Manhattan Beach Pier Lighting and Holiday Open House 2026: Downtown Guide
"The turnover in downtown Manhattan Beach is unprecedented right now and we are all talking about it." Kelly Stroman, executive director of the Downtown Manhattan Beach Business and Professionals Association, said that to MB News in July. The same report said downtown "looks much different than it did six months ago."
The whole town gets its first shared look at that new downtown on a Wednesday night in November. The 2026 Pier Lighting and Holiday Open House is on Wednesday, November 18, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, downtown and on the Manhattan Beach Pier. The city calls it the official start of the holiday season. It also describes the night as the downtown restaurants', shops' and businesses' "way of saying thank you to their customers and community." In 2026, a good share of the businesses holding that open house have been here for months rather than years. Some of the storefronts on the route will still be under construction on the night.
The program follows the usual pattern. Merchants stay open until 9:00 PM. The Manhattan Beach Middle School Choir sings at 6:00, the Mira Costa High School Choir at 6:30, and the pier lights go on at 7:00. The city and the downtown association will also hang snowflake lights and lighted street banners. The Beach Cities Toy Drive, a joint effort with Hermosa Beach, will have a booth in the Police/Fire station lobby during the event. You can also leave new, unwrapped toys at City Hall during business hours or at any Manhattan Beach fire station.
The city's schedule says no cart vendors or other outside vendors are allowed during the event. Streets close that day, and the city has posted a street closure map as a PDF. Every time on the schedule is listed as subject to change.
The schedule puts performers on specific corners, and several of those corners sit right next to this year's new arrivals.
Most of the early-evening activity happens at Metlox Fountain Plaza, at 13th Street and Morningside Drive. Santa's sleigh and family photos by Karl Meyer Photography run from 5:00 to 9:00 PM. Face painters, a balloon twister, Original Kettle Corn, hot chocolate and cookies from Mychal's Bakery, and guitarist Michael Holmes fill the same hours. MB News lists Santa's arrival at 5:00 PM, an hour before the official start.
The plaza around the sleigh changed a lot this year. As of the July MB News report:
For a family waiting in the sleigh line, the gelato shop is the new name on the plaza that is already serving. Sogna Toscana's patio is approved but had no announced opening date in that report.
Manhattan Avenue has the longest run of entertainment on the program. The Lucky Ones Band plays at 10th Street, saxophonist Matt Kalin at 12th Street, and All About Animals brings live reindeer to 9th Street. Larry's Tacos sets up at 1213 Manhattan Avenue, in front of MB Dental Solutions. All of it runs from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.
Several of this year's changes sit within that stretch. Coucou, a French bistro, is at 1131 Manhattan Avenue in the former Nando space, between the saxophone at 12th and the band at 10th. Eater LA reported the Manhattan Beach expansion in May, and MB News said in July that it had opened. Because it is a sit-down restaurant on the most heavily programmed block of the night, it is one of the clearest tests of what the open house's promised "original menus and some sampling" will look like this year.
Farther south, Framebridge is listed as "coming soon" at 1014 Manhattan Avenue, in the former Kate Lester Home space, close to where The Lucky Ones Band will set up at 10th Street. The LA Globe reported on October 22 that the custom-framing company had not announced an opening timeline. In July, MB News listed Ounce of Salt, a jewelry store from local designer Jen Baick, as opening in the former Rolling Hills Flower Mart space. It also reported that the former Bardot Salon and Corpo Bonito spaces had been combined and renovated, with no tenant announced.
On Highland, vocalist Dallas Greene performs at 13th Street. Danger Dogs plays on 13th between Highland Avenue and Morningside Drive, in front of MB Watch Repair, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.
Of all the downtown streets, Highland has the most coffee tenants changing hands at once. MB News reported in July that Ocean View Cafe was closing and Alfred Coffee had signed a lease for the space. Parakeet Cafe, planned for the former Cafe Altamura space, was delayed with no opening date. Gum Tree was moving to a new Highland space, and Sand Spa and Polish by Sand Spa had opened earlier in the year. In a fall op-ed, La Vista, the Mira Costa High School student paper, described Alfred as under construction and "coming to Manhattan Beach in the spring." On that timeline, the former Ocean View Cafe space will still be a work site during the November open house.
Manhattan Beach Boulevard has the evening's most clearly established newcomer. Great White occupies the former Pitfire space at 401 Manhattan Beach Blvd. Its location page lists daily hours of 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM, walk-ins only until 4:00 PM, and reservations from 4:00 PM on. Since reservations begin at 4:00, an evening table on November 18 can be booked ahead. La Vista's op-ed called the restaurant "a popular favorite."
The rest of the boulevard was still in progress in the July report:
In its fall op-ed, La Vista still described Blank Street as "arriving soon."
The address with the most riding on it is 400 Manhattan Beach Blvd., a city-owned site one number away from Great White's. At its September 15 meeting, the City Council voted to handle that site separately from Parking Lot 3. It also directed staff to drop an underground parking connection to Metlox as part of the Lot 3 plans. For 400 MBB, the council set a 90-day window for talks with the owners of the Vons site about a possible partnership, with an update due by December 1, 2026. Staff will keep studying mixed-use options, including different ground-floor tenant sizes, a pedestrian plaza on Morningside Drive, and paid public parking with kiosks as an interim use. The meeting minutes list each direction.
So the downtown shown off on November 18 has a council update on its biggest open site scheduled less than two weeks later.
Pier Lighting is the city's official start to the holidays, though a few city events come before it. From Veterans Day through the fireworks, the calendar runs like this:
The fireworks bring the season back downtown. The schedule includes a Snow Park on the upper south lot above the pier, open to the public from 4:00 PM for a donated unwrapped toy or canned food item that benefits the YMCA Adventure Guides. Mira Costa Choir carolers stroll downtown from 4:00 to 6:00, and the Santa Float stops on Manhattan Avenue at Manhattan Beach Boulevard. Organizers say the event draws more than 20,000 residents and visitors each year. The parking and closure section of the fireworks site is still labeled 2025, so check it again in December before planning around it.
By December 13, more of the storefronts from July's MB News list may be open than on November 18. For the toy drive, the sleigh line and the walk down Manhattan Avenue, the Wednesday evening is fixed. Book Great White ahead if dinner is part of the plan, and check the city's posted schedule that week, since every time on it may change.
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