Boat parade turnout not dampened

After predictions of rain threatened to put a damper on the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade this weekend, the determined crowd seemed more than a little relieved by the dry weather.

“Just glad it’s not raining,” Tyler Williams of Anaheim said of the boat parade before it made its last journey of the season around Newport Harbor Sunday evening.

For Taees and Eddie Ghassemi of Mission Viejo, the last day was an opportunity to get together with friends for a Persian feast, soak up the festive atmosphere and the neighborhood.

Longtime friends and parade regulars Lori Woolston and Karen Hartley from Garden Grove were equally glad Newport Beach didn’t get soaked on Sunday.

The weather is just heavenly,” Woolston said. “It feels like Christmas without snow.”

“I love the atmosphere of being here,” Hartley said. “Just being outside with the ocean air and the festivities makes it so Christmasy.”

This year’s parade was one among the best in the 98 years it has been going on, said Ralph Rodheim, parade chairman. Rodheim credited boat owners for the high quality of their designs, consistent with the theme “Holiday magic through the eyes of a child.” Overall, the boats incorporated technology for animated shows, said Rodheim.

Rodheim was pleased that so many boat owners were undeterred by the looming clouds. “My Santa hat is off to all the boat owners,” he said.

Richard Luehrs, Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce president, agreed. He said the nice weather attracted about a million spectators throughout the parade this year. “Although Saturday night there was a slight drop off, we certainly expect a big crowd tonight,” he predicted Sunday afternoon.

Restaurants in Newport Harbor and along Pacific Coast Highway were expecting a big turnout as well. Villa Nova restaurant on West Coast Highway, which offers a view of the parade, did better business than last year, said Susan Emmett, general manager.

“Our bar business goes through the roof,” she said. “Both our boat docks have been filled both nights and we get a lot of people who get off the charter boats and visit us.”

Although it’s hard to turn away longtime patrons wanting their regular tables, Emmett said she and her staff spend a lot of time explaining that reservations are made a couple of months in advance.

Billy’s at the Beach on West Coast Highway did brisk business too. “But we got hit by rain last night so we had to close our patio,” a manager said.

With temperatures around 55 degrees, even with a little rain, it was still a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday season, Rodheim said.