A light labor of love on the harbor
Deirdre Newman
For 10 days in late November and early December, Marcy Cook is a
woman possessed by the Christmas spirit, and she is focused on how
best to convey it through festive lights and decorations.
Bopping around her island house, Cook works her magic with myriad
lightbulbs, extension cords and power strips in preparation for the
annual Christmas Boat Parade. Her husband, Bob, watches in awe.
“I just get out of her way,” he said. “She does 99% of the work.”
This year, the Cooks won second place in the “Ring of Lights” for
best display of the theme “Celebrating America With Lights.”
“Every year, these guys outdo themselves,” said family friend
Scott Woods of Newport Beach. “Every holiday, it’s a new wonderland.”
This is Marcy Cook’s 10th year decorating for the boat parade.
Before the Cooks moved to Balboa Island, she used to decorate the
interior of their house extensively. Once on the island, she realized
she wanted to share her exuberant holiday cheer with the
neighborhood.
“Marcy is the soul of Christmas on Balboa Island,” said Jevon
Hadley of Costa Mesa, another family friend.
This year, the Cooks’ back patio facing the harbor is full of
snowmen and Santas. There is also a large Santa with a reindeer on
the roof. To allow Christmas fans of all ages to enjoy her
decorations, Marcy Cook attaches Santas on the front of their patio
hedge so they are at the correct height for toddlers passing by in
their strollers.
“Moms point to the Santas on the roof, but little kids can’t see
them,” she said.
Along the top of the hedge, red and white luminaries light up the
patio like Christmas angels. The windows are decorated with
illuminated snowflakes and snowmen. A huge inflatable Frosty fills
out the second-story balcony beaming with Christmas pride in all his
rotund glory.
The electrical jamboree did take its toll on the Cook residence
this weekend, though, when some of the circuit breakers got blown out
because the decorations drained so much juice out of the system. And
after the rain on Monday, Marcy and Bob were out on the patio with
hairdryers drying off all their decorations.
But the result still managed to wow passersby when the boat parade
kicked off Wednesday night.
“This is delightful and charming,” said Barbara Kunsman of Yorba
Linda as she strolled by with a friend admiring the view.
On the other side of the harbor, Lester and Betty Hale were also
earning rave reviews for their holiday lights and decorations. The
Balboa Peninsula residents scored second place in the Best Humor and
Originality category in the Ring of Lights.
The Hales have an advantage in putting up their decorations --
Lester is an electrician.
“He’s good,” Betty said. “A lot of people here hire someone. I
don’t have to look anywhere.”
The highlight of the Hales’ decorations is a 25-foot Christmas
tree made entirely of lights that radiates out like a giant beacon
from their dock. Their dock is also decked out with smaller
electrical Christmas trees and reindeer. And their roof is graced
with electric reindeer with Rudolph on the top.
Lester Hale divulged a secret that he said made attaching the
decorations on the roof a piece of cake -- plastic brackets. They
attach to the decorations and slide up easily under the tile.
“Once you get them on the roof, you just hook them on and hope the
wind doesn’t blow them down,” he said.
He added that he used to just decorate his dock, but once he
realized there was a theme for the Ring of Lights, he went all out.
Being a sucker for electrical gadgets helps, he said.
“Like, I was at ACE Hardware and saw the green Christmas trees for
$20 and thought, ‘Oh, those are nice,’” he said.
Lester said he tries to get his whole block on Edgewater to light
up their homes as well, with mixed luck.
One neighbor couple he doesn’t have to convince is perennial Ring
of Light winners Bill and Gay Wassall-Kelly, who edged out the Hales
for first place in the Best Humor and Originality Category.
Gay Wassall-Kelly said they can’t wait to hit the malls during the
Christmas sales to stock up on holiday decorations.
“We’re the only people that, every Christmas, we’re not at the
malls looking for good prices on clothes, we’re at the hardware
store,” she said. “These blowout sales were so exciting. We got
reindeer at K-Mart, a soldier at Target and a Santa Claus at Longs.”
* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers education. She may be reached at (949)
574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.
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