Marisa O’NeilWild parties and scores of out-of-towners...

Marisa O’Neil

Wild parties and scores of out-of-towners descend on West Newport

each Fourth of July, but Newport-Mesa also has plenty of more-mellow,

family-oriented ways to spend the day.

Bike parades, a boat parade, barbecues and block parties give

residents a chance to play with their children, catch up with their

neighbors and fire up the grill. Many stay close to home while others

stake out their spots on the beach bright and early.

“You see people out there at 5 a.m. with their barbecues blazing,”

Balboa Peninsula resident Gay Wassall-Kelly said.

Those who want to get a slightly less early but equally festive

start to the day can head to Malarky’s Irish Pub in Newport Beach for

breakfast.

They open at 7:30 a.m. and, as they have for more than 20 years,

close their parking lot and provide all the goodies to turn even the

most beat-up beach cruiser into a patriotic two-wheeler. That can

come in handy for all those procrastinators who found every bit of

red, white or blue paraphernalia already snatched up from local

stores.

“My wife went out last night to scour Huntington Beach for stuff,”

bar owner Bill Hamilton said. “We have balloons, crepe paper, little

flags, all kinds of stuff.”

With your bike sufficiently tricked out, you can head to the

harbor’s edge to find a good viewing spot for the American Legion’s

Old Glory Boat Parade. Starting at 1 p.m., boats decorated for the

holiday will cruise the harbor for the annual parade.

Parking near good viewing spots, like the Arches bridge on Newport

Boulevard, fill up early in the day, Wassall-Kelly said. Biking or

walking to the water is a good alternative, she suggested.

Just up the hill, cyclists big and small will ride their decorated

bicycles to Mariners Park in Newport Beach for the 33rd annual bike

parade. Starting at 10:30 a.m., the park will have games, a bounce

house and food, including In-N-Out, said Sarah Bolton with the city’s

parks department.

Many Costa Mesa neighborhoods, like Mesa del Mar and Hall of Fame,

hold their own bike parades and parties.

“People on all the streets have their barbecues going, and people

have parties going on kind of impromptu all afternoon,” Hall of Fame

resident Mike Brumbaugh said.

Mesa del Mar’s third Fourth of July bike parade is Monday. The

event’s popularity has grown since its first year and is starting to

draw some four-wheeled transportation as well, resident Andrew Dorian

said.

“People are into the Fourth,” Dorian said. “We have a lot of kids

in the neighborhood who love it. Now the big thing is a parade of

golf carts. Everybody’s got golf carts.”

Safe-and-sane fireworks are legal in Costa Mesa and show up at

many parties. But those who want to leave it to the professionals can

end the day at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort.

The 47th annual, 21-minute fireworks show will be synchronized to

music and will honor the armed forces.

The resort will open at 7 a.m. and has events, such as a horseshoe

tournament, and hula hoop and limbo contests throughout the day.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at [email protected].