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.