In 1989, Pete and Gwen Moffett felt Manhattan Beach was missing a real community celebration during the holidays. They proposed fireworks in December instead of July, as a way for downtown to thank the people who shopped at its stores and ate at its restaurants. Pete got backing from fellow merchants and persuaded the City to try it. About 500 people watched that first show. The Manhattan Beach Holiday Fireworks site now puts annual attendance at about 20,000.
The fireworks were the first of three holiday nights in town that local businesses set up to thank their customers. The other two are this month's Pier Lighting downtown and the Holiday Stroll on the north end of Highland. That origin accounts for the 7:00 start time of the fireworks, the ban on cart vendors at one event, and the closure of Highland Avenue to cars at another. The first of the three is next Wednesday.
November 18: downtown's thank-you, with the carts kept out
The 2026 Pier Lighting and Holiday Open House runs Wednesday, November 18, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. in Downtown Manhattan Beach and on the Pier. The City calls it the official start of the holiday season. It also describes the evening as downtown's restaurants, retail stores and businesses thanking their customers for the year. Merchants stay open until 9:00 p.m., and restaurants serve their regular menus along with some sampling.
The City's schedule says no cart vendors or other outside vendors are allowed during the event. Food and gifts come from the storefronts and from the vendors on the program, which keeps the evening's spending in the shops that are hosting it.
The posted schedule, which the City notes is subject to change, spreads the entertainment out so people walk past as many doors as possible:
- Metlox Fountain Plaza, 13th Street and Morningside Drive, from 5:00 p.m. Santa's sleigh with family pictures by Karl Meyer Photography, face painters, a balloon twister, Original Kettle Corn, hot chocolate and cookies from Mychal's Bakery, and Michael Holmes on guitar.
- The Pier at 6:00, 6:30 and 7:00 p.m. The Manhattan Beach Middle School Choir, then the Mira Costa High School Choir, then the pier lighting itself.
- Highland Avenue, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Dallas Greene sings at 13th Street and Highland. Danger Dogs sets up on 13th Street between Highland Avenue and Morningside Drive, in front of MB Watch Repair.
- Manhattan Avenue, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. The Lucky Ones Band at 10th Street, live reindeer from All About Animals at 9th Street, Matt Kalin on saxophone at 12th Street, and Larry's Tacos at 1213 Manhattan Avenue, in front of MB Dental Solutions.
- Strolling downtown, 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. Dickens-style carolers from Harmony Carolers and A Holiday Affair, plus Buddy the Elf somewhere in the crowd.
The Downtown Business and Professional Association's event page publishes its own version of the schedule. The City and the association are also hanging snowflake lights and lighted street banners downtown for the season.
The Beach Cities Toy Drive, a joint effort of Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach, will have a booth in the Police/Fire station lobby that night. New, unwrapped toys can also go to City Hall during business hours or to any Manhattan Beach fire station, and they go to children served by several local charities. Streets close on the day of the event, and the City's event page links the closure map.
If you'd rather pick up gifts by daylight, the Downtown farmers' market is open the day before, Tuesday, November 17, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Civic Center Parking Lot and Plaza. Downtown Manhattan Beach says it has more than 60 food vendors.
December 6: the north end puts on its own version
Eighteen days later, North Manhattan Beach does the same thing on Highland. The North Manhattan Beach Holiday Stroll runs Sunday, December 6, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Highland Avenue between 33rd Street and Rosecrans Avenue. The North Manhattan Beach Business Improvement District organizes it, and the City lists more than 75 participating local businesses. The City's description reads a lot like the downtown one: restaurants on their regular menus, and merchants offering gifts, discounts, sampling and drinks.
With Highland closed from 33rd Street to Rosecrans, the street becomes a "North Pole" with Santa, live entertainment, carolers and a Holiday Market. The district's own event page says the stroll draws more than 2,500 people and keeps growing.
The Holiday Market works differently from downtown's no-carts rule. It's made up of rented booths. The district's 2026 vendor form lists a $250 fee for a 10-by-10-foot space, and accepted applicants are notified by November 13. So the north end lets in outside sellers, but through a booth program the business district runs on its own street.
