Boat parade viewer space at a premium

Roughly two months remain before the 97th Newport Beach Christmas

Boat Parade lights up Newport Harbor, but space to watch the

tradition is already getting tight.

The annual parade is organized by the Newport Beach Chamber of

Commerce Commodores Club. Chamber officials expect almost 1 million

spectators to watch the parade in one way or another.

Restaurants offering harbor views have already sold out space for

groups seeking a place to dine and watch the event, said Nancy Shugg

of the Newport Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau.

Shugg has been coordinating reservations at harborside restaurants

for the parade since the beginning of the month. She said waterfront

restaurants are still taking reservations for smaller parties, but

it’s a bad idea for parade fans to wait until the last minute.

“Everybody calls the last week and wonders why they can’t get

space,” Shugg said.

Watching the parade from the water can be tougher than finding a

vantage point around a dinner table, Shugg said. Charter companies

have already lined up a sizable roster of customers, and a good time

to start looking for yacht charters for the parade is June.

Anyone who wants to watch the parade from a yacht on a weekend

needs to book reservations even earlier, said Stuart Sitko, president

of American Yacht Charters.

“If you want a Saturday night in the parade, you should start in

January or February,” Sitko said.

But as late in the year as October, the parade is not yet

completely sold out. Sitko would rather bring in an extra yacht than

turn away customers.

“It’s never completely booked, because you can get another boat

from another harbor,” he said.

The parade is entering its 97th year with a slight change.

Formerly the Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade, the illuminated

event’s name was changed Wednesday to the Newport Beach Christmas

Boat Parade.

“Newport Beach has worldwide marketing value,” chamber vice

president Jeff Parker said.

The theme of the 2005 parade, Centennial Celebration of Lights,

reflects Newport Beach’s 100th anniversary. The parade is scheduled

for Dec. 14 to 18.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at

[email protected].