by Noella Noelophile®
(Photo courtesy of Bleu Cotton Photography, Inc., and used with permission.)
Most people’s favorite Christmas traditions involve family, lights, and fun.
2014 Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade co-chair David Beek’s also include navigation, thousands of spectators and lots of “oohs” and “aahs”.
David’s grandfather, Joseph Beek, was one of the founders of the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade–the longest-running Christmas lighted boat parade in the nation. 2014 marks the parade’s 106th year, and it promises to have all its traditional spectacular beauty and warmth–along with some new innovations.
David, whose family has run the Balboa Island Ferry for nearly a century, talked about the origins of the parade, his memories of growing up with it and what spectators and participants can expect to see in the 106th Annual Newport Beach Boat Parade.
The 106th Annual Newport Beach Boat Parade, hosted by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, runs for five nights, December 17th through 21st, 2014, starting off Bay Island at 6:30 each evening and concluding at 9:00 pm. You can view the parade free of cost from almost anywhere on the shore; here is a map provided by the Chamber of Commerce. You’ll also find additional viewing options on the Newport Beach Boat Parade’s Facebook page. As David warns, plan to get to Newport Beach early; more than a million viewers are expected and traffic will reflect those numbers.