Blame it on the rain: Boat parade delayed

Heavy winter rains washed out the opening night of the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade on Wednesday, leaving holiday revelers who came to watch the event all wet.

Huntington Beach resident Tonya Powell braved the rain Wednesday night to take a boat tour and snap some photographs of the Christmas lights but was disappointed to learn that the parade was canceled after she arrived at the Balboa Fun Zone with her umbrella.

“The website said ‘rain or shine.’ I thought I would come out here and we’d all get wet together,” Powell said.

The parade was set to open with fireworks Wednesday night to celebrate its 100th anniversary, but the National Weather Service issued a small craft advisory Wednesday. The parade’s sponsor, the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, and the Harbor Patrol decided to cancel the opening night.

The parade is slated to return at 6:30 tonight and will conclude as planned Sunday.

The fireworks planned for Wednesday night were also canceled. Chamber officials are working with the city to hold the fireworks display Sunday night instead to cap off the festivities.

It’s not unprecedented for inclement weather to halt the parade, but chamber officials couldn’t remember the last time a storm led to a cancellation.

“It’s the first time in a number of years, but we have canceled it before two or three times during my 25 years here at the chamber,” said Richard Luehrs, the chamber’s president and chief executive.

“It’s unfortunate as this is the first night of our 100th anniversary. We had big plans for fireworks and so forth,” Luehrs said. “But we’ve got some great-looking forecasts for the rest of the week.”

Luehrs was confident the chamber could get permits to have the fireworks display Sunday.

City officials “have been so cooperative and supportive over the years, and although the chamber is the lead on this it really represents the entire community,” Luehrs said.

Many parade goers at the Balboa Fun Zone on Wednesday night got the news the event was canceled less than an hour before the parade’s scheduled 6:30 p.m. start time. A handful of soaked spectators clutching umbrellas were still milling around the area at 6 p.m.

“It’s very disappointing, if they were going to cancel it, then I don’t know why they didn’t just cancel it to begin with instead of waiting until the last minute,” said Placentia resident Rosalie Pritchett, who came to Newport Beach to attend the parade with family.

Pritchett purchased tickets to view the parade from the water from one of the many boat companies that offer tours during the parade, but was dismayed to learn the company wasn’t offering refunds.

The rain put a damper on business for many harbor-front boat rental companies that were counting on a boost in revenue from paradegoers Wednesday night.

“This is a huge loss of revenue for us,” said David Dalzell, assistant manager of Marina Boat Rentals, which sits near the Balboa Fun Zone “The parade gives us a huge amount of winter business. I don’t ever remember this happening before.”

Marina Boat Rentals lost thousands of dollars by giving refunds to paradegoers Wednesday night Dalzell said.

Even though the parade was canceled, Fun Zone Boat Co. offered soggy spectators the chance to take a tour of the harbor to see the many homes lighted for the holidays Wednesday. The week of the boat parade typically is one of the busiest times of year for the boat company, said Charlie Mass, office manager for the Fun Zone Boat Co.

“We’ve had a lot of disappointed people, but nobody has been angry — yet,” Mass said. “I’ve seen it worse than this, and it’s never been canceled before.”

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.