Burton Chace Park sits on 10 acres at 13650 Mindanao Way, with water on three sides. From now until New Year's Eve, nearly every free holiday evening in Marina del Rey happens there. In November it's weeknight programs on the lawn. In December the trees are lit every night. On December 12 there's a drone show and the 64th Annual Holiday Boat Parade.
This year the County's parking lot at Admiralty Way and Mindanao Way, across from Trader Joe's, is closed for construction. The project going up there is meant to fix parking at events like these, and its timeline runs right through the holiday calendar. So for this season, plan where you'll park before you plan the evening.
Five weeks of evenings, all at one address
The season starts small. Burton Chace Park hosts Neighborhood Game Night on Tuesdays from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., on November 10, 17 and 24. You can walk up, though the County encourages registering ahead on Eventbrite. On Wednesdays, Sandy Brushes runs from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on November 11, 18 and 25. These are short weeknight sessions in the hour after sunset, and they're the quietest way to spend time in the park before December gets busy.
In December, the evenings get longer. Marina Lights wraps the trees in Burton Chace Park every night from December 1 through December 31, 4 to 10 p.m., and admission is free. That's 31 nights of a six-hour window, which spreads people out. The parade does the opposite. It packs the biggest crowd of the year into the same park on one Saturday night.
The lot built to fix this is still a construction site
Lot 4 closed on December 1, 2025. The County is building a three-level structure and surface lot there with 368 spaces, open 24 hours a day, with pay stations, ADA-compliant stalls and electric vehicle charging. The Santa Monica Daily Press reported that the project will nearly triple the lot's capacity. The facade facing Mindanao Way will carry a civic art piece by the artist team FreelandBuck, designed to look like abstracted sails.
The connection to the park is spelled out by the official behind the project. When the County announced the groundbreaking in January, Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, who represents Marina del Rey in the Second District, named Burton Chace Park's events directly in the County's release:
"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."
The County's project timeline shows construction running from December 2025 through December 2026. Lot 4 will be closed on parade night too, and the County's parade page points drivers to other lots. Plan every holiday evening at the park, from the first Game Night to the last night of Marina Lights, as if Lot 4 isn't available.
Where the County sends cars instead
The parade page lists the County lots open for the event and their rates:
| Lot | Address | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Marina Lot 77 | 13560 Mindanao Way | $8 |
| Marina Lot 5 | 4545 Admiralty Way | $5 |
| Marina Lot 7 | 4350 Admiralty Way | $6 |
| Marina Lot 8 | 4220 Admiralty Way | $5 |
| Marina Lot 10 | 4101 Admiralty Way | $8 |
| Marina Lot 9 | 13977 Palawan Way | $6 |
| Marina Lot 11 | 14101 Panay Way | $6 |
| Marina Lot 13 | 4601 Via Marina | $8 |
| Marina Lot 1 / Fisherman's Village | 13723 Fiji Way | $8 |
| Marina Lot 2 / Boat Launch Ramp | 13477 Fiji Way | $10 auto, $15 with trailer |
Lot 77 is the only lot on the list that's on Mindanao Way, the same street as the park. The Admiralty Way lots are the cheapest, at $5 to $8. The two Fiji Way lots are on the far side of the main channel, and that's the point of them. The Tourism Board says you can watch the parade from anywhere along the water, Fisherman's Village included, so parking at Lot 1 on parade night means you can watch from there without crossing over to Chace Park at all.
Parade night, in order
The 2026 theme is "Hollywood Under the Stars." The Tourism Board lists former original Baywatch cast member David Chokachi as Grand Marshal. The County's schedule for Saturday, December 12, rain or shine:
- 4 to 6 p.m. Voices of Christmas, with carolers roaming the park.
- 4 to 8 p.m. Gourmet food trucks, a holiday photo booth and a kids' art corner.
- 5:45 to 6 p.m. The Holiday Light Show, which the Tourism Board describes as a drone show over the water. The County notes the light show may change because of weather.
- 6 to 8 p.m. The Holiday Boat Parade.
Admission is free, and the County links an Eventbrite RSVP from its parade page. The Tourism Board warns that the best spots on the lawn fill up fast and recommends arriving well before the drone show. It also suggests warm blankets, since December evenings by the marina can get cold.
You don't have to be on the lawn to see the drones. They've flown over this parade before: the show's drone provider published recaps of both the 2024 and 2025 editions. The County says the light show can be seen from nearly anywhere in Marina del Rey.
If you watch from your own boat, the rule is simple. From 5:45 to 6 p.m., no vessel may be in the restricted security zone in the Main Channel between Basins B and H. The County says the best views of the light show are from outside that zone anyway.
Dinner before, and a parking lot by the beach
Lot 10's address, 4101 Admiralty Way, is also the address of Marina "Mother's" Beach. That beach got a round of improvements, completed July 2, 2026: a bigger restroom and office building, more dry boat storage, picnic shelters, barbecue grills, a promenade and a beach access mat. If you park there for $8 on December 12, you start the evening at the newest part of the harbor's public waterfront instead of a construction site.
For dinner before the parade, The Northwind opened to the public June 29, 2026, aboard a restored 135-foot yacht from the 1930s at California Yacht Club's F-100 Dock. Its site lists 4445 Admiralty Way, with hours Thursday through Saturday from 3 to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Entry is by reservation, and ticket holders park free. December 12 is a Saturday, so the yacht is open the evening of the parade. Free parking on the night of the year when parking is hardest is a real perk. The same hours fit an early Marina Lights evening any Thursday through Saturday in December.
If you live along Admiralty Way, Via Marina or Panay Way, you're already sitting next to one of the lots the County is sending visitors to. On parade night, every space those visitors find in a numbered lot is one fewer car circling your block.
After more than 40 years in the South Bay, I know which holiday nights are worth fighting traffic for, and this year's parade is one of them, as long as you've sorted out where to park first. If the construction at Lot 4 has you curious about how County projects like this one shape everyday life and property around the marina, I'm happy to talk it through. Bill Ruane is right down the coast in El Segundo. Let's Connect.
