It was like Lite Brite on water as the 103rd Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade kicked off Wednesday in Newport Harbor with a little under 100 boats taking to the water.
The parade is shown to nearly 1million visitors from around the world who come to Balboa Island to see the light show.
“We come down here around this time to visit family and one of the highlights is seeing the Boat Parade. I love it. It’s become a family tradition,” said Denise Long of Toronto, Canada.
The Christmas Boat Parade is hosted by the Commodores Club of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce. The parade runs nightly through Sunday, December 18 starting at 6:30pm.
“It’s a very special event every year and we work hard to make sure the boats are well presented to the public,” said Richard Luehrs of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce.
The boats this year range from small Duffy boats to majestic yachts. The Meadows family whose boat, “The Last Hurrah” won the big Sweepstakes prize last year has outfitted their boat in true Pirate Ship attire. Gleaming lights in Christmas colors for the sails and a crew donned in Pirate hats, swashbuckling boots and gold hoops.
Boats are given prizes based on their size and light display, these awards are given out Saturday evening and the boats will sail on Sunday with their award banners displayed.
Each night the parade passes through Balboa Island at approximately 7:11pm. It begins at Bay Island and continues through the Balboa Peninsula Ferry Landing onto Harbor Island and pass the many restaurants like the Rusty Pelican and Charthouse at approximately 8pm. The finish is back at the Bay Island Channel at 9pm.
Balboa Island is a key place to view the final day of the parade, Sunday, as there will be a glittering firework show over the Balboa Pavilion near the Fun Zone. Visitors on Balboa Island will get a front row seat from the bayfront.
One of the highlights of visiting Balboa Island is taking a walk around the Bayfront and passing all the beautiful homes. The Balboa Island Holiday Home Walking Tour is the perfect tour to finally see inside the homes you’ve walked past before.
There were three homes on Amethyst. One featured a Tiffany box blue door with matching Christmas tree decorated with Tiffany boxes and vintage 1930s décor. Volunteers greeted visitors at the door and in each room, but had to also manage crowd control as there was a number of people waiting in line to see the homes.