Newport Beach, California Named #2 U.S. Destination for Holiday Lights by Yahoo! Travel

(NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA)  The results are in and Newport Beach, California ranked #2 on Yahoo! Travel’s “Top 10 Destinations for Holiday Lights” coming in second to New York City. The announcement was made on Saturday, November 26, and featured the destination’s award-winning Christmas Boat Parade that is over a century old.

Davey's Locker Newport
Davey's Locker - Boat Parade Ready

Here is an excerpt from the full story that can be found on the Yahoo! Travel site:

For more than a century, Newport Beach’s “Christmas Boat Parade” has delighted spectators with a “Christmas-sea” feeling all its own. A fine flotilla of some 200 vibrantly decorated vessels, from multimillion-dollar yachts right down to simple canoes, glides through Newport Harbor as holiday music and costumed carolers fill the air with melodious merrymaking. The brilliant boat parade (it’s the oldest one in the country) attracts close to a million viewers; it’s held nightly from December 14 through December 18 and lasts about 2.5 hours – show up on the closing night for a fireworks finale. Viewing areas for the beaming 14-mile boat route are on the public beaches and establishments bordering the Balboa Peninsula, the Fun Zone amusement area (where you can hear live commentary from Captain Mike Whitehead, the official voice of the parade), and Balboa Island.

What’s more, many harbor-front homeowners and businesses participate in the annual “Ring of Lights” contest, showcasing their own elaborate holiday displays, while providing a striking backdrop to the boat parade (free; www.christmasboatparade.com). Well worth a detour, the historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside (set less than 50 miles away) is the setting for an extravagant showing of more than 3.6 million holiday lights in its “Festival of Lights” event; expect 400-plus animated figures, live reindeer, and even snow machine-produced flurries – come on opening night for a fireworks display, to boot (November 25-January 8; free; www.festivaloflightsca.com).

About Newport Beach, California

Newport Beach is a chic seaside community that sits along nine miles of spectacular California coastline between Los Angeles and San Diego. With breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, and home to the #1 Resort in the United States, Newport Beach is renowned for its clean beaches, year-round Mediterranean climate, casually sophisticated atmosphere, and family-friendly environment. Newport Beach boasts one of the largest small yacht harbors in the world, setting it apart from any other California coastal destination. It is also home to the nation’s oldest, and critically acclaimed Christmas Boat Parade which helped Newport Beach rank #2 Holiday Light Displays in the country by Yahoo! Travel and USA TODAY.  For additional information and a Newport Beach Visitor Guide, go to www.visitnewportbeach.com or call (800) 94-COAST.

One comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *