The Manhattan Beach Holiday Fireworks Are Free to Watch. Here's Who Keeps Them Going.

About 500 people watched the first Manhattan Beach Holiday Fireworks in 1989. These days the event site puts the crowd at more than 20,000 a year. On August 18, the City Council took up a less familiar number. One Sunday evening at the pier costs $439,107 to put on, counting every dollar no matter who pays it.

The 38th annual Skechers Manhattan Beach Holiday Fireworks go up at 7 p.m. on Sunday, December 13. The night runs on an agreement written for this year only. The City picks up most of the cost, the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce raises the rest from sponsors, and the deal gets reviewed again before the 2027 show.

A Merchant's Idea That Outgrew Its Founders

Pete Moffett and his wife, Gwen, started the show because Manhattan Beach had no real community celebration during the holidays. They held fireworks in December instead of July to open the season and thank residents for shopping at local stores and restaurants. Pete got the backing of other merchants and then convinced the City to try it. The format hasn't changed much since. Streets close on Sunday afternoon, the show starts at exactly 7 p.m., and it ends by 7:30.

The event's own history says it gained a title sponsor in 2012, and that the Travel Channel later voted it the Best Holiday Fireworks Show in America. San Diego-based Fireworks America produces the show. Skechers is the title sponsor this year.

Pete ran it until 2023. His son Tom Moffett and brother-in-law Denny Greenler kept it going, then handed it to the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce. At the August council meeting, the Chamber's Jill Lamkin described the handoff, as recorded in the City's August 18, 2026 council transcript. Pete "did it as a labor of love," she said, and producing the show takes about six months.

Lamkin said the Chamber took it on "because it's a beloved event." For years, half a year of volunteer-style organizing held the night together. Once an organization took over, that work came with a budget, and the costs landed on the City's agenda.

The Bill for One Sunday Night

The $439,107 total from the August meeting breaks into two cost buckets:

City staff told the council the City's share was already in the budget. "Because this is a known event, we do budget for the staffing," staff said, adding that the City budgets for third-party expenses too "because we know it's coming."

The argument was over a much smaller number, about $8,164 for bicycle fencing and portable toilets. Staff traced it to an informal arrangement from the Moffett years. Pete had a side agreement with a sponsor that sent the City money to cover those third-party costs. After the event passed to his son, that agreement "slipped through the cracks." Under the City's special events policy, third-party costs belong to the organizer. The $10,000 cap the council had approved earlier applied only to public safety costs.

Lamkin described the bind plainly. If the Chamber had to cover $10,000 for public safety plus about $8,100 for fencing, "I'm in the hole and I just can't do that." She said she would budget the $10,000 if the City covered the fencing.

What the 5–0 Vote Settled, and for How Long

The council chose the option staff had numbered three. It approved a subsidy for City services and set a $10,000 cap on all third-party costs. Before the vote, one member summed it up as "City pays 8, Chamber pays 10." In other words, the Chamber pays $10,000 of the third-party costs on top of its production budget, and the City absorbs the rest. The motion passed 5–0, and the transcript limits it to the 2026 event, "until we iron this out later."

That short window matches how the City has handled the event's support lately. In March 2025, staff noted that past fee waivers had been approved five years at a time and proposed covering fiscal years 2026 through 2030. The council approved two years instead, also 5–0.

At the same August meeting, the council adopted a standard process for reviewing subsidies to legacy events. Organizers apply each year. The City weighs community benefit, accessibility, the organization itself, and the resources involved. Each approval comes with a written agreement listing the City services provided and a not-to-exceed amount. So the fireworks now go through an annual review, where for years they ran on a founder's handshake.

Council members also heard quotes for individual items, including about $15,000 for environmental cleanup and about $14,000 for the over-water permit.

Where the Chamber's $180,000 Comes From

The Chamber raises its share mostly from sponsors. The 2026 sponsor deck offers these packages:

• Platinum sponsorship at $25,000
• Sponsorships at $10,000, $7,500, $5,000 and $3,000
• Brand activations at $3,000
• Reserved viewing seats at $100 each, or four for $300

The deck names Skechers as title sponsor and lists the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce Foundation as a 501(c)(3). At the August meeting, Lamkin said sponsors had been pulling back while she worked to bring in more. That puts the four-pack of reserved seats and the $3,000 tiers in perspective. Every package sold goes toward a production bill of about $180,000, plus the Chamber's $10,000 share of third-party costs this year.

How December 13 Runs

The Chamber's 2026 schedule fills most of the afternoon before the show starts.

1. 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. Snow Park opens for kids and families of the Friendship Foundation, on the upper south parking lot above the pier.
2. 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Snow Park opens to the general public. Admission is an unwrapped toy or a canned food item for the YMCA Adventure Guides Charity Organization. Mira Costa Choir carolers stroll downtown, and the Santa Float sits on Manhattan Avenue at Manhattan Beach Boulevard.
3. 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Coast Music presents DJ Ezra on the Pier Stage.
4. 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. The Mira Costa High School Jazz Band plays the Pier Stage.
5. 6:00 p.m. A celebration of the Hanukkah season.
6. 6:15 to 7:00 p.m. Joe's Band plays holiday hits on the Pier Stage.
7. 7:00 p.m. The 38th annual Skechers Manhattan Beach Holiday Fireworks show.

The show goes on rain or shine, barring severe weather. Blankets are allowed on Manhattan Beach Boulevard from Highland Avenue to the pier starting at 4 p.m., or once public safety officials say the streets are safe. Much of the schedule has stayed the same over the years. The MB News preview of the 2023 festival also listed a Snow Park, carolers, Santa and a 7 p.m. show, with toy and food donations as admission.

Getting Downtown, Using Last Year as a Guide

The street plan changes a little each year, and the most recent changes came from downtown businesses. In November 2024, after businesses raised concerns about losing sales to early closures, the council moved the start of the Manhattan Avenue closure from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. It also extended the closure between 11th and 12th Streets. For the event's founding merchants, an hour of open street on a December Sunday was worth arguing for.

Transportation has changed too. MB News told readers to take the shuttle in 2024. For the December 14, 2025 show, the City's event notice said there would be no shuttle or remote lots. That 2025 notice also said:

• Manhattan Beach Boulevard from the pier to Manhattan Avenue, and Ocean Drive from 11th Street to Center Place, closed from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• More downtown streets closed from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m.
• Access was restricted from 3 p.m. on the remaining streets west of Valley, south of 15th and north of 9th.
• The pier lots closed from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., and downtown parking was expected to fill by 2 p.m.
• Accessible event parking was on Manhattan Avenue between 9th and 11th Streets.

Treat those details as last year's version. The City posts each year's closures on its event calendar, and the fireworks site links to them. Last year's plan points to the same advice for any year. Walk if you can, and claim your spot on the boulevard early.

At Accardo Real Estate Associates, we follow how traditions like this one get paid for and kept going, because they're part of what makes downtown Manhattan Beach feel like home. If you want to know how the downtown calendar, from closures to council decisions, plays into owning near the pier, request a complimentary market consultation and we'll walk through it with you.