"2027 marks the 50th anniversary of the Rodeo Drive Committee." That line sits at the bottom of the Committee's own history page. The event page for this year's holiday lighting is titled "50 Years of Brilliance."
Both are accurate. The two dates show that the Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting Celebration two weeks from today is the first half of an anniversary, and the Committee has used it to try something it hadn't done before. Some of the people on the stage are there because they applied.
The math behind "50 Years of Brilliance"
The Rodeo Drive Committee's history says the group "started to form in 1976 and was founded in 1977." Fred Hayman, who built the Giorgio boutique, was its driving force and its first chairman. Donald Tronstein, a property owner and developer on the 400 block, was among the founders. He served as Committee president from 1984 to 1987, and colleagues called him the "Mayor of Rodeo Drive."
Counting from 1976, when the group began forming, 2026 is year 50. Counting from the 1977 founding, the round number comes next year. The City of Beverly Hills and the Committee have tied the anniversary theme to this year's lighting. That means the lights going up on November 19 open a milestone that stays open through the 2027 season.
The founders set out to promote Rodeo Drive as America's answer to Via Condotti in Rome, New Bond Street in London, and the Faubourg St-Honoré in Paris. By 1980, the city estimated that the Rodeo Drive shopping district accounted for as much as 25 percent of its sales tax revenue. That history explains why a street with three blocks of luxury flagships runs a free public event at all. The Committee is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit of retailers, hoteliers, and landowners. Its seasonal programs, including the Walk of Style it created in 2003 and the holiday lighting, are how it keeps the street in front of people who aren't there to shop.
The open call that promised one act and named two
In 2025 the bill was Chris Mann, Hugh Sheridan, James Tormé, and Bei Bei, with performers from the Debbie Allen Dance Academy and an "Enchanted Holiday Dreams" theme drawn from the Nutcracker, as the Beverly Press reported.
This year, the City and the Committee added a new open call, "Rodeo Drive Has Talent," for vocalists, solo artists, bands, and variety acts. The timeline was short:
- Applications opened September 14, 2026, and each needed an audition video of one minute or less.
- The deadline was October 12.
- A panel of the event's Entertainment Director, its Executive Producer, and a member of the Committee's Executive Board reviewed every entry, and the winner was announced October 20.
- The performance is November 19.
The rules said the panel would "select one act." It named two. One is Ortal Edri, a Los Angeles singer, songwriter, and recording artist. The other is Marianna Kriuchenkova, an eight-year-old vocalist who counts Whitney Houston and Jennifer Hudson as her heroes.
Committee President Kathy Gohari gave the reason for the theme on the Love Beverly Hills event page. She said it honors the street's legacy "while welcoming a new generation to discover the magic of this very special street." The open call put that line into practice, and the panel ended up choosing two newcomers.
The rest of the bill, and the countdown
The open-call winners share the stage with established acts:
- Ali Ward, a vocalist, performer, and entertainment reporter, hosts.
- Dani Armstrong is the featured vocalist.
- Daniel Ho, a six-time Grammy winner, presents "Island Holidays."
- DJ Lady Sha and other performers fill out the program.
Mayor Craig Corman, the City Council, and the Committee's Executive Board lead the countdown. The decorations include jewel-inspired displays for the anniversary, and the night ends with fireworks. Off the main stage, the event page lists holiday characters, photo backdrops, food trucks, and wine gardens. Admission is free, and the hours are 5 to 8 p.m.
The announcements give the street and the hours. They don't yet give the exact block where the stage will stand or the minute the lights come on. Last year's open-air stage was at Brighton Way and Rodeo Drive, according to the Beverly Press. The 2025 lights stayed up through January 5, the Jolley Trolley ran seasonal rides, and public parking lots were open for the ceremony. Those are last year's arrangements. Check the Rodeo Drive events page for the 2026 versions before planning around them.
A dinner map that didn't exist last November
The lighting is a three-hour event, and the new places around the Golden Triangle fill the time before and after it. Several of these blocks have changed since the 2025 ceremony.
- Vicky on Rodeo, Two Rodeo Drive. An all-day Parisian brasserie at the top of the steps next to Tiffany & Co., with a terrace overlooking the Beverly Wilshire. It's open every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., so it serves both the early arrival and the after-fireworks crowd. The owner is Beverly Hills resident Vincent Benoliel, who named it after his Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He told the Beverly Hills Courier he "felt Beverly Hills was missing a casual French brasserie with reasonable prices."
- Bad Roman, 267 N. Canon Drive. The New York restaurant from the team behind Don Angie opened May 26 in the former Palm space, according to Eater LA. The neon orange snake on the facade is easy to spot from the street.
- Azur, Canon Drive. Erik and Florence Chol's French Mediterranean restaurant has a Champagne bar with DJ sets and live music, plus a two-course weekday prix fixe lunch for $35.
- Malka at SIXTY Beverly Hills. Chef Eyal Shani opened his first full-service Los Angeles restaurant here in August. It's kosher, and the Queen Malka Schnitzel is one of its signatures.
- The Brothers Sushi, South Beverly Drive. The fourth location of the dry-aged-fish concept that started in Woodland Hills offers omakase at the counter with Chef Moriyuki Kanamaru.
On Rodeo itself, the lights will hang over at least one storefront that is new this season. Celine's relocated flagship at 309 Rodeo Drive has been open since mid-August, according to WWD. A few doors up at 323 N. Rodeo, Monsieur Dior by Dominique Crenn is heading into its second holiday season after opening in fall 2025.
The last lighting before the Beverly Dr station
The second half of the anniversary will come with a new way to reach the street. Metro's October 14, 2026 community meeting presentation forecasts Spring 2027 for the D Line's Section 2. That section adds a Beverly Dr station and a Century City station, and the forecast is marked "subject to change." An April 2024 Los Angeles Times report had put that opening in 2026, so this holiday season falls inside the gap the later forecast created.
For now, the nearest open stations are in Section 1. Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax, and Wilshire/La Cienega opened May 8, 2026. Closer to the Triangle, Metro's October look-ahead for the Beverly Drive station describes continuing station and street-restoration work along Wilshire between Beverly Drive and Crescent Drive, with possible lane and sidewalk restrictions. Metro notes those plans can change without notice. Anyone walking down from the north side of the city or crossing Wilshire from the south should check Metro's latest notice the week of the event.
If Metro's forecast holds, the 2027 lighting will fall in the Committee's 50th year by its founding date and will be the first with a D Line station a few blocks from Rodeo. This year's lighting starts that anniversary with a Grammy winner, an LA songwriter, and an eight-year-old who sent in a one-minute video. The event runs from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, November 19, and closes with fireworks.
Holiday season on Rodeo is also when Beverly Hills homeowners start thinking about the year ahead, and our team follows these blocks closely, from the storefronts that changed hands to the station work on Wilshire. If a move is on your 2027 list, Angelo Fierro Group is happy to walk you through what we see across the Golden Triangle and nearby streets. Start Your White‑Glove Consultation.
