Thursday, October 1, 2026
The City of Long Beach has come back to celebrate the holidays this year in full strength. From the beach to the bay and the East End to the West End, the holidays are in full swing.
Kennedy Plaza has been lit up since the end of last month, starting with the lighting of the Menorah on Nov. 29. The city, along with the Beaches Jewish Community, collaborated to bring together the Jewish community for the lighting, the singing of songs and festivities.
The Christmas Tree lighting in the plaza took place on Dec. 3, with the High School band performing holiday hits. The boardwalk was also lit-up with nautical holiday lights along its’ entirety to bring the holidays to the beach, literally. Along with the plaza and the boardwalk, the rest of Long Beach has entered the holiday season more drastically over the last few weeks, specifically the West End.
The 8th annual Electric Light Parade took place Saturday, donning the West End streets with lights, floats, music and costumes. The event brings tons of residents out of their homes on a winter night to be jolly with their neighbors.
Long Beach resident Jack McCarthy goes to the parade every year with his wife Teresa and their two daughters. McCarthy and his family usually participate every year by decorating and driving their own car in the parade. This year, he helped decorate a float for the Westholme and Walk Association to go down the streets.
“The parade was great and it’s my favorite parade of the year,” McCarthy said. “Everyone was completely happy, and all the neighbors were out of their homes.”
The Beach House decorated the restaurant back in October for Halloween, collaborating with Blood Manor, the famous New York haunted house. They collaborated with the same people for the holiday season, now bringing the Miracle on Beech Street to Long Beach.
The restaurant now has trees, presents, lights and holiday music to bring residents into a new winter wonderland. Employees are dressed up as elves and Mrs. Claus and actors were hired to come in and play children’s’ movie characters, such as Olaf and Elsa from “Frozen,” and do meet-and-greets with the kids. The one character not played by an actor is Santa, who is played by the father of Beach House co-owner Michael Quinn.
Decorations are not restricted to the interior of the restaurant, as the whole outside was dressed to look like a giant gingerbread house, making the restaurant look like the traditional holiday “house.” The menu was even altered to fit the season, with candy cane pancakes and an edible chocolate gift box being offered, among others.
With the West End festivities and lit-up houses across the city, the holidays have surely made their way back to Long Beach. Rich Rothberg, a Long Beach resident, said he thinks the city does a great job in keeping the holiday spirits high.
“I always like what Long Beach does for the holidays,” Rothberg said. “Kennedy Plaza looks great and the boardwalk is always cool. Anything they can do to bring the community together is great, especially after these last two years.”
