City, people are still pretty apprehensive because of
[the terrorist attacks],” Contento said. “This seems like the last place
that would happen. There’s girls in bikinis and beer. How could Al Queda
have a problem with that?”
Chris MacDonald and his family, who traveled from Gig Harbor, Wash.,
camped out in chairs in front of a relative’s house and soaked in the
scene.
“It’s like a parade. You can see just about anything and everything,”
MacDonald said. “I’m sure it’ll get crazier as the night goes on.”
And even those who didn’t come specifically for the parties, couldn’t
help but be captivated by the sheer excitement of it all. Although
finding words to describe the scene was not easy.
“It’s quite something, unusual, crazy, I guess,” said Liselotte Goulb,
who is vacationing in Newport Beach for a few weeks. Goulb, 78, stood out
from the crowd as one of the most-dressed in her blue straw hat and blue
and white seersucker outfit.
Some of the least dressed were a group of recent male college
graduates who sported nothing but Speedos.
“We wanted to make our parents proud,” said one, who was referred to
as “Hot Adam.”
Newport Beach lifeguards weren’t nearly as busy as they could be on
the Fourth of July as they made about 13 rescues as of 7:30 p.m., said
lifeguard specialist John Moore. More than 100,000 hit the beaches on
Thursday.
“It was busy, but nothing major,” he said. “It was underused compared
to the past.”
* Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)
574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 deirdre.newman@latimes.comf7 .
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.