The Crowd:

The menu at each place setting was designed in the form of a paper tuxedo, complete with a red silk-ribbon tie. It was New Year’s Eve at The Balboa Bay Club & Resort, billed as “A Night to Remember 2007.”

The Grand Ballroom was lavishly decorated in charmeuse ruby-satin coverlets over tables and chairs. Enormous silver candelabra rose to the rafters, sending white tapers flickering. Bouquets of red and Black Magic roses, mixed with green cymbidium orchids, were placed on top of the centerpieces.

The elegantly dressed crowd began arriving for cocktails at 8 p.m. as Chef Joseph Lagader’s staff passed hors d’oeuvres on silver trays.

Entering the ballroom, the music of the band Rembrandt beckoned the festive crowd, which included a large contingent of young revelers dressed to kill, ready to party, all hopeful for a bright 2008 to come.

Guests were on the dance floor immediately and remained so until the clock struck midnight. A massive balloon drop rained down on partygoers to top off the evening.

The dinner service began with classic lobster bisque served en croute, followed by a limestone lettuce salad sprinkled with Maytag blue cheese, candied pecans, Valencia oranges, and dressed with pink pomegranate vinaigrette. The New Year’s Eve crowd table hopped, visiting friends and family members. Many guests brought their adult children, making it a multigenerational family affair.

Newport’s handsome couple Lynn and Bette Jackson attended with their daughter Linda. Bette wore a stunning silver, shimmering snakeskin-print dinner suit, a real show stopper.

The main course was served by white-gloved staff, presenting a duet of grilled filet of beef and baked Maine lobster tail. Also in the crowd were Linda and Ric Ruedy, Anaisa and Ted Moore, Pat and Alex Sytnuk, and Larry and Lillian Allen.

Enjoying the club’s New Year’s party were Kimberlee and Lonnie Duncan, Erica and Harry Ritcher, Diane and Sunny Jensen, Marcia and Brian Singer, Laurie and John Roudabush, and Susan and Dennis Pepin. Resort hotelier Henry Schielein and his wife, Carol, looking smashing for the New Year, attended with son Ryan Schielein, who is a UCI graduate and is pursuing a career in investment banking.

Just before the New Year dawned, dessert was served: a Coup Saint Sylvester. For those unfamiliar, this is an ice cream selection in a chocolate formation. Soon the staff was surrounding the ballroom at the ready with bottles of Laurent Perrier Tours-Sur-Marme 1999, for a midnight toast. Horns sounded, men threw their silver and black top hats into the air, ladies adjusted their rhinestone “Happy New Year” tiaras and there was enough kissing that, if harnessed, would provide power for a small American town.

The New Year’s tradition at The Balboa Bay Club & Resort was chronicled in the Daily Pilot recently, showcasing four decades of community gatherings. The grand tradition clearly lives on.

THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays.