Another day, another century

After nearly a year’s worth of centennial events in Newport Beach, on Friday it will finally be time for the cake.

The city’s actual 100th birthday will be celebrated in front of City Hall with a ceremony honoring some of the city’s “oldests” — oldest restaurant, oldest resident, oldest school — and a cake-cutting by City Council members.

The birthday party isn’t quite the final event of the centennial celebration. It began in October with “Let’s Do Launch,” an all-day beach party at Newport Dunes that drew more than 10,000 people to see the Beach Boys perform.

That was followed by a centennial float in the Rose Parade, a play performed by students in Newport’s schools, centennial wine tastings and other events.

Friday’s event is “really our birthday party,” Mayor Don Webb said. One of the centennial’s biggest boosters, Webb has related “centennial moments” — events and facts from the city’s history — at every City Council meeting since September 2005.

City Manager Homer Bludau will emcee the party, council members will cut the cake and guests can enjoy birthday cupcakes donated by local stores.

Officials are preparing for between 200 and 300 people, city recreation and senior services director Marie Knight said.

After the official birthday, several centennial events remain: two more wine tastings; a dinner and dance; and the grand finale Oct. 8 at the Newport and Balboa piers, which organizers expect to be the largest beach party held on the West Coast. A historical centennial book will be available before the closing event.

The Oct. 8 event will feature musical acts including surf guitarist Dick Dale and Newport pop band Sugar Ray; an art exhibit; food booths; bounce houses for kids; and fireworks shows from both piers.

“We want to encourage everybody to ride their bikes and to use other modes of transportation because the one difficulty will be parking and traffic,” Knight said.

As much as he enjoyed all the celebrations, Webb said he’s not sorry to see the centennial year end. It’s just like a person celebrating a birthday, he said.

“You’ve finished up a wonderful year; you have another wonderful year to look forward to,” he said. “In our case, we have another wonderful century.”

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS

Newport Beach’s centennial celebration began in October 2005. Here are the remaining events that commemorate the city’s birthday.