In 2021, the torches for Beachside Bonfire Fest came in by air. Paris Air of Vero Beach was set to arrive at 5 p.m. with the ceremonial torch lights. Four venues were waiting, each with its own theme: Waldo's had a Country BBQ, Costa d'Este had Latin Night, Mulligan's had a Hawaiian luau with a fire dancer, and The Boiler had a masquerade party, according to Vero News.
This Saturday, November 7, the light comes from above. The 2026 event is listed as Beachside Bonfire & Drone Shows, with illuminated drones over Vero Beach at 7 p.m. and again at 8:30 p.m. Since the 2021 edition, the name, the spectacle, the lineup and the charity have all changed. It is still a night of beachfront bonfires at Ocean Drive businesses, with the money going to a local cause, and this year five fires share one passport. That pattern runs through the island's whole calendar from now until December. Each big Saturday on Ocean Drive this season is put on by a civic group, and each one raises money or does a public service on the same few blocks.
Five Fires, One Passport
The bonfires run from 5 to 9 p.m. Each of the five Ocean Drive venues has its own fire and music, with food and drinks for sale:
- Waldo's
- Costa d'Este Beach Resort
- Mulligan's
- Vero Beach Hotel & Spa
- The Bottle Shop
The passport is what turns five separate parties into one evening. You pick one up at any of the venues for a suggested donation. Collect a stamp at all five, and the finished passport becomes your raffle ticket for gift baskets donated by each venue. Turn it in at any stop before you head home. The 2026 listing doesn't give a donation amount. Last year's suggested donation was $20.
This year, passport proceeds go to Next Generation Veterans of Indian River County. At Costa d'Este, the resort's own event page adds live music from Peter Bernard to go with the fire and the drones.
How a Lifeguard Fundraiser Became a Veterans' Night
In 2021, the festival raised money for the people who guard the beach it's held on. That year, hotels and restaurants worked with members of the Vero Beach Lifeguard Association to plan it. Proceeds went toward beach protection, lifesaving equipment and the association's headquarters at Humiston Beach. Lifeguards and fire rescue volunteers were scheduled to provide public safety that night. Erik Toomsoo, then the association's president, told Vero News that the mission was "simple and yet so important to both our tourists and our residents, to promote lifeguarding and water safety in Vero Beach and the surrounding communities."
The cause has changed since then, but the event has kept the same giving structure. Vero News reported in 2022 that hotels and restaurants were planning that year's edition and that it would support a World War II tribute. By November 2025, passport donations were going to Next Generation Veterans, and the lineup had grown to five businesses.
| 2021 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date and hours | Sat., Nov. 13, 5–9 p.m. | Sat., Nov. 8, 5–10 p.m. | Sat., Nov. 7, 5–9 p.m. |
| Venues | Waldo's, Costa d'Este, Mulligan's, The Boiler | Waldo's, Costa d'Este, Mulligan's, The Boiler Room, Vero Beach Hotel & Spa | Waldo's, Costa d'Este, Mulligan's, Vero Beach Hotel & Spa, The Bottle Shop |
| Beneficiary | Vero Beach Lifeguard Association | Next Generation Veterans of Indian River County | Next Generation Veterans of Indian River County |
| Overhead | Torch delivery by Paris Air | Not listed | Drone shows at 7 and 8:30 p.m. |
Waldo's, Costa d'Este and Mulligan's have been part of every edition in that table. The Bottle Shop is the new name on this year's passport, taking the spot The Boiler Room held in 2025. The evening is also an hour shorter than last year's, now ending at 9 p.m.
The Morning After at Costa d'Este
The cleanup is part of the program too. Costa d'Este lists a beach cleanup on November 7 from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., overlapping the last half hour of the bonfires, and a second one on Sunday, November 8, from 8 to 10 a.m. Since the 2021 edition raised money for the lifeguards' Humiston headquarters, it makes sense that it ends with people walking the same sand with trash bags.
Humiston Park on the Following Saturdays
A week later, the same stretch of Ocean Drive gets a quieter Saturday. The Vero Beach Chamber's free Sunset Saturday Night Concert series comes to Humiston Park, 3000 Ocean Drive, on November 14 from 5 to 8 p.m., with live music and food and drinks for sale. The series returns to the same park at the same hours on December 12.
Humiston Park is where the bonfire's 2021 beneficiary is based, and it sits a short walk from the bonfire venues. The bonfire listing gives its location as 3120 Ocean Drive, and the concerts are at 3000. For residents, that means the season's events keep returning to the same few blocks between the Humiston boardwalk and the hotels.
If you're looking for a morning stop between those Saturdays, Vero Grounds opened on August 29 in the Park Place plaza across from the ocean, between Camelia and Dahlia lanes. TCPalm reported that it is both a coffee shop and a roaster. Camelia and Dahlia come up again on December 5.
Rotary Takes the Road on December 5
The season's biggest Saturday belongs to the Sunrise Rotary Club of Vero Beach, which hosts the Vero Beach Christmas Parade on December 5 at 6 p.m. The Indian River Guardian reported that the parade starts on Cardinal Drive, turns east on Flamevine, then heads north on Ocean Drive and finishes at Jaycee Park. Sunrise Rotarian Amanda Darress is this year's chair, and float, troupe and auto entries must register before December 3 and attend a mandatory meeting.
The parade's own map page carries this warning above its closure schedule:
All posted road closures are subject to change without notice by order of VBPD
The schedule posted there is laid out in waves, starting at 3 p.m.:
- 3 to 7 p.m.: Cardinal Drive from Beachland south to Gayfeather; Eagle Drive from Beachland south to Azalea; Azalea Lane from Eagle east to Ocean; and Bougainvillea, Camelia, Dahlia and Flamevine from Eagle east to Cardinal.
- 5:30 to 7 p.m.: Those same four lanes from Eagle east to Ocean, plus Ocean Drive from Beachland south to Flamevine.
- 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.: Ocean Drive from Greytwig south to Beachland.
- 5:30 to 9 p.m.: Greytwig Road from Eagle east to Ocean, Silver Palm Drive from Live Oak to Greytwig, and Live Oak and Mango roads from A1A to Ocean.
The route uses three bus stops: the southeast corner of the field at Riverside Park, Dahlia Lane at Eagle Drive, and the JC Beach Boardwalk. A loop bus runs between Riverside and Dahlia at Eagle from 4 to 7:30 p.m. After the parade, three pre-staged one-way buses leave the boardwalk for Riverside at 7:20 p.m., 8:15 p.m. and about 9 p.m. The map page doesn't print a year, so check it again closer to the date. Organizers haven't announced a 2026 theme or grand marshal yet.
One More Night, on the Water
The next evening, Sunday, December 6, the season moves to the lagoon for the Vero Beach Christmas Boat Parade at 6 p.m. Its route goes past the city marina and heads toward the Alma Lee Loy Bridge without passing under it. The Marine Industries Association of the Treasure Coast lists the Vero parade on the same date.
Between now and then, the barrier island has four Saturday events on its calendar: Beachside Bonfire for Next Generation Veterans on November 7, the Chamber's Humiston concerts on November 14 and December 12, and the Sunrise Rotary parade on December 5. Each is run by a different group, and all four use the same short stretch of Ocean Drive.
Many of my clients first came to know the island through nights like these, and I enjoy helping them find a home within walking distance of Ocean Drive. If you're curious what that walk is worth for a home on or near Ocean Drive, Danielle M. Reidy can put together a thoughtful, no-pressure Free Market Analysis.
