Balboa Yacht Club hosts Newport Beach Wooden Boat Festival, June 7-9
May 23, 2019
Family-friendly event will feature roughly 50 vessels, music, exhibitions, food and silent auction.
NEWPORT BEACH—John Wayne’s Wild Goose will be among the nearly 50 wooden vessels featured at the 6th annual Newport Beach Wooden Festival, which will be hosted by Balboa Yacht Club, June 7-9.
An estimated 4,000 people attended last year’s festival, according to organizers. The festival, which is open to the public, also includes food and libations, live music, maritime art and exhibitions, silent auction and toy boat pavilion for the children. Attendees can use a free shuttle or water taxi service to get to Balboa YC.
“It is a Concours d’Elegance of yachting, showcasing the most diverse and valuable collection of wooden boats in California. The event is open to the public, and has been officially proclaimed ‘Newport Beach Wooden Boat Festival Weekend’ in perpetuity by the Orange County Board of Supervisors,” organizers said in an official statement. “The vision of its founder, the late Ralph Rodheim, was to be a legacy event with national stature and the finest showcase of wooden boats on the west coast in the similar luxury class of Pebble Beach for automobiles.”
The silent auction, as is the case each year, will feature an original painting of Wild Goose; the painting will be created and sold during the silent auction. The artist Debra Huse of Debra Huse Gallery located on Balboa Island.
The final day of the festival will feature a Wooden Boat Parade, which departs from Balboa YC and navigates down the main Newport Beach Harbor channel.
Tours of the actual Wild Goose, which will be on the Balboa YC docks, take place throughout the day on June 8.
Owners of show-ready wooden boats, regardless of size, are invited to participate in the festival. Visit www.newportbeachwoodenboatfestival.com for more information.
Balboa YC hosts the festival in collaboration with Newport Beach, Discovery Cube’s Ocean Quest, Orange County and Visit Newport Beach/Newport Beach & Co.
Anyone planning to attend the festival can park for free at 1600 Newport Center Drive in Newport Beach and catch the shuttle service to Balboa YC. Water taxi service from Discovery Cube’s Ocean Quest to Balboa YC will also be available to attendees.
Tickets are $5 for adults; children 12 and younger are free. Parking, shuttle service and the water taxi are all complimentary for attendees, according to organizers.
Call 949-673-3515 for more information about the festival.
