FEATURED EVENT
The Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade
Many Imitators, Only One Original! The Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade has a long history as a yuletide favorite. In 1919 Joseph Beek, the owner and operator of the Balboa Ferry, helped establish the “Balboa Tournament of Lights”. Support for this event came from both Balboa Island and the Peninsula. Most of the early participants were children who decorated floats that were towed around the harbor. The floats were constructed in Beek’s garage and many were patterned after those seen in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. As each tournament followed, the decorations became more varied and imaginative.
In 1946, Newport Beach City employees outfitted a barge during the holiday season and installed a lighted Christmas tree. The barge was towed around the harbor while its passengers sang Christmas carols to residents on shore. Today the Tournament of Lights, now called the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade, features as many as 200 boats. The boat parade along with one of the tallest Christmas trees in the United States at Fashion Island, make Newport Beach one of the most popular places to visit at Christmas time.
• #2 U.S. Destination for Holiday Lights”
- Yahoo! Travel 2011 (#1 Rockefeller Center)
• “Top 10 World’s Best Holiday Lights” - Frommer’s 2011 • “Top 10 Holiday Happenings in the Nation” - New York Times • The longest-running and largest Christmas boat parade in the U.S.
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