Manhattan Beach Fireworks!
Annual Event is South Bay's #1 Party Event

The annual Holiday Firworks is Manhattan Beach's signature event.

•  Holiday Fireowrks, Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012

New for 2012 Fireworks: TWO shows! First one at 7 p.m., followed by a second to celebrate the city's 100th birthday at 8:30 featuring the LA All Stars rock 'n roll cover band! At sunset, there will be a flyover from the U.S. Navy.

The weather will be clear, but it will be breezy with temperatures in the 50s. So dress warmly!

One of the top events of the entire year in the beautiful seaside community of Manhattan Beach, CA, is the annual Christmas fireworks show.

There's not many places to view fireworks through palm trees in December.

It's an explosive night for the annual Holiday Fireworks show.

It's a festive atmosphere for the fireworks in downtown Manhattan Beach.

For those lucky enough to know him, you go to Dr. Al's fireworks party.

Held the second Sunday of December, it brings in thousands of people from the area. Those people fill the city's blocked-off main street, Manhattan Beach Blvd., the Strand, beach and waterfront homes to watch a spectacular fireworks show – one of the best in the nation, topping many Fourth of July shows, in fact – over the pier with palm trees silhouetted by the show.

It starts at 5 p.m., at the Pier with Santa's arrival, a local band plays until 6:30 and the fireworks start launching at 7. There are people on the street, on the Strand, standing on balconies of houses, in the beachside parking lots and even on the beach itself.

House parties along the Strand are a big part of the event.

The spectacular show paints the Manhattan Beach sky.

For many, it's like a picnic under the stars – and then fireworks.

Framed by the palm trees at the pier, the fireworks rise into the sky.

The area around the pier explodes the second Sunday of December.

People bring blanket and beach chairs to sit on Manhattan Beach Blvd.

A band plays holiday music to warm up the crowd before the fireworks.

People treat it as an evening picnic under the stars. They come with blankets, beach chairs and coolers, picking a spot on the sloped street. Many arrive by foot, taking casual strolls through the neighborhood to arrive just past dusk.

And in this neighborhood, which sits right on the Pacific Ocean in Los Angeles County, that stroll is along the Strand, a walk/run/bike/rollerblade sidewalk of sorts that runs along ocean between the houses and the sand.

Many of those houses have social gatherings of a few or several dozen, making the Manhattan Beach fireworks the city's third biggest party of the year (Surfest and the Manhattan Open AVP take the to two podium spots). With many "young and single" people ready to mingle at all times in Manhattan, these house parties often lead to fireworks of another kind.

Even a light shower a couple of years ago hardly damped the spirit(s) as the city went ahead and painted the Manhattan Beach sky with another spectacular show. In fact, the raindrops quit falling during the fireworks, only to resume almost immediately afterward.

The fireworks show is so good, people easily get mesmerized by it.

The fireworks streak into the Manhattan Beach night sky.

The fireworks explode to a lot of "oohs" and "ahhs" from the crowd.

People are in a festive mood on the Strand for the Holiday Fireworks.

After the fireworks, it's festive in the bars like Shellback Tavern.

Why not throw in a little holiday shopping with the fireworks!?

Several bars and restaurants downtown do a, well, booming business. Two bars face out to the shore – Shellback Tavern and Beaches – and are packed well before the show begins. Several other spots fill up afterward along Highland and MB Blvd.

Of course, there are many former partiers who now have families and come with strollers, as well as couples who use the occasion as an ideal romantic date.

The event caters to all. It starts at dusk with Christmas music at the pier, creating the festive atmosphere. With Christmas just around the corner, and many people headed back to visit families in snowy, cold climates, the Manhattan Beach Fireworks provide an ideal combination of the holiday and beach spirits.