GOOD OLD DAYS:

Peter Bretschger remembers with perfect clarity his first Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade, long before he became a marshal in it.

It was 30 years ago. Bretschger, a sailor from the East Coast, came out to Corona del Mar to meet his future wife’s family. They sat on the edge of the dock at the Balboa Yacht Club sipping hot chocolate watching the boats float by.

“I didn’t know much about Newport Beach. I was sitting on the dock and a boat came by with a man standing there saying, ‘Merry Christmas to the Balboa Yacht Club!’” he remembered.

“Honey, that sounds like John Wayne,” he told his girlfriend.

“That is John Wayne,” came the reply.

Fifteen boats later, again, a familiar voice was shouting holiday greetings.

“That sounds like the guy from ‘The Beverly Hillbillies,’” he said.

“Oh, that’s Buddy Ebsen. He lives over there.”

“OK, this is really cool now! I’ve just gotten into this whole deal!” he recalled saying, laughing.

The parade celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, and organizers are preparing for millions to turn out. The parade route is the same, but the start and finish points have changed from years past — partially an adjustment to the event’s ever-growing popularity.

More than 150 boats are expected to be adorned with lights, displays, and anything else their owners can hook up by Wednesday when the parade starts off its five-day stint in the harbor.

“In the past, you’d just string a few lights and call it a day,” said Richard Luehrs, president of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce. “Now, with all of the lighting opportunities and technological advances, you can see a tremendous difference.”

The parade’s founding lies with Italian gondolier by trade, John Scarpa, who in 1907 began the tradition of lighting boats by taking a group of visitors from Pasadena across the bay in a gondola decorated with Japanese lanterns.

The next year on the Fourth of July the first lighted boat parade, which featured nine vessels, was held.

To draw more boats and a larger audience, boats now compete in different categories. This year, the judge’s line has moved farther back in the parade, ensuring no boats cut corners so everyone gets a chance to see it.

And compared to 100 years ago, people say it’s quite a sight.

“It certainly beats the Japanese lanterns,” Bretschger said.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade

WHERE: Newport Harbor, a 14-mile route

WHEN: 6:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Dec. 21

INFO: www.christmasboatparade.com or call (949) 729-4400