Closing the street affects a few blocks of El Porto for most of the afternoon. The City's posted restrictions:
- No parking, 2:00 to 10:00 p.m.: Highland Avenue from 33rd Street to Rosecrans Avenue; 33rd Street from Manhattan Avenue to Crest Drive; 34th and 35th Streets from Highland Avenue to Crest Drive; Rosecrans Avenue from Highland Avenue to Crest Drive.
- Road closed, 3:00 to 10:00 p.m.: Highland Avenue from 33rd Street to Rosecrans Avenue.
- Detour: Traffic is sent to Manhattan Avenue.
- Parking: The El Porto Beach lot stays open to the public.
The City recommends walking, biking or rideshare.
The same weekend, a City-run tradition at Manhattan Heights
The stroll weekend is also when Parks and Recreation holds its two longest-running holiday workshops at Manhattan Heights Park Community Center, 1600 Manhattan Beach Boulevard. The 40th Annual Holiday Crafts with Santa has two sessions: Saturday, December 5, from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m., and Sunday, December 6, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. It costs $16 for residents and $18 for nonresidents, children 2 and under are free, and preregistration is required. The 8th Annual Family Gingerbread House Decorating Workshop is Saturday, December 5, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. It costs $60 for residents or $65 for nonresidents for a group of up to four, plus $20 or $22 for each added participant.
The Sunday crafts session ends at 10:30 a.m., and Highland stays open to traffic until 3:00 p.m. That leaves a family time to make crafts in the morning and walk to the north end by 4:00.
December 13: the original thank-you, in its 38th year
The 38th Annual Skechers Manhattan Beach Holiday Fireworks take place Sunday, December 13, at the Manhattan Beach Pier from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. The show starts at 7:00 p.m. and goes on rain or shine unless the weather is severe.
| Time | What's happening |
|---|---|
| 3:00–4:00 p.m. | Snow Park opens for families of the Friendship Foundation, in the upper south lot above the Pier |
| 4:00–6:00 p.m. | Snow Park opens to the public; Mira Costa Choir carolers stroll downtown; Santa Float on Manhattan Avenue at Manhattan Beach Boulevard |
| 4:00–5:00 p.m. | Coast Music presents DJ Ezra on the Pier Stage |
| 5:00–6:00 p.m. | Mira Costa High School Jazz Band on the Pier Stage |
| 6:00 p.m. | Celebration of the Hanukkah season |
| 6:15–7:00 p.m. | Joe's Band plays holiday hits on the Pier Stage |
| 7:00 p.m. | Fireworks show |
Admission to the Snow Park is an unwrapped toy or a canned food item for the YMCA Adventure Guides charity. Blankets can go down on Manhattan Beach Boulevard between Highland Avenue and the Pier starting at 4:00 p.m., or once public safety officials decide the street is safe.
The show is still timed the way its founder set it up. The organizer's history says the streets close Sunday afternoon, families gather downtown, the fireworks start at exactly 7:00 p.m., and the show is over by 7:30. That leaves half an hour of the event window before 8:00, plus the rest of the evening, for dinner downtown. That was the point of a merchant-backed fireworks show.
The organizer's site sums up Pete Moffett's idea in his own words:
"Come enjoy everyone's favorite day of the Year"
On the same page, former councilmember Richard Montgomery, who was at the first show and has supported it every year since, recalls that "None of us knew how big it would become." The page says Fireworks America of San Diego produces the show. It also says the event gained a title sponsor in 2012 and that the Travel Channel later voted it the Best Holiday Fireworks Show in America. Moffett's son Tom and brother-in-law Denny Greenler ran the event before handing it to the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce, which now runs it with the City and sponsors.
For a stop after the show, Bacio di Latte is in Metlox Plaza at 451 Manhattan Beach Boulevard. Its posted hours are 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily, so it's open well past the last firework.
One calendar, three business districts
Here's how the season lines up. The Downtown Business and Professional Association hosts November 18 on its home blocks. The North Manhattan Beach Business Improvement District hosts December 6 on Highland. The Chamber of Commerce carries on the merchants' 1989 idea at the Pier on December 13. Each night has its own parking limits and its own start times, and at each one the shops and restaurants are open during the event.
If you're shopping locally this season, these three nights are when Manhattan Beach businesses have planned around their customers. If one of these nights also has you thinking about the house you'll celebrate in next year, Janet Chen Group can talk it through with you. Reach out for a personalized consultation and a free home valuation, in English or Chinese, whenever it suits your schedule.
