NEWPORT BEACH : Resort Will Refund Church Group’s Fees

The Newport Dunes Resort agreed Wednesday to refund money to a group of teens who were camping over the weekend at the facility, where a nearby adult party escalated out of control, resort officials said.

Some of the campers were shocked by the sight of drunken revelers urinating in public and exposing themselves, said Eric Heard, a church official supervising the group of 170 teens from the Evangelical Free Church in Fullerton.

“It was just out of control,” Heard said. “What angers me is that the (youths) had to see what was just immorality at its core.” Parents of the campers were angered upon hearing of the weekend’s events.

One of the hosts of the private party, held among business associates, acknowledged that some of the 800 party-goers were drunk but denied there was lewd behavior. Men were dressed in tuxedo jackets and bathing suits, and women wore evening gowns without shoes, Jeff Mayhew said.

“We did not think that we would be next to tent campers,” Mayhew said. “I know of no lewd conduct at the party. That is ridiculous.”

Police arrested two adults for public intoxication after they left the party, Capt. Mike Blitch said.

Heard said the church group had been warned by Newport Dunes management that a party involving alcohol would be held Saturday night at the pavilion next to the camping sites.

To avoid the party, the 170 teen-agers and 30 adults with the church decided to have an evening barbecue in Huntington Beach before returning to the Dunes about 10:30 p.m. to sleep. But when they returned, the overcrowded party had spilled into the church group’s camping area, Heard said.

Newport Dunes acknowledged that there were too many people for the resort’s security force to control. Officials have agreed to reimburse the church group its camping fees and send a letter of apology to the parents of the teen-agers.

“It was unfortunate; it was a black-tie party next to the tent campers,” said Annie Quinn, Newport Dunes Resort general manager.

“As soon as we saw it getting out of hand, we closed it down.”

Heard said that he and other adult supervisors were able to keep the majority of teen-agers out of the area until after the revelers had left.