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 .