NEWPORT BEACH : Costume-Clad Boaters to Raise Funds for Kids
More than 40 electric boat owners have signed up to raise money--and probably a few eyebrows--Saturday by taking part in the second annual electric boat rally fund-raiser for theAssistance League of Newport-Mesa.
The rally begins and ends at the Balboa Bay Club, with costumed boating teams whizzing around Newport Harbor to earn tokens for picking up historical clues and performing sillystunts.
“Last year, one stop was The Cannery (restaurant), where two people from each boat had to feed each other clam chowder blindfolded,” league spokeswoman Joanne Johnston said.
Participants decorate their boats and wear costumes to fit the event theme. This year’s theme, “Boat Rally of the Stars,” was chosen to tie into the group’s major annual fund-raiser, a dinner that coincides with the Academy Awards ceremony.
Although no movie stars have signed up to participate, boaters will ante up $75 per team to dress like their screen favorites and follow each clue to the next stop on the fixed course, time-limited event.
Each team of four or more boaters will receive two rally T-shirts, a barbecue lunch for two and live entertainment after the rally.
At last year’s event, 44 teams helped raise $5,000 for the league’s philanthropic projects, which include providing day care, dental care and school clothing for children from underprivileged families in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.
The event is sponsored by Sears, Northern Trust of California and Sterling BMW.
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