On the evening of Thursday, November 19, the palms on Rodeo Drive will light up when the Mayor presses a button, and fireworks will follow. The Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting Celebration runs from 5 to 8 p.m. It is free and open to the public, and this year's theme is "50 Years of Brilliance." The city posted the date on October 22.
The fifty years refers to the Rodeo Drive Committee, the group that has looked after the street for five decades. Its anniversary lands in an unusual season. The streets around Rodeo are being reset to walking pace. A block to the south, on Wilshire, crews are finishing a subway station. And the newest openings in the area sit on the side streets, so a holiday walk can run past Rodeo's boutiques and keep going. This year's lighting is the first big crowd night in a Golden Triangle the city is rebuilding for people on foot.
What happens on Rodeo that night
The Rodeo Drive Committee's announcement sets out a full evening on the street:
- Host: vocalist, performer, and entertainment reporter Ali Ward
- Featured vocalist: Dani Armstrong
- Daniel Ho, a six-time GRAMMY winner, presenting Island Holidays
- DJ Lady Sha, along with more dance and music acts
- The first "Rodeo Drive Has Talent" winners: Los Angeles singer-songwriter Ortal Edri and eight-year-old vocalist Marianna Kriuchenkova, both picked through an open call for emerging performers
- Wine gardens and food trucks set up along the street
- Costumed characters and interactive entertainment for photos
- The finale: a countdown, then the Mayor, City Councilmembers, and the Committee's executive board press the button that lights the décor and starts the fireworks
The talent search is the real change to the format. Committee President Kathy Gohari said in the announcement that the group is "proud to honor Rodeo Drive's legacy while welcoming a new generation to discover the magic of this very special street." The Committee expects thousands of people. That many people on foot in the Triangle on one evening puts the newest change to these streets to a real test.
The streets around Rodeo now run at 20 mph
Beverly Hills started lowering speed limits on parts of 19 streets on October 1, under a newly adopted ordinance, Beverly Press reported. Most of the changes are in the commercial core. On almost every street you would use to reach the lighting, the limit drops from 25 mph to 20.
| Street | Segment | Old limit | New limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rodeo Drive, Roxbury Drive | North Santa Monica Blvd to Wilshire | 25 mph | 20 mph |
| Beverly Drive | North Santa Monica Blvd to Whitworth Drive | 25 mph | 20 mph |
| Cañon Drive, Camden Drive, Bedford Drive | North Santa Monica Blvd to Wilshire | 25 mph | 20 mph |
| Crescent Drive, Rexford Drive | North Santa Monica Blvd to Wilshire | 25 mph | 20 mph |
| Brighton Way | Wilshire to Crescent Drive | 25 mph | 20 mph |
| Dayton Way | Wilshire to Rexford Drive | 25 mph | 20 mph |
| Linden Drive | South Santa Monica Blvd to Wilshire | 25 mph | 20 mph |
| Clifton Way | Cañon Drive to Rexford Drive | 25 mph | 20 mph |
| South Santa Monica Blvd | Moreno Drive to Rexford Drive | 25 mph | 20 mph |
| North Santa Monica Blvd, Olympic Blvd, San Vicente Blvd, Doheny Drive, La Cienega Blvd, Benedict Cañon Drive | Specified segments | 35 mph | 30 mph |
Mayor Craig Corman told Beverly Press the new limits "should lead to fewer vehicle and pedestrian crashes, making our city more enjoyable to walk and travel through." The same article cites the National Association of City Transportation Officials, which puts the risk of death for a pedestrian hit at 35 mph at five times the risk at 20 mph. It also explains that state law, through Assembly Bill 43, lets qualifying business activity districts set limits as low as 20 mph.
The article also said the posted limits would be changed "in the coming weeks," so some signs may still be catching up. If you drive in on the 19th, expect the whole grid between Santa Monica Boulevard and Wilshire to move at the slower speed. In practice, the lighting crowd and the street rules now point the same way.
