Neptune Claus : ‘Hometown Holidays’ Is Theme for Glittering Flotilla of Yachts

Neptune will double as Santa Claus accompanied by his sea-horse reindeer as 40 brilliant boats float through the Channel Islands Harbor tonight during the 29th annual Parade of Lights.

Parade sponsors say the event is expected to draw 30,000 people tonight to see the glittering flotilla of yachts, decorated under this year’s “Hometown Holidays” theme, and thousands earlier for pre-parade festivities that include mountains of snow for children to play in.

“Everybody from the kids to the grandparents enjoys watching it,” said parade coordinator Susan O’Brien. “It’s definitely a unique Southern California event.”

Temperatures are expected to be in the 60s during the day, dropping to the 50s by parade time, with only light winds.

Another major holiday gathering will take place in downtown Camarillo today, where about 5,000 people are expected for the city’s 33rd Christmas parade.

This year’s parade, “A Magical Christmas,” will feature 20 marching bands from Ventura, Los Angeles and San Diego counties, floats, equestrian groups and antique cars.

The procession is scheduled to begin at noon at the corner of Las Posas Road and Temple Avenue.

At the Channel Islands Harbor, the competition for most colorful boat is a time-consuming but always light-hearted affair.

At the Pacific Corinthian Yacht Club, members were busy decorating their entries Friday with brightly decorated whales, octopuses and mermaids, part of their maritime interpretation of the hometown theme.

On their float, which features Neptune as Santa, Rudolph the sea horse has a lobster clinging to his swollen nose.

At the Bahia Cabrillo Yacht Club, preparations were handled in a decidedly laid-back fashion, with decorations for a “Hometown Holidays from New England to New Mexico” entry still being assembled Friday. A similar low-budget effort won the club first prize last year, and it may work again this year, said Roelof Manten, whose boat was used both years.

“They spent like $5,000 and had people come in to do theirs,” said Manten of other entries. “We just got drunk one day and put ours together.”

And at the Channel Islands Yacht Club, 73-year-old Bob Ross helped decorate a boat with a large wooden sleigh and miniature home Friday, part of a more traditional Christmas motif.

“We have a lot of fun doing this,” said Ross, who is taking part in his 15th parade. “It’s a friendly effort.”

The festivities will begin at 9 a.m. today with a dinghy race, in which blindfolded row-boaters race toward the finish by following the directions of a seeing shipmate. Each participant has to contribute a new toy to take part in the event, and the gifts are passed along to poor families.

Children 8 and under will have a chance to play in 20,000 pounds of snow from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. as the Ventura County American Lung Assn. hosts its annual Christmas Seal Kickoff next to the Whale’s Tail restaurant, which will be giving away hot chocolate and cider.

A weekend art festival featuring painters, sculptors, craftspeople and decorators will take place, and horse-drawn sleigh rides with a carol-singing Santa and reindeer (played by a human) will be available for $4 per adult and $3 per child under 12. And airplanes from Oxnard Airport will fly visitors over the festivities and the Channel Islands for $35 apiece.

The actual parade will begin at 7 p.m., when a helicopter will tow a giant Santa Claus and reindeer above the harbor.

Jerry Dunphy, television news anchor for KCAL in Los Angeles, will be the parade’s grand marshal and will ride in the 52-foot lead boat.

The entries will circle the harbor twice, and the parade will be visible from any part of the harbor. The person who submits the best photo from the event to organizers afterward will win a whale-watching trip for four around the Channel Islands.

Judges will award prizes for boats in three categories--commercial, individual and yacht club--along with an overall sweepstakes winner. The “people’s choice” award and the winner of a local home decoration contest will also be announced.

Sponsoring the event are Ventura County, the Oxnard Downtowners, the Greater Oxnard Harbors and Tourism Bureau, the Channel Islands Harbor, Jones Intercable and the Ventura County Edition of The Times.

Organizers are encouraging spectators to park on the harbor’s west side, where space is more plentiful.

Times staff writer Christina Lima contributed to this story.