Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade kicks off with dazzling lights and decorations
The parade celebrated its 117th anniversary, according to the event.
Few things says holiday cheer like a boat bedecked in sparkling lights.
The 117th Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade kicked off Wednesday night, dazzling the California harbor town with ships, inflatables and fireworks.
Around 100 boats cruised the 14-mile route off the shores of Newport Beach, as the parade began its annual holiday run featuring entertainment, drone shows and decorated houses along the coast.
The free parade begins at 6:30 p.m. every night now through Dec. 21.
"Parade-goers can look forward to pyrotechnics, synchronized light shows, moving displays, singers, dancers, and much more, all viewable from nearly 50 locations," according to organizers.
"This year promises to be the biggest and brightest celebration yet, featuring jaw-dropping boat décor, immersive activations, and exciting new elements designed to thrill spectators of all ages!" the parade website adds.
This year's parade theme is “Magical Nights of Lights.” Past themes have included "Christmas Across the Decades" last year, 2021's "Jingle on the Waves," "A Winter Waterland" in 2004, and more.
"Shrinking" star and Newport Beach native Ted McGinley was the parade's grand marshal on Wednesday.
"I'm extremely honored to be here tonight, to be part of the Newport Beach Boat Parade," McGinley told KABC. "Having grown up here and lived here my whole life, it is a very special event."
The tradition began in 1907 when an Italian gondolier named John Scarpa and a developer named Joseph Beek would take visitors across the bay in a gondola bedecked with Japanese lanterns. Others then began following him in their own decorated vessels.
The parade went on hiatus during World War I but was resuscitated by Beek in 1919 before growing into its current iteration today.
"Most of the early participants were children who decorated floats that were towed around the harbor. The floats were constructed in Beek’s garage," according to the parade website.
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