Manhattan Beach Holiday Fireworks 2026: Your December 13 Guide

Most coastal towns hold their big fireworks show in July. Manhattan Beach holds its show on a Sunday in mid-December. The reason goes back to 1989, when a downtown business owner wanted to thank the people who shopped with him. Thirty-eight shows later, the event still works that way. You can see it in the schedule, in which streets close and when, and in the weeknight event that opens the season less than four weeks earlier.

This year the 38th Annual Skechers Manhattan Beach Holiday Fireworks runs Sunday, December 13, from 3 to 8 p.m. The show over the pier starts at 7:00.

A Merchant's Idea the City Agreed to Try

The event's official history gives the credit to Pete Moffett and his wife, Gwen. In 1989 they felt Manhattan Beach was missing a real community celebration during the holidays, something that brought local businesses and residents together. Their idea was fireworks in December, to start the season and to thank the community for supporting local shops and restaurants.

Other merchants backed him, and Moffett got the City to give it a try. The format he set has barely changed. Streets close on Sunday afternoon, families gather downtown, and the show starts at exactly 7:00 p.m. and ends by 7:30. In 2023 the Daily Breeze reported that Tom Moffett, Pete's son, called it a thank-you to the city that had welcomed his father.

The crowd has grown far beyond what anyone planned for. The first show drew about 500 people. The event now draws an estimated 20,000 each year. Former councilmember Richard Montgomery attended the first show and has supported every one since. He is quoted in the event's history:

"None of us knew how big it would become."

The show is produced by Fireworks America, a San Diego company that also works for major theme parks like SeaWorld.

How a Family Tradition Became a Chamber Event

The big change in scale came in 2012. That year Skechers became the title sponsor, during the City's Centennial year. That same year the Travel Channel named the show one of the nation's top two holiday festivals, and it was later voted the Best Holiday Fireworks Show in America.

Pete Moffett died in 2023 at age 75. His son Tom and brother-in-law Denny Greenler kept the event going, then handed it to the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce. By the 2025 show, the City's event listing named the Chamber as producer. This year's listing does too. The event stayed in the hands of people tied to the downtown business community, which matches how it began.

Tom Moffett's first year in charge came with new rules. The Daily Breeze reported in November 2023 that the Los Angeles County Regional Water Quality Control Board had adopted a new fireworks permitting process that May. Organizers had to submit a best-management plan covering what they would do before, during and after the show to protect the water. The draft plan for that year promised no fireworks with plastic casings or plastic inner parts. The environmental firm Pi Environmental was hired to collect any debris that fell into the water. The paper also noted that the show has always been launched from the pier itself, not from a barge offshore, with a roped-off safety zone on the sand.

That same preview shows how closely the event is tied to downtown streets. With the outdoor dining decks gone from downtown streets, Tom Moffett told the Daily Breeze, "we are able to go back to our vintage show, our roots, what we knew and loved." The faux-snow park went back to the upper south pier lot across from Shellback Tavern, and the stage went back in front of the pier. The paper's December 2023 report on the show said it opened with a single spark in Pete Moffett's memory, followed by a moment of silence.

The Same Thank-You, 25 Days Earlier

The season actually opens with a smaller event built on the same idea. The City's 2026 Pier Lighting and Holiday Open House is Wednesday, November 18, from 6 to 9 p.m. The City calls it the official start of the holiday season. It also calls it the way downtown restaurants, shops and businesses say thank you to their customers and community for their support during the year. That is almost the same reason Pete Moffett gave for the fireworks in 1989.

The November program is spread across downtown blocks rather than gathered at the pier. The Manhattan Beach Middle School Choir sings at 6:00, the Mira Costa High School Choir at 6:30, and the pier lights come on at 7:00. Metlox Fountain Plaza, at 13th Street and Morningside Drive, has Santa's Sleigh with family photos by Karl Meyer Photography from 5 to 9 p.m., plus hot chocolate and cookies from Mychal's Bakery. On Manhattan Avenue, live reindeer from All About Animals stand at 9th Street, The Lucky Ones Band plays at 10th Street, Matt Kalin plays saxophone at 12th Street, and Larry's Tacos sets up at 1213 Manhattan Avenue. Downtown merchants stay open until 9:00 p.m.

Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach run the Beach Cities Toy Drive together. New, unwrapped toys can go to the booth in the Police/Fire station lobby that night, to City Hall during business hours, or to any Manhattan Beach fire station. The City has posted a street closure map for the Pier Lighting.

How December 13 Unfolds, Hour by Hour

The fireworks day starts with the street closures, well before the program does.

1. 6:00 a.m. Manhattan Beach Boulevard closes from the pier to Manhattan Avenue, and Ocean Drive closes from 11th Street to Center Place. The upper and lower pier lots and the bike rack at the base of the pier also close.
2. 11:00 a.m. Parking on 13th Street between Morningside and Valley Drive is prohibited.
3. 2:00 p.m. More closures begin, including Manhattan Beach Boulevard east to Valley Drive, Manhattan Avenue from 9th to 15th Street, and the Civic Center lot on 15th Street. The City expects downtown parking to be full by this hour.
4. 3:00 p.m. Access is restricted on the remaining streets west of Valley Drive, south of 15th Street and north of 9th Street. The Snow Park in the upper south lot above the pier opens for Friendship Foundation families.
5. 4:00 p.m. The Snow Park opens to everyone, with admission by an unwrapped toy or canned food item for the YMCA Adventure Guides Charity Organization. The Santa Float sits on Manhattan Avenue at Manhattan Beach Boulevard, the Mira Costa Choir carolers stroll downtown, and DJ Ezra from Coast Music plays the pier stage. Blankets are allowed on Manhattan Beach Boulevard between Highland Avenue and the pier once public safety officials say the street is safe.
6. 5:00 p.m. The Mira Costa High School Jazz Band plays the pier stage.
7. 6:00 p.m. A celebration of the Hanukkah season.
8. 6:15 p.m. Joe's Band plays holiday hits on the pier stage.
9. 7:00 p.m. The fireworks begin, rain or shine, unless the weather is severe.

The full Street Closures and Rideshare Map is posted on the City's event listing. The City says seating on the boulevard will be limited and asks people to sit on the beach. It also suggests bringing blankets, beach chairs and a picnic dinner.

Two Changes From Recent Years

The 2026 festival ends an hour earlier than last year's. The City listed the 2025 event as running from 3 to 9 p.m. This year it runs from 3 to 8 p.m. MB News coverage of the 2025 show described the same main pieces: Snow Park, live music and a menorah lighting. The program has kept its shape even as the hours got shorter.

The second change matters more if you are coming from outside downtown. In November 2024 the City announced a free shuttle for the fireworks, with eight buses running between the Northrop Grumman lot and downtown from 2 to 10 p.m. The 2026 listing says there will be no shuttles or remote parking lots this year. The City encourages people to walk or use rideshare or taxis, and points drivers to its public parking lot map. Accessible parking is on Manhattan Avenue between 9th and 11th Street, entering from Manhattan Avenue at 9th Street.

With no shuttle and downtown lots expected to be full by 2 p.m., walking is the most reliable way to reach the boulevard by the time blankets go down at 4:00.

At Gauss Real Estate Group, we follow the downtown calendar closely, from the Pier Lighting closure map to the fireworks-day closures that start at 6 a.m. If you own near the pier and want to know how events like these affect your block, or what they could mean when you sell, let's start the conversation today.