Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade

As family and friends lugged boxes of garlands lights and miscellaneous decorations onto the Ebb N' Tide, Jerry Van Vliet stood at the stern of the 51-foot cruiser and described the work in progress. "We'll have a lot of different-colored lights, green things that look like Christmas trees, some reindeer up front, and I'm going to see if I can get a Santa suit on my partner and get him to sit on top," Van Vliet said.

For five days every December, a humble dinghy rules Newport Harbor. Little D25, all 11 feet of it, is a crowd favorite of the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade, thanks to the wild imagination of skipper Peter Barbour. He spends the whole year scheming for this week; he refuses to estimate the dollars or hours he pours into the parade. You could say he's a little obsessed. "I go all out," Barbour said. "My friends tell me, 'Peter, you are out of control.'

Tonight is the last night for the 90th Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade, with more than 150 boats expected to participate. The parade takes place around the harbor--starting and finishing at Collins Island. Information: (949) 729-4400.

Jennifer Shumate was in a crowd of about 40 people on the end of a dock at Peninsula Point to watch the annual Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade. "It's kind of a tradition," said Shumate, 23, who lives a few doors away with her 4-month-old daughter and 2 1/2-year-old son. "I want my kids to look forward to it every year." Next year, the Shumates will have to travel a lot farther to see the holiday spectacle.

Boaters in the Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade should beware of carbon monoxide fumes on the slow-moving craft, officials warned Wednesday after two passengers were overcome. Two women, who were not identified, were rendered unconscious while riding in the rear of a sport-fishing boat during the parade Monday, said Newport Beach Fire Marshal Dennis Lockard.

The Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce has announced the winners of the 1994 Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade. They will receive their trophies at a dinner and auction Jan. 20 at Le Meridien Hotel. Unpretentious Too, owned by Geoff and Carol Landon of Balboa, won the Sweepstakes Award, according to Seymour Beek, a judging coordinator from the chamber's Commodores Division. The Mayor's Award for Christmas theme went to skipper Bob Burns' Spirit of Newport.

SAN FRANCISCO--Celebrate the holidays as they did in Queen Victoria's 19th century England at the Great Christmas Fair of Charles Dickens' London, Saturdays-Sundays through Dec. 31. Costumed characters present entertainment, and traditional foods and handcrafted wares are featured. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. daily at Pier 45, Fisherman's Wharf. $14.50, general; $13, seniors, students and military; $6.50, kids 5-11; free for those under 5. (415) 897-1832.

The 84th annual Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade, a multimillion-dollar aquatic fantasy, gets under way Thursday with more than 150 boats expected to enter. The elaborately decorated boats will include last year's sweepstakes winner, Unpretentious Too, a 50-foot yacht that this year will depict a Dr. Suess storybook scene complete with inflatable Grinch, Max the dog and a 45-foot friend called Bumble.

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."

About 400 children--some terminally ill, others homeless, still others survivors of life-threatening diseases--took a special tour of Newport Bay on Kids Night at the Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade. "It was fun!" exclaimed a wide-eyed 7-year-old who is recovering after two years of chemotherapy and radiation treatments for leukemia. Newport Beach residents Geoffrey and Carole Landon put together Kids Night every year to brighten the holidays for children.

Newport Beach usually drops its pretenses and puts on its party clothes this time of year, joining together for the Christmas boat parade, the town's biggest bash of the holiday season. But this year, the event is arriving with all the harrumph of a bah humbug, colored by a battle about whether to shorten the route and reduce the number of days it runs.

Newport Beach usually drops its pretenses and puts on its party clothes this time of year, joining together for the Christmas boat parade, the town's biggest community bash of the holiday season. But this year, the event is arriving with all the harrumph of a bah humbug, colored by a battle about whether to shorten the route and reduce the number of days it runs. The changes would not take effect until next year, but homeowners slated to lose their waterfront seats are protesting loudly.

In a patriotic spirit, organizers of the annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade have chosen a new theme for this year's show: "Let Freedom Ring." "We decided the theme . . . would voice our collective feeling that our country's way of life would not be deterred by the Sept. 11 events," said Bill Pierpoint, skipper of the Commodores Club of the Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the popular event. "We need to demonstrate that feeling by increased participation . . .

At decked-out streets and neighborhoods from Fullerton to Rancho Santa Margarita and in boat parades from coastal Dana Point to inland Yorba Linda, Orange County has turned on its holiday lights. This driving tour of bright spots is keyed to pages of the Thomas Guide and arranged by region--South County, Coastal Area, Central County, North County and Waterlands.

Pasadena can have its Rose Parade. Local ports of call have holiday processions with a twist: They float. Boat parades are a Southern California tradition, where you might see Santa's sleigh being pulled by dolphins and other whimsical sights. From land or sea, lavish or free, don't miss this seasonal boat. Newport Harbor The Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade, the granddaddy of 'em all, is in its 91st year.

Tonight is the last night for the 90th Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade, with more than 150 boats expected to participate. The parade takes place around the harbor--starting and finishing at Collins Island. Information: (949) 729-4400.

Jennifer Shumate was in a crowd of about 40 people on the end of a dock at Peninsula Point to watch the annual Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade. "It's kind of a tradition," said Shumate, 23, who lives a few doors away with her 4-month-old daughter and 2 1/2-year-old son. "I want my kids to look forward to it every year." Next year, the Shumates will have to travel a lot farther to see the holiday spectacle.

Electricity was in the air. That's not just a turn of phrase. It's true. And it came in a full-color spectrum, floating over the water. It was the 83rd annual Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade. On the first night of the weeklong extravaganza Tuesday, more than 200 boats, decorated with a range of lighted displays, joined in the graceful procession through the harbor channels, strutting their twinkly stuff for tens of thousands of onlookers.

"Glor- or- or- ia!" 6-year-old Lindsey Daebritz screeched and warbled as she tumbled in the sand and watched a glittering parade of yachts pass her by Tuesday evening. Daebritz and her parents had driven in from Orange to see the kickoff night of the 87th annual Newport Harbor Boat Parade. Hundreds of spectators lined the candy-cane festooned bridge to the island and walkways along the channels. Two dozen boats strung with twinkling lights and holiday floats set sail at low tide.

For the first time in the history of the Newport Harbor Boat Parade, a boat from the Orange Coast College Sailing Center will lead the procession of lighted vessels. The organizer of the pageant, the Newport Harbor Chamber of Commerce, chose Wide Waters, a 69-foot motor yacht, to lead the parade that begins tonight and continues nightly through Dec. 23.