Southern California's Newport Beach Becomes a Fantasyland of Holiday Lights - on Land and Sea!
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Nov. 15 /PRNewswire/ --
The famed coastal resort destination of Newport Beach in Orange County, California, welcomes the 2007 holiday season with a combination of events that have become eagerly anticipated wintertime traditions. To the delight of residents and visitors alike, Newport Beach hosts the oldest holiday boat parade in the U.S. and what is believed to be the tallest Christmas tree in the nation.
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Fashion Island in Newport Beach, Southern California's premier Mediterranean style open-air shopping center with views of the Pacific Ocean, again boasts what is thought to be the nation's tallest Christmas tree, a grand 115 ft. white fir direct from the forests of northern California's Mt. Shasta. The impressive tree features 17,000 lights and ornaments, weighs approximately 20,000 lbs. and takes a 10-man crew nearly two weeks to decorate. The enormous tree will make its home in the Bloomingdale's Courtyard of Fashion Island.
The majestic tree officially debuts on Friday and Saturday, November 16 and 17 during the retail center's annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. This event will feature Santa's arrival and a song and dance spectacular by the California Conservatory of the Arts. Festivities begin at 6 p.m.
In keeping with an environmentally sensitive philosophy, Fashion Island works closely every year with Victor's Strictly Custom Christmas Trees and the U.S. Forestry Service in finding the towering tree. Victor's replants an average of 10 trees for every one tree harvested, and trees are only removed from designated timber areas where harvesting will have no detrimental impact on the environment. In addition, Fashion Island's Christmas tree will be recycled into mulch after the holidays, as is done every year.
If there was ever an aquatic equivalent to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade or the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, it must be the annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade. There are over 20 holiday boat parades from coast to coast across the country (from Seattle to Maine, D.C. to Florida) but the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade is the granddaddy of them all. Called "One of the top holiday happenings in the nation" by The New York Times, the water-borne procession is the oldest holiday boat parade in the United States and perhaps the most spectacular, delighting generations since 1908.
The parade sails into its 99th holiday season on Wednesday, December 12 through Sunday, December 16 at 6:30 pm each evening in Newport Harbor. With the theme of 'Twas the Lights Before Christmas,' the visually stunning parade is expected to again attract an audience of over one million spectators over the five consecutive evenings. View last year's parade at http://www.visitnewportbeach.com/.
Presented by Simple Green, Fidelity Investments and Traditional Jewelers, the parade features over 100 festively lit and decorated boats -- ranging from small skiffs to enormous multi-million dollar yachts (some boat owners through the years have spent over $50,000 to decorate their vessels!). The colorful parade winds its way nearly 14 miles around the harbor to give viewers in restaurants, yacht clubs, on public beaches, and in private homes an incredible sight.
The backdrop for the parade is the annual "Ring of Lights" contest of beautifully decorated estates surrounding the harbor. With its judged categories and prizes, the competition has brought out fierce but friendly rivalries among neighbors and is almost as celebrated as the parade itself.
About Newport Beach
Newport Beach, located 45 miles south of Los Angeles and 85 miles north of San Diego, epitomizes the true essence of southern California living at its finest with a wide variety of visitor accommodations, attractions, world-class dining and shopping, one of the largest small yacht harbors in the world and inviting year-round weather.
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Source: Newport Beach Conference & Visitors Bureau
CONTACT: Audrey Leoncio, Marketing & Public Relations Manager of Newport
Beach Conference & Visitors Bureau, +1-949-719-6100, audrey@nbcvb.com; or Tim
O'Day, Principal & Executive Consultant of O'Day & Associates, Inc.,
+1-714-783-7415, tim.oday@odayandassociates.com, for Newport Beach Conference
& Visitors Bureau
Welcome to Newport Beach
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