Newport Boat Parade Lights Up the Harbor

NEWPORT BEACH —  Thousands of spectators, many bundled in jackets and blankets to ward off a chilly night, saw a spectacular lighted display of floating opulence with the Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade.

Boats big and small, whose owners spent as much as $50,000 in decorations, cruised the harbor, showing off a dazzling mix of shimmering Christmas lights that danced across the water.

“It’s beautiful, just beautiful,” said Ozzie Peters, 59, of Fontana. “It gets me into the Christmas spirit.”

While some spectators viewed the parade of yachts in their oceanfront homes, others sat on lawn chairs brought from homes or stood from other vantage spots, which included small beaches, bridges and the Newport Fun Zone. Dozens of people also boarded hourly rental boats carrying jugs of steaming toddies, coffee and sandwiches.

John and Jean Holmes of Diamond Bar said they heard about the boat parade seven years ago but had never seen it. Their video camera already was on a tripod as they sat on lawn chairs wearing jackets with hoods, waiting.

“We’ve been trying to come down here all that time,” Holmes said. “This is our first time. We’re ready.”

Now in its 85th year, about 150 vessels participate each night for seven days, until Dec. 23. Many of the larger yachts sport Christmas scenes, music and costumed carolers.

The parade was begun by John Scarpa, an obscure Italian gondolier, who joined Joseph Beek, developer of the Balboa Island ferry. The two men established what was then called the Tournament of Lights.

Actually, Scarpa first began the tradition of adding lights to boats when he took a group of visitors from Pasadena across the bay in a gondola decorated with Japanese lanterns.

A year later, on July 4, 1908, the first lighted boat parade occurred.

The parade can be viewed from most bayside public beaches and floats along Newport Harbor’s waterfront, and in many waterfront restaurants. The parade starts at Collins Island at 6:30 p.m. and finishes there about 8:30 p.m.