Grand Marshal Lineup Announced for 107th Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade
November 12, 2015The theme for the 107th Annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade and Ring of Lights will be “Seas the Holidays,” the Commodores Club of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce recently announced.
Steve Stranak, a three-year resident of Newport Beach, submitted the winning theme. Stranak’s wife, Michelle, was one of the winners of the contest two years ago with her submission “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” The theme plays an important part in inspiring décor for vessels in the boat parade as well as homes in the Ring of Lights.
The Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade will take place Wednesday, Dec. 16 to Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015. Locals and visitors alike will line the harbor to watch festively-decorated yachts, dinghies and kayaks as they cruise the 14.7-mile route each night. The parade begins at Bay Island at 6:30 p.m. nightly, ending at approximately 9 p.m.
“Each year after the Christmas Boat Parade, my wife and I bounce ideas off each other for the next year’s theme,” said Stranak. “The boat parade is one of our favorite holiday traditions, and we’re thrilled to be able to participate again this year.”
As the contest winner, Stranak wins a VIP excursion for two aboard the lead boat in the parade.
The Commodores Club put out a call for ideas in early April, and the Parade Committee selected the winning theme from dozens of submissions. Last year’s boat parade theme was “Deck the Hulls with Bows of Jolly,” and themes have taken on different tones throughout the event’s century-long history, from the patriotic “Let Freedom Ring” (2001) to the clever “Feelin’ Christmas-sea in Newport Beach” (2011).