Newport Beach Christmas boat parade facts for kids
The Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade is a super cool festival in Newport Beach, California. It's a special event where boats are decorated with amazing lights for Christmas! This parade started way back in the early 1900s. It was created by two people named John Scarpa and Joseph Beek.
How It All Started
John Scarpa was an Italian gondolier, which is someone who rows a flat-bottomed boat called a gondola. Joseph Beek was important in building Balboa Island. He also started the Balboa Island Ferry. Both of them arrived in the Newport Harbor area around 1907.
These two men began what was first called the "Tournament of Lights." This event would continue for nearly 90 years! In 1907, Scarpa started taking visitors across Newport Bay in his gondola. He decorated it with pretty Japanese lanterns.
The First Parade
One year later, on July 4, 1908, the very first lighted boat parade happened. Scarpa and other small boat owners put together a simple event. It had nine boats in total. Scarpa's gondola led the way, followed by eight canoes. All of them glowed with Japanese lanterns.
In 1913, Walter Gustin helped promote the event. He called it the "Illuminated Water Parade." To get more people to join, they offered prizes for the best-decorated boats.
Pauses and Comebacks
Sadly, there was no parade for five years because of World War I. But in 1919, Joseph Beek helped bring the lighted boat parade back. He was now running ferryboats like the "Fat Ferry."
In 1921, Beek officially started the "Balboa Tournament of Lights." Both Balboa Island and the Peninsula supported it. From then on, the festival grew bigger and bigger! It included many different kinds of boats. There were rowboats, canoes, small sailboats, and even big motorboats.
By 1929, lots of decorated boats were towing smaller ones. The tournament became more amazing each year. The Governor at the time, C. C. Young, said it was "one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen!" He also liked that it wasn't about making money.
Later Years
The Tournament of Lights happened every summer from 1919 until 1949. It only stopped for a few years during World War II.
After a break in 1948, the parade faced a new challenge in 1949. Police and fire officials worried that too many visitors were coming. This caused a lot of crowding and traffic. So, the event became less popular for a while.
Today, the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade is still a huge event. It features as many as 150 boats! The Commodores Club of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce hosts the parade. In 2002, the New York Times newspaper called it "one of the top ten holiday happenings in the nation." It's a truly magical way to celebrate the holidays!
