Rodeo Drive will shut down for a free three-hour block party on Thursday, Nov. 19, with live music, fireworks and food marking the Rodeo Drive committee's 50th-anniversary celebration.
The annual Holiday Lighting Celebration runs from 5 to 8 p.m. under the theme "50 Years of Brilliance," according to a city of Beverly Hills announcement. The event honors five decades of the Rodeo Drive Committee's stewardship of the three-block luxury corridor.
"This year's 50 Years of Brilliance theme celebrates the extraordinary history of Rodeo Drive and its place at the heart of Beverly Hills," Beverly Hills Mayor Craig Corman said in the announcement. "We invite everyone to join us for an evening filled with music, festive spirit and the shared joy that makes this city so special."
Six-time Grammy Award winner Daniel Ho headlines the main stage with a set called Island Holidays. Kym Johnson Herjavec, a two-time Mirrorball champion and Dancing with the Stars alum, will also perform. Vocalist Dani Armstrong and DJ Lady Sha round out the lineup.
Two newcomers join the bill. Ortal Edri, a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter, and Marianna Kriuchenkova, an eight-year-old vocalist, won the inaugural Rodeo Drive Has Talent search. The open call invited emerging performers to audition for a spot on the holiday stage. International vocalist and entertainment reporter Ali Ward hosts the evening.
Wine gardens and food trucks will line the street. The night ends with a countdown and fireworks launch led by the mayor, City Council members and the Rodeo Drive Committee executive board.
Road closures and budget
The city's planning report called for closing Rodeo Drive between South Santa Monica Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard, plus nearby stretches of Dayton and Brighton ways, from 9 p.m. Nov. 18 through 6 a.m. Nov. 20, as Beverly Hills Standard reported. Alley access to city parking garages would remain open under that plan.
The Beverly Hills City Council approved a purchase order of up to $667,575 for event producer J. Ben Bourgeois Productions at its Sept. 22 meeting. The Rodeo Drive Committee is responsible for raising an additional $45,000, bringing the total event budget to $712,575. Separately approved street décor pushes the combined event-and-décor cost to about $1.28 million, according to a city staff report cited by Beverly Hills Standard.
Rodeo Drive Committee President Kathy Gohari tied the milestone to the street's origins. In Canyon News coverage published in August, Gohari said, "Nearly 50 years ago, Fred Hayman recognized something extraordinary about Rodeo Drive. Not simply its potential as a luxury shopping destination, but its ability to become one of the world's greatest streets."
What comes next
The Nov. 19 lighting kicks off citywide holiday festivities running through Jan. 3, 2027. Those include the Lights on The Lily Pond show at Beverly Gardens Park nightly from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., the Glowing Gardens display at Beverly Canon Gardens from 5 to 11 p.m., and a Holiday Craft Fair at the Beverly Hills Farmers' Market on Nov. 22 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
