A simple theme for Newport boat parade
S.J. Cahn
A little bit more tinsel and a few final decorations are all
that’s left to the setup for this year’s Newport Harbor Christmas
Boat Parade.
The annual holiday tradition, which routinely draws people from
across the country to the harbor and was once listed by the New York
Times as among the top 10 holiday events in the nation, has a theme,
has a presenting sponsor and has dates etched out on the calendar.
Like last year, when the parade had its first theme, this year’s
five-night event will focus on patriotism by “Celebrating America
with Lights.”
“People seemed to enjoy it,” Richard Luehrs, the president of the
Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, said of last year’s theme, which
was devised after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and
Washington, D.C.
The chamber’s Commodores Club puts on the annual event, which will
run from Wednesday, Dec. 18, through Sunday, Dec. 22. The parade, in
its 94th year, will ship out each night at 6:30 p.m.
Once again, the parade will follow the reduced route first
employed, to no bit of controversy, last year. But in the latest
incarnation, put together in the weeks after last year’s event, the
parade will cover its older, longer route on Friday and Saturday
nights. That route includes the West Lido Channel and the tip of the
Balboa Peninsula.
Friday and Saturday nights were chosen for the longer route,
Luehrs said, because those nights there is more time to spend and
because more people tend to participate during the weekend nights.
In a slight nod to the past, the parade will have a sponsor,
Huntington Harbor-based cleaning product company Simple Green.
Details of what the sponsorship will involve are still being worked
out, Luehrs said, but it could include the company’s name on a boat
as part of the parade.
The parade last had a sponsor about seven or eight years ago,
Luehrs said.
Chamber officials work most of the year preparing for the handful
of nights, except in June and July, which are dominated by planning
for the Taste of Newport.
The parade is the top draw of the city’s holiday events, which
also includes Fashion Island’s annual tree-lighting ceremony.
“It’s obviously something that’s very big for restaurants,” said
Bridget Lindquist, deputy director of the Newport Beach Conference
and Visitors Bureau.
Restaurants along the parade route typically see business increase
from 20% to 30%.
There is a $25 fee for those wishing to participate in the parade,
which also features the Ring of Lights home decorating contest as
well as a contest for best designed boats. Those interested can
contact the chamber at (949) 729-4400.
* S.J. CAHN is the managing editor. He can be reached at (949)
574-4233 or by e-mail at steven.cahn@latimes.com.
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