108th Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade gets a Disney touch

Dreams really do come true, if you ask David Beek, the newly named skipper of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce Commodores Club, which is turning Newport into the happiest harbor on Earth with a couple of big gets for the upcoming 108th Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade.

Mickey Mouse will be the opening-night grand marshal, and Disney’s “Main Street Electrical Parade” boat will sail all five nights, starting Wednesday.

Dedication to chamber activities has been a family affair for Beek dating to when his grandfather Joseph Beek, who launched the Balboa Island ferry service in 1919, was an original member.

Another part of the family business now represented by David Beek is the Island Marine Fuel dock, which he took over 16 years ago.

Beek, who has chaired or co-chaired the parade the past nine years, said it takes 11 months of planning.

This year, “the goal is 100-plus boats,” Beek said. “The more the merrier.”

Commodores Club board member Marie Case, who chairs the January dinner honoring the winners of decorating awards in the parade and the Ring of Lights home decor contest, called the parade “the signature event for the city.”

“[It] brings in visitors from all over the world who stay in our hotels and eat in our restaurants,” Case said.

Case said most people don’t realize the amount of work it takes to pull off such an extravaganza. Besides getting the participating boats, kayaks and canoes signed up, judging, marketing and sponsorship must be arranged.

According to Beek, a huge part of the behind-the-scenes work are the 100 or so volunteers recruited and trained as parade marshals to ensure the boats are tightly spaced and maintain a consistent speed, and that unofficial entries are kept out of the line.

Michael Lawler, a parade participant the past seven years in his 47-foot sailboat Traveler, said, “It takes about three days to decorate ... with the help of family and friends.”

As one of the few sailboat entries in the parade, he can take advantage of the craft’s mast height to create effects like snowflakes falling.

“With our microphone and speakers onboard, we enjoy giving shout-outs to spectators along the shoreline as we pass by,” Lawler said. “It takes a lot of energy and time, but it’s so worth it.”

In conjunction with the parade, the American Childhood Cancer Organization’s National Childhood Cancer Awareness Tree will be in Newport’s Marina Park, 1600 W. Balboa Blvd., covered in thousands of gold ribbons, each bearing the name of a child who has been diagnosed with cancer.

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IF YOU GO

What: Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade

When: 6:30 to about 9 p.m. Wednesday through Dec. 18

Where: Newport Harbor

Cost: Free for spectators onshore. Parade-watching cruises and boat rentals also are available.

Grand marshal schedule:

• Wednesday: Mickey Mouse, with fireworks over the Newport Pier at 6:15 p.m.

• Thursday: Local U.S. Olympians Misty May-Treanor, Kaleigh Gilchrist, Maddie Musselman, Courtney Mathewson and Merrill Moses

• Friday: Former “The Voice” contestants Nick Hagelin, Peyton Parker, Kylie Rothfield, Adam Wakefield, Will Champlin and Paxton Ingram

• Saturday: Local emergency first-responders

• Dec. 18: Members of the USC Trojan Marching Band, with fireworks over the Balboa Pier at 9:05 p.m.

Information: christmasboatparade.com