NEWPORT BEACH : Ceremony to Honor the Bill of Rights

Newport Beach will raise a huge American flag Sunday afternoon to celebrate the bicentennial of the Bill of Rights.

The flag will go up in Peninsula Park, at the foot of the Balboa Pier, on an 80-foot-high pole at sundown on Sunday, 200 years to the day that the original 13 colonies ratified the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. It will be followed by a ceremony to turn on the bright lights that will illuminate the flag at night. The ceremony will start at dusk Sunday.

Initially proposed for the corner of Jamboree Road and Coast Highway, a committee spent months searching for an appropriate site for the flag before settling on the base of the Balboa Pier.

“We searched all over the city,” said Councilwoman Ruthelyn Plummer who was on the city’s committee. “We always wanted it someplace near the harbor. Because it’s 80 feet tall, the boats will be able to see it from the ocean.”

The flagpole will be complemented with 10 plaques, one for each amendment. The plaques were sponsored by area residents who paid $1,500 for them and whose names will be included on the monument. Additionally, there will be another plaque naming the committee members.

The plaques will not be in place until late next month. The formal dedication ceremony for the monument is scheduled Jan. 31.

The project cost about $30,000, with the city paying $15,000 and the committee raising the additional money through resident sponsors.