"We've heard from Marina del Rey residents and families traveling from inland communities that limited parking is a real barrier to enjoying all that Marina del Rey has to offer, from free events in Burton Chace Park and supporting local businesses to simply taking in the waterfront views," Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell said in the county's January 2026 groundbreaking release for the Lot 4 parking structure.
Burton Chace Park's biggest free night of the year is Saturday, December 12. The 64th annual Marina del Rey Holiday Boat Parade arrives with the theme "Hollywood Under the Stars," according to Patch. The county planned to finish the structure Mitchell described by late fall 2026, so this year's parade falls in the middle of the harbor's push for public access. Some of those projects are finished, some are still fenced off, and one of the newest is a 96-year-old yacht.
The evening at Chace Park, hour by hour
The program at Burton Chace Park follows the schedule posted by LA County Beaches & Harbors:
- 4 to 6 p.m.: Voices of Christmas, roaming carolers
- 4 to 8 p.m.: gourmet food trucks, a photo booth and a kids art corner
- 5:45 to 6 p.m.: the Holiday Light Show, subject to weather
- 6 to 8 p.m.: the Holiday Boat Parade
The county runs the event rain or shine. During the light show it closes the Main Channel between Basins B and H to all vessels, so skippers who want to watch from the water need to stay outside that zone. On land, the county says the light show can be seen from nearly anywhere in the marina. The Marina del Rey Tourism Board lists Chace Park and the waterfront, including Fisherman's Village, as public viewing areas.
A volunteer-run nonprofit puts on the parade with corporate and community sponsors, working with the county's Department of Beaches and Harbors. Patch reports that Cedars-Sinai Marina Hospital and local businesses support it. Crews decorate their boats around the theme and perform in costume, singing, dancing and playing live music. Judges score entries from points along the route. The organizers' awards page lists prizes for Best Overall, Power, Sail, Theme, Music, Spirit, Live Band, Lights and Animation, plus one for the yacht club with the most entries. Winners are announced at a 9 p.m. ceremony after the parade. With a Hollywood theme, the Theme and Animation categories are the ones to watch.
Lot 4 was built for exactly this night
Lot 4 is the county lot near the Marina del Rey Visitor Center at Admiralty Way and Mindanao Way, across from Trader Joe's. It closed for construction on December 1, 2025. When finished, it becomes a three-level structure with a surface lot: 368 spaces, open 24 hours, with accessible stalls, EV charging and pay-and-display stations. The county says 368 spaces is nearly triple what the lot held before. The Mindanao Way side will carry a civic art piece by the artist team FreelandBuck, with abstract sail shapes running along the façade.
The schedule is close. The January release said work would be done by late fall 2026. The county's development projects page lists the construction phase as December 2025 to December 2026 and says dates can change. The parade page still lists Lot 4 as closed and points visitors to other lots.
The county calls the structure part of Marina del Rey for All, its plan to move surface parking into modern structures and free up public land for community uses. For parade night, the safest plan is to treat the posted lot list as the one that applies.
Where to park, by the county's parade rates
| Lot | Address | Parade rate |
|---|---|---|
| Lot 13 | 4601 Via Marina | $8 |
| Lot 11 | 14101 Panay Way | $6 |
| Lot 10 | 4101 Admiralty Way | $8 |
| Lot 9 | 13977 Palawan Way | $6 |
| Lot 8 | 4220 Admiralty Way | $5 |
| Lot 7 | 4350 Admiralty Way | $6 |
| Lot 5 | 4545 Admiralty Way | $5 |
| Lot 77 | 13560 Mindanao Way | $8 |
| Lot 1, Fisherman's Village | 13723 Fiji Way | $8 |
| Lot 2, Boat Launch Ramp, auto only | 13477 Fiji Way | $10 |
| Lot 2, Boat Launch Ramp, auto with trailer | 13477 Fiji Way | $15 |
The parade organizers' FAQ lists County Lot 77 on Mindanao Way as the parking for Burton Chace Park, at $8, with pay stations that take cards and cash. Lot 1 puts you at Fisherman's Village, one of the listed viewing areas.
Lot 2 is on the parade list, but it also sits at a second construction site. The county's Boat Launch Ramp Facility Improvement Project at 13477 Fiji Way was scheduled to start at the beginning of fall 2026 and finish in summer 2027. It replaces the aging docks and adds an accessible queuing dock next to the ramps. On the land side, it adds stormwater features and slurry-seals and restripes the parking lot. The ramp's pump-out station closed on October 28, 2026 and will stay closed until the project is finished. Boaters who usually pump out at Basin H before a December outing will need another station this year.
The county expects heavy traffic around the marina that evening and warns that rideshare pickups will be slow. As an alternative, it suggests the Marvin Braude Coastal Bike Trail, which runs through the marina from Dockweiler State Beach to Washington Boulevard. Leave a few things at home: the park bans alcohol, tents, canopies and umbrellas of any kind, drones, video recording equipment, and professional camera gear including tripods and detachable lenses.
A private club's yacht now takes public guests
The newest place to spend a December evening on the water is a boat that once belonged to a private club's plans. The Argonaut reports that the Northwind was built in May 1930 at the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company in Wisconsin. Its history includes Sir Winston Churchill, reportedly painting on the aft deck, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, aboard in June 1961. The California Yacht Club bought it at the end of 2024, and it is moored at the club's F-100 guest dock in front of the former Tony P's building on Admiralty Way.
The Argonaut also reports that Jeff Weiss, whose group bought CYC in August 2023, wanted to connect the club with Marina del Rey and the rest of Los Angeles beyond its membership. The Northwind Experience soft-opened April 3. "It's a hidden waterfront escape, a hidden treasure," Weiss told the paper. "It's a private yacht experience that's open to the public."
That puts it in the same story as Lot 4. The county is building parking so more people can reach the water, and a yacht club is opening one of its boats to people who are not members. The Northwind's own site lists the Sunset Experience Thursday through Saturday from 3 to 10 p.m., so the parade-night Saturday falls within its regular hours. The Boarding Pass includes a welcome drink and complimentary parking, with food and drinks ordered à la carte. On OpenTable, the Boarding Pass is $35. With Lot 4 under construction, the complimentary parking counts for something this year.
Before and after the parade
The Tourism Board's September 30, 2026 release names STOA Wine Bar & Market and Cafe Cache among the marina's recent dining additions. STOA, at 4210 Via Marina, serves wine and cocktails, artisanal cheese and charcuterie, pizza, focaccia and espresso, and sells pantry goods. The same release says Waterside recently added Anthropologie and New Balance. Wake & Late, Lululemon, Brooks Running, and Brandy Melville with its Chill Since '93 cafe are listed as coming next.
On Mindanao Way, the former Kalaveras and Jerry's Deli space is set to become Luna Bistro & Cafe. The Bakersfield-born restaurant serves Latin and global fusion cooking, and the Tourism Board lists its Marina del Rey location as slated for 2027. The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey is renovating all 304 rooms and suites floor by floor and aims to finish before Super Bowl LXI in February.
More public access projects are still ahead. The county is developing a dedicated pinniped dock near Fisherman's Village to give seals and sea lions their own floating platform away from boat docks, with a public viewing area. At Mother's Beach, the restroom and boat storage renovation was completed in July 2026. This December, the marina has a renovated beach building and a historic yacht taking public guests, while a parking structure and a launch ramp are still being finished.
If December 12 has you thinking about a place with a slip, a dock view or an easy walk to Chace Park, BVO Luxury can walk you through the waterfront buildings and streets nearest the parade route. Contact us before the boats light up.
