This year, nearly all of Laguna Beach's holiday traditions fit into one long weekend. First Thursdays Art Walk falls on December 3. Hospitality Night is Friday, December 4. That same Friday, the Sawdust Art Festival's Winter Fantasy opens the third of its five weekends on Laguna Canyon Road.
Sawdust runs from November 20 to December 20, but only December 3 through 6 brings all three together. It is also the first holiday season with Forest Avenue rebuilt as a permanent promenade. Most of the practical planning for the season comes down to these four days.
A promenade that opened with December in mind
The City officially dedicated the Forest Avenue Promenade on September 25, more than a month after construction finished. The Laguna Beach Independent reported that Mayor Mark Orgill explained the timing this way:
"We thought that it was an appropriate time to do the ribbon cutting and announce the grand opening of the promenade before we get into the fall and winter months where we start to have hospitality night and some of the other events."
So the City treated Hospitality Night as the promenade's first real test. The City's Hospitality Night page lists the main stage only as "Forest Ave." It does not say whether the stage sits on the new promenade block. Either way, Friday's evening music happens on the street the City just rebuilt as a gathering space.
Thursday, December 3: the quiet opening night
The Art Walk is the low-key way to start the weekend. It runs 6 to 9 p.m., it's free, and it comes with extended free trolley service. Laguna Art Museum opens free of charge from 5 to 9 p.m., and Hotel Laguna starts at 5 p.m. with three featured artists.
Timing matters here. Thursday evening is the last chance to walk downtown before the Friday street closures. The galleries are open, the museum is free, and the next night the whole core turns into a single event. If you want to see the new promenade before Hospitality Night crowds fill it, Thursday is the night to go.
Friday, December 4: plan around 3 p.m.
The City sets Hospitality Night for roughly 5 to 9 p.m. The Chamber of Commerce co-sponsors it, as it does every first Friday in December. The City's tentative schedule shows street closures starting well before the event:
- 3:00 p.m. Downtown closures begin on parts of Forest Avenue, Ocean Avenue, Beach Street and Glenneyre, plus the Peppertree Parking Lot.
- 4:00 to 11:00 p.m. Free trolley and neighborhood on-demand service run.
- 5:00 p.m. The Thurston Middle School Band plays in the Peppertree Lot. Holiday crafts run until 7:30, and business open houses run until 9.
- 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Laguna Beach Presbyterian hosts its Art Market, with La Playa Tamales, homemade cookies and cider, an open sanctuary, Dinner2Go, prayer candles and caroling.
- 5:30 p.m. Ukulele Academy performs in the Peppertree Lot.
- 6:10 p.m. Santa arrives at the Peppertree Lot and lights the tree.
- 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. The Laguna Community Concert and JaZz Band plays the Peppertree Lot.
- 6:30 p.m. Anneliese School performs on the Forest Ave. main stage, and Santa settles in at his Beach House to hear wishes until 9.
- 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Susannah B & the Lowkeys and Earl Thomas play the main stage.
The order of events matters if you have young children. The tree lighting comes early, at 6:10 p.m. in the Peppertree Lot, which is also Lot 2. The main-stage headliners don't start until 7. A family with small children can see the tree, visit Santa's Beach House, and leave before the main-stage crowd builds. Adults who come for the music can arrive after the tree lighting.
The other key time is 3 p.m. Any car parked inside the closure area needs a plan by mid-afternoon. The trolley and on-demand service run until 11 p.m., so leaving the car at home is the simplest plan for the evening. The City posts a street closure map on its Hospitality Night page, and the schedule is still marked tentative, so check it again the week of the event.
The Sawdust weekend, and when the Winter Pass pays off
Winter Fantasy runs at 935 Laguna Canyon Road on five Friday-to-Sunday weekends, from November 20 through December 20, 2026, open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. That makes Friday, December 4, the one day when both Sawdust and Hospitality Night are open. Sawdust closes at 7, and the main-stage headliners start downtown at the same hour.
Sawdust lists $5-per-day parking at Lot 16. A free event trolley runs between Lot 16 and Downtown/Sawdust from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday. That event trolley isn't the same as the City's regular off-season trolley schedule, so check Sawdust's posted hours before you count on a Friday ride.
Prices are the biggest change from last year. The Laguna Beach Independent reported that the 2025 festival charged $12 for an adult day ticket and $29 for a season pass. In 2026 the adult day ticket checks out at $12.50 including a $0.50 fee. The Winter Pass is $35.50 including the fee, so its base price rose from $29 to $35.
Here is how the math works for one adult:
| Adult visits | 2025 at the door | 2025 season pass | 2026 at checkout | 2026 Winter Pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $12 | $29 | $12.50 | $35.50 |
| 2 | $24 | $29 | $25.00 | $35.50 |
| 3 | $36 | $29 | $37.50 | $35.50 |
| 4 | $48 | $29 | $50.00 | $35.50 |
The pass costs more than last year, but it still pays for itself on the third visit, just as it did in 2025. A household planning three trips comes out ahead with the pass. Those trips could be one weekend of the stack, the Thanksgiving weekend of November 27 to 29, and the final weekend that ends December 20. Sawdust's single-day ticket page lets children under five in free.
The 2026 artist directory and entertainment calendar on Sawdust's site still say "Coming Soon." Last year, the Independent counted nearly 200 Laguna Beach artists. The 2025 event also had a Town Square tree lighting on opening weekend and an "Artist Sunday" in late November. Check Sawdust's calendar for this year's dates before planning around either one.
What comes before and after
Several dates outside the December stack are worth putting on the calendar now:
- November 1 to 9. Laguna Art Museum's 14th annual Art + Nature Celebration Week offers free events. From November 5 to 9, Kim Manfredi's "A Flag Walk for Our Future" lines an accessible path in Heisler Park.
- November 1. Reservations open for Christmas at Harvest at The Ranch at Laguna Beach, served December 25 from 5 to 9:30 p.m.
- November 5. November's First Thursdays Art Walk runs 6 to 9 p.m., the same night the Flag Walk opens in Heisler Park.
- November 20. Winter Fantasy opens its first weekend.
- December 13. The Laguna Community Concert Band's Holiday Concert is listed for 2 p.m. at the Artist's Theater at Laguna Beach High School, 625 Park Avenue. The same listing also mentions December 20, so confirm the date with the band before you plan around it.
- December 20. The Ranch hosts Pancakes with Santa from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Sage Ballroom & Patio, and Winter Fantasy closes for the season that evening.
The schedule has a clear shape. November is spread out, with a museum week, an art walk and a Sawdust opening spaced across the month. December 3 through 6 is the one stretch when downtown, the canyon and the galleries all have something going at once. After that weekend, the season tapers off through Sawdust's final weekend and the Ranch's holiday dates.
If you're hosting family that first weekend of December, or wondering how Forest Avenue feels on a busy night now that it's a permanent promenade, I'm always glad to compare notes on Laguna in the holiday season. Vasi Vangelos is here when you'd like a local perspective. Let's Connect.