A block south, the subway stop is close but not open
The other part of the walkable Triangle is underground. The D Line's Beverly Drive station is in Section 2 of the Purple Line extension, together with Century City. In Metro's October 2026 community-meeting presentation, Section 2's construction runs through 2026, with operations forecast for spring 2027. Section 1, which runs through Wilshire/Fairfax, opened May 8, 2026. Metro marks the schedule as subject to change.
So the station will still be closed for this year's lighting, and if the forecast holds, next year's lighting will have a subway stop a short walk from Rodeo. The finishing work is already visible on the street. Metro's presentation shows work on the Beverly Drive station entrance, elevator, and mosaic, along with tree planting and median and street restoration on Wilshire.
For anyone walking down from Rodeo toward Wilshire, the closest work zone is the sidewalk and ADA ramp restoration on Wilshire between El Camino Drive and Rodeo Drive:
Pedestrian access will be maintained around the work area. The curb lane will be intermittently closed to facilitate the work. Daytime Work Hours: 8am-4pm
The scheduled work day ends at 4 p.m., an hour before the lighting begins. Daytime errands on that stretch of Wilshire before the 19th still mean pedestrian detours and occasional lane shifts. If you are coming from the west, Metro has also scheduled a two-lane southbound reduction on Avenue of the Stars, with sidewalk detours around Constellation Boulevard, from October 15, 2026, through January 15, 2027.
Where to park, and where the walk can go after
Until the train arrives, most people will still drive in, and the city garages are set up for that. Love Beverly Hills' parking guide, last edited September 29, 2026, says several Golden Triangle structures offer the first two hours free. It names 241 N. Cañon Drive as offering two free hours to cars that arrive before 6 p.m. Arriving at the 5 p.m. start fits inside that window. The guide also lists free parking at 9510 Brighton Way, the structure it pairs with a walk down Rodeo. The guide covers the garages' standard policies, not special arrangements for event night. Expect the structures closest to Rodeo to fill first.
Parking on Cañon also puts you near the Triangle's newer addresses, which is where the walking-district idea goes beyond Rodeo:
- Azur Beverly Hills, 453 N. Cañon Drive. A French Riviera–inspired restaurant, open since March 28, 2026, according to its opening announcement.
- Joseph Kendall at The Maybourne Beverly Hills, 225 N. Cañon Drive. Kendall's fourth namesake salon opened September 8, Beverly Press reported, worth knowing if you want a blowout before a holiday dinner.
- Malka at SIXTY Beverly Hills, 9360 Wilshire Blvd. Israeli chef Eyal Shani's kosher Mediterranean restaurant opened this summer, per Beverly Press. It is open Sunday through Thursday, 5 to 11 p.m., so it serves dinner on lighting night, which falls on a Thursday.
One more is planned but not open yet. Eater LA reported in August that The Beverly Hills Hotel is planning The Supper Club, a 94-seat music venue and restaurant led by former Gucci Osteria chef Mattia Agazzi, with a goal of opening before the end of the year.
The vote nine days before the lights
Another decision about who comes to Beverly Hills, and for how long, is on the calendar this month. On October 20, the City Council moved forward a proposal that would let up to 44 residences at One Beverly Hills be rented through Aman for stays as short as one night. The proposal also includes about 11,000 square feet of outpatient medical and surgical space, and the Council continued the hearing to a formal vote on November 10, Beverly Press reported. In March, the Los Angeles Times reported that the project had secured $4.3 billion in financing, that construction had gone vertical, and that it was then set to open in 2028.
The lights go on Thursday, November 19, between 5 and 8 p.m., with free parking listed at 241 N. Cañon Drive for cars that arrive before 6.
Hosting family for the holidays, or getting a home ready to show well into the new year? LA Realty Concierge keeps track of how these blocks are changing and can help you plan around them. Schedule Your Concierge Consultation.
