Boats parade in harbor

As onlookers ate ice cream and frozen bananas to keep cool from the hot sun, around 50 flag-draped boats of all description floated through Newport Harbor to celebrate the Fourth of July in grand style. Some had costumes or balloons, some broadcast patriotic music, and all showed off the Stars and Stripes for Fourth of July.

The Old Glory Boat Parade, sponsored by the American Legion Yacht Club, celebrated its 56th year—counting its earlier years as the Fourth of July Character Boat Parade run by the Commodores Club. This year’s theme was “Patriots of Liberty.”

Led by the Newport Harbor Patrol’s fire boat, the parade began from the tip of Collins Island up the harbor, skirting Lido Island and running back down the Balboa Peninsula and around Balboa Island to the beginning, giving people and groups all over the harbor a chance to see the colorfully decorated vessels.

The parade was serious business for 6-year-old Dina Robertson, who furiously waved a miniature American flag as her parents watched.

“Happy Fourth of July!” she yelled at the boats gliding by.

Cars packed the 55 Freeway and Newport Boulevard, as the route to the Balboa Peninsula slowed to a crawl. Parking spots were filled for miles in every direction as visitors came for the parade and other summer fun, and Newport Beach police said they had their hands full directing cars.

Expectations of traffic drew many out of their cars and onto their bikes, traversing the harbor on sidewalks and in bike lanes. Newport Beach resident Alec Lang and his half-dozen friends rode their beach cruisers a couple of miles up Pacific Coast Highway from their parking spot to join the crowds at the Newport Beach Fun Zone.

“This way we don’t have to worry about all that,” he said, pointing to the snarl of cars trying to enter the peninsula.

The coast wasn’t the only place that drew crowds, and it wasn’t even the only place with a parade. Mariners Park was filled with booths for its annual carnival and parade, and residents jammed the typically-popular event. The day began with a parade of bicycles down Mariners Drive, and proceeds from the event benefit Mariners Elementary School.