Who pays for the Christmas trees on the Manhattan Beach Pier? Most people walking past them on a December evening probably haven't asked. The display has had to answer that question again every few years. Each new answer has moved more of the job off a single company's books and onto downtown merchants, City crews, volunteers and, since 2024, residents who take a tree home after the season.
On Wednesday, November 18, the pier lights again at 7 p.m. as part of the Downtown Manhattan Beach Holiday Open House. This year's organizer program promises "80 living Christmas trees twinkling" and thanks the Zebrowski family. The trees that went up for the last sixteen years didn't all get there the same way.
Sixteen years, several ways to fund one row of trees
According to the Daily Breeze's 2017 history of the display, it began in 2010. That year, then-mayor Richard Montgomery approached Scott "Scotty Claus" Martin of The Living Christmas Tree Company about putting 100 trees on the pier, and Martin agreed to donate the trees for the week along with LED lights. His company rents live trees, and the Daily Breeze reported that after three years the donation became too costly for a small business to carry.
Every version since has spread the load a bit wider.
| Period | Who covered the trees | Who handled the rest |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The Living Christmas Tree Company donated trees and LED lights | Supplier delivered and removed the trees for reuse |
| 2012 to 2016 | Dealer.com sponsored the display | Sponsorship ended when Dealer.com closed its local office |
| 2017 | A downtown business association member answered a $2,500 sponsorship request | Downtown Manhattan Beach Business and Professional Association found the sponsor |
| 2022 | The sponsor bought the trees and rented a moving truck to deliver them | The association bought and installed tree skirts, and the City installed lights and watered |
| 2024 | Trees donated again, then sold to residents after the season | Volunteers set up and removed the trees |
By the Daily Breeze's account, Dealer.com came on as sponsor in 2012 and stayed until it closed its local office. In 2017, Kelly Stroman, then executive director of the Downtown Manhattan Beach Business and Professional Association, spent months looking for a replacement with no luck. She then sent what she called a "Hail Mary" email to association members, asking for $2,500 to sponsor the trees. She told the paper that a reply arrived almost immediately: "I will save the trees. Count me in."
For a fixture this well known, $2,500 was a small amount. The 2017 gap came from no budget line owning the cost, so each year depended on someone choosing to cover it.
2022, when the trees arrived by moving truck
That arrangement held until the supplier itself couldn't take part. MB News reported that in 2022 the company that had provided the living trees was unable to participate. The sponsor bought the trees outright, rented a moving truck and delivered them to the pier, at a cost of more than $5,000.
The rest of the job was divided among other groups. The downtown business association bought and installed tree skirts, and the City of Manhattan Beach installed the lights and watered the trees. Watering wasn't new for the City. MB News notes that Public Works had been watering the trees during their run since the early years, while the supplier handled removal.
The total cost had also roughly doubled. The 2017 request was $2,500, and the 2022 delivery alone was more than $5,000.
2024, the year the trees went home with residents
By 2024, according to MB News, costs were "continuing to increase." The downtown association asked for volunteers to install, decorate and remove the trees. Setup was Sunday, November 17 at 3 p.m., and removal was Sunday, December 1 at noon.
Also for the first time, residents could buy the pier trees, with delivery on December 1, the same day the display came down. In its own post on the 2024 season, the local nonprofit 2 End the Stigma said all proceeds from those sales went to the organization. It also thanked City of Manhattan Beach Public Works, Downtown Manhattan Beach and the local volunteers who made the display possible.
Live trees need somewhere to go after the season. In the early years the supplier took them back for reuse. In 2024 the sale sent them home with residents instead, and the proceeds went to a local nonprofit.
Jill Lamkin, the downtown association's executive director, described the 2024 effort to MB News: "This tradition has become a cherished part of our community, bringing everyone together, creating wonderful memories, and strengthening our bonds."
For 2026, check Downtown Manhattan Beach for any tree sale, volunteer shifts or takedown day.
How Wednesday, November 18 unfolds, block by block
The tree history explains the evening's layout. The pier lighting is the main event, and the downtown blocks east of the pier carry most of the programming that leads up to it. The City calls the Pier Lighting and Holiday Open House "the official start of the holiday season in Manhattan Beach," with downtown merchants open until 9 p.m. and restaurants serving their regular menus plus samples. The City and the downtown association are also putting snowflake lights and lighted street banners on downtown streets.
