Holidays set sail in Harbour

Jenny Marder

With the holidays just weeks away, many have begun unpacking their

boxes of lights and other festive decorations. For the Mays, there’s

an attic full of boxes and thousands of Christmas lights to unpack.

When the 41st annual boat parade sets sail Saturday, Betty and

Vern’s Huntington Harbour home will have been transformed into a

cacophony of music, lights and tropical-themed Christmas decorations.

They’re calling it “Santa’s Enchanted Island.”

A 20-foot tiki face, illuminated in primary colors stares with red

glowing eyes over the harbor. The face is flanked by Santa’s bamboo

hut and guarded by two colorful native warriors. A waterfall runs

down the facade of the house, which is blanketed with about 5,000

Christmas lights.

Thousands of spectators are expected to watch as a string of

decorated boats wind their way through the water for the 2003

Huntington Harbour Boat Parade on Saturday, which kicks off the

annual 45-minute Cruise of Lights boat tour. From Dec. 15 to Dec. 23,

boats will take visitors through the harbor, touring the lighted

homes, many of which, like the Mays’ house, will be transformed into

extravagant holiday displays.

The Cruise of Lights, which began in 1963, was the brainchild of

former residents Jane and Bayard Dod, who wanted to raise funds for

music programs in city schools. The next year, the Dods established

the philharmonic committee, a local chapter of the nonprofit Orange

County Philharmonic Society, which sponsors music education for

children.

Since its inception, the cruise has generated about $2.5 million

for the Philharmonic Society of Orange County’s youth music programs

and attracts more than 20,000 visitors every year. Over the past 20

years, the committee has given $250,000 to local schools.

This year, the group will be giving nearly $13,000 to 12

Huntington Beach schools for music programs. Many Huntington Beach

students will take a field trip to the Orange County Philharmonic to

see a concert.

Schools receiving grants this year are Marina High School,

Huntington Beach High School, Ocean View High School, Mesa View

Middle School, Harbour View School, Hope View School, Village View

School, Huntington Seacliff School, Agnes Smith School, Grace School,

the Hebrew Academy and Saint Bonaventure School.

“Students actually go to the philharmonic to see a performance,”

committee spokeswoman Sharon Larson said. “All schools are invited to

attend. There’s over 200,000 kids that benefit from the money.”

The group, made up of more than 300 community members, spends all

year preparing for the two events.

“There are committees that do the boat parade and a committee that

does the cruise,” Larson said. “Those just gobble up a lot of people.

It’s a lot of hours of people’s time.”

Money will be presented to the schools at an awards ceremony on

Monday.

The Mays, who have been decorating their home for the cruise for

30 years now, have so many trophies they can’t display them all.

“Every year, we think up something, and we thought we’d do a

tropical deal with Santa Claus this year,” Vern Mays said.

With the help of their four children and in-laws, they’ve been

decorating their home since before Thanksgiving. This Saturday,

they’ve invited 125 people over to celebrate as they watch the boat

parade float by.

The boat parade will begin Saturday at 5:15 p.m. The cruise of

lights will begin Monday at 4:45 p.m. with the awards ceremony. For

more information on the boat parade or the cruise of lights, call

(714) 840-7542 or log on to https://www.cruiseoflights.org.