100th Anniversary of Christmas Boat Parade at Newport Beach

Picture million dollar yachts, kayaks, electric boats and other watercrafts gliding through the Newport Harbor - and you have the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade. The parade features dazzling holiday lights that light up the bay, amazing the nearly one million visitors that crowd Newport Beach and Newport Harbor. What makes this year's parade more spetacular is the celebration of its 100 years of Christmas Cheer.

From December 17 - 21, 2008,  there's going to be more than 200 vessels participating in this holiday celebration. Several of these vessels will be decorated for the season, playing music and displaying Christmas decorations and costumed carolers. In the past, some yacht owners have spent as much as 50,000 dollars in decorations for their yacht.

Over the course of 14 miles, the yachts and watercraft will amaze the spectators. For years, the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade has dazzled spectators and locals. All along the beach, the parade provides views for restaurants, locals, private home owners, and even those on public beaches.

Along with the private boats, many charter companies offer the chance for parade goers to participate in the parade and view the "Ring of Lights", a group of spectacular homes all around the harbor. The "Ring of Lights" is a popular addition to the parade, with prizes given for those who have the best decorations on their homes.

The parade, in previous years, starts off at Bay Island at 6:30 pm and finishes at the same site at approximately 9:00 pm each evening. But the 2008 Parade will feature a new starting and ending point, located off Bay Island. The parade itself will run the same route as last year - it will just start and end in a different place. This will change the time at which the parade passes points along the harbor from previous years.

The 2008 route and schedule can be found here >>2008 Route Map and Schedule

The reasons for the change are explained here >>>2008 Route Change Details