Here is the organizer's published schedule, in the order you'd walk it:
- 5 p.m., Metlox Plaza. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive, with Karl Meyer Photography taking photos. Mychal's Cafe serves hot cocoa and cookies, and Frontier Kettle Corn is on hand. Nicole Face Paints and Balloon Art Entertainment, music by Michael Holmes and the Strolling Harmony Carolers round it out.
- 6 to 9 p.m., Manhattan Avenue. Live reindeer arrive near {pages} a bookstore. The Lucky Ones Band plays at 10th Street, jazz saxophonist Matt Kalin performs in front of SLAY at 12th Street, and Larry the Taco Guy sets up at 13th and Manhattan.
- 6 to 9 p.m., Highland Avenue. Dallas Green sings at 12th and Highland, with strolling carolers and Danger Dogs at MB Watch at 13th and Highland.
- 6 to 9 p.m., Manhattan Beach Boulevard. Strolling and Dickens-style carolers, plus Buddy the Elf moving through town.
- 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., the pier. The MBMS Choir sings at 6, followed by the MCHS Choir at 6:30.
- 7 p.m., the pier. The lighting. The organizer's note reads "don't blink."
The same evening doubles as a drop-off point for the Beach Cities Toy Drive, which Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach run together for children served by local charities. New, unwrapped toys go to the booth in the Police/Fire station lobby during the event. Outside of that night, toys can go to Manhattan Beach City Hall during business hours or to the city's fire stations.
After the lighting, and the Sunday that closes downtown
The trees usually stay on the pier longer than the one week described in the early years, though the exact run changes. In 2024, volunteers set them up November 17 and removed them December 1. In 2025, Downtown Manhattan Beach listed "Living Trees on the Pier" from Friday, November 14 through Sunday, November 30, so the trees were up five days before the November 19 lighting. Patch described the 2025 display as trees lining the pier and wrapping around the Roundhouse Aquarium, which had green lights strung in the shape of a tree and a yellow star on top.
Closer to the water, the holiday season's other big pier night has very different logistics. The 38th Annual Skechers Manhattan Beach Holiday Fireworks Festival, produced by the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce, runs Sunday, December 13, from 3 to 8 p.m., with fireworks at 7 p.m., rain or shine. The pier lighting is a weeknight stroll with the shops open. The fireworks require a full day of street and parking closures across the Sand Section's downtown blocks:
- 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.: Manhattan Beach Boulevard from the pier to Manhattan Avenue, Ocean Drive from 11th Street to Center Place, the upper and lower pier parking lots and the bike rack at the base of the pier.
- 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.: no parking on 13th Street between Morningside Drive and Valley Drive.
- 2 p.m. to 11 p.m.: Manhattan Beach Boulevard from Manhattan Avenue to Valley Drive, Manhattan Avenue from 9th to 15th streets, Ocean Drive from 10th Place to 15th Street, plus segments of Highland Avenue, Bayview Drive, 11th Street, 11th Place, Center Place and 12th Street. The Civic Center lot on 15th Street closes at the same time.
- 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.: restricted access on the remaining streets west of Valley Drive, between 9th and 15th streets.
The City expects downtown parking to be full by 2 p.m. It says there will be no shuttles or remote lots, and it encourages walking or rideshare. Blankets can go down on Manhattan Beach Boulevard after 4 p.m. once the streets are secured, though the City asks people to sit on the beach because seating on the boulevard is limited. Accessible parking is on Manhattan Avenue between 9th and 11th streets, entering from 9th. Drones and street vendors are not allowed.
The fireworks bring in sponsors and a Chamber production, and they take over most of downtown for a day. The trees have depended for sixteen years on a sponsor, City watering, association tree skirts, volunteer shifts and, most recently, residents willing to buy one when the season ends.
If the holidays have you thinking about what your Sand Section home would be worth next season, Jen Caskey Group is a few blocks from the pier and glad to talk it through. Get Your Home Valuation.
