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.