On Sunday, December 6, the corner of Dahlia Avenue and East Coast Highway has two jobs. From 11 a.m. it hosts the vendor fair of the 47th Corona del Mar Christmas Walk. Then at 5 p.m., as the Walk wraps up along the PCH sidewalks, the first guests of Sherman Library & Gardens' new Merry & Bright Nights start arriving through the garden's Dahlia Avenue entrance a few steps away.
It is the only date this season when the village's biggest free holiday event and its newest ticketed one overlap, and they meet on the same block. The Walk is the easy half of the day. Anyone who wants the evening too has to book it weeks ahead.
Six Hours on PCH With No Starting Line
The Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce puts this year's Walk on December 6 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is free, and it has no official start. The Chamber's only instruction is to walk the sidewalks of PCH through Corona del Mar Village. This year's program includes:
- Live sets from more than 17 local bands
- Santa visits and photos
- A beer and wine garden, with dancing to the Pinch Me Band
- Children's activities and street performers
- Vendor gifts, plus promotions from village merchants and restaurants
The new piece for 2026 is a hop-on, hop-off trolley that runs between the entertainment stops. The Chamber has posted a trolley route map with southbound and northbound legs along Pacific Coast Highway. The Walk has always been a stroll along one long stretch of highway, and a trolley makes that stretch shorter. It also makes it easier to finish the afternoon at whichever end of the village your evening plans begin.
The Walk benefits the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots Program. The Chamber is also selling opportunity drawing tickets at $5 each, 5 for $20 or 25 for $100. The drawing is the week of December 9, and winners do not need to be present. Prizes include hotel stays, restaurant dinners and spa packages from local businesses.
Where the Afternoon Hands Off
Sherman Library & Gardens sits at 2647 East Coast Highway, right on the Walk route. On December 6 it keeps three separate schedules. Its regular daytime hours are 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Merry & Bright Nights runs from 5 to 9 p.m., and a daytime ticket does not cover the evening.
Side by side, the day looks like this:
| Time | Along PCH | At Sherman Library & Gardens |
|---|---|---|
| 10:30 a.m. | Daytime garden opens, separate admission | |
| 11:00 a.m. | Christmas Walk begins, free | Daytime garden open |
| 4:00 p.m. | Walk continues | Daytime garden closes |
| 5:00 p.m. | Walk ends | First Merry & Bright entry time |
| 7:00 p.m. | Second Merry & Bright entry time | |
| 9:00 p.m. | Merry & Bright Nights ends |
The garden closes to daytime visitors an hour before the Walk ends, then reopens as a ticketed event at the same moment the Walk's bands stop. A 5 p.m. ticket means walking straight from the last hour of the Walk into the gardens. A 7 p.m. ticket leaves time for dinner in the village between the two.
The Evening Half Has a Box Office
Sherman calls Merry & Bright Nights an "all new" evening of holiday lights and scenes, photo spots, Santa, a Wishing Tree, crafts, and a model train running through a holiday landscape, followed by a dance party. It runs 14 nights: December 3 through 6, 10 through 13, and 17 through 22. Of those, December 6 is the only night that follows the Christmas Walk.
The rules matter more here than at most holiday events, because there are no second chances:
- Admission: $45 for Sherman members and $65 for non-member adults, seniors and children ages 4 to 17. Children 3 and under are free.
- Membership bundles: a Family Package at $335 with four tickets, an Adult Dual Package at $230 with two, and a Senior Dual Package at $205 with two. Each includes a year of membership.
- No refunds, no rescheduling: tickets and memberships are not refundable, and the event goes ahead rain or shine. Sherman suggests dressing warmly and bringing an umbrella.
- Time on site: plan on about an hour to an hour and a half, and arrive close to your entry time.
- Food and drink: a taco cart sells tacos, quesadillas, water and hot chocolate, cash only, and there is a no-host beer and wine bar. Outside food is not allowed.
- Cameras and pets: phones, monopods and selfie sticks are fine. Tripods, drones and professional photography are not. Animals are not allowed, except ADA service animals.
Members could buy tickets starting October 5, and sales opened to the public October 19. The opening night, Thursday, December 3, has sold out. Because tickets can't be changed or refunded, plans for the Walk-day evening need to be settled now. A 5 p.m. ticket bought for December 6 can't be moved to the 13th if the afternoon runs long.
The garden shop is open during the event, with seasonal plants, gardening items and holiday gifts. Anyone who spent the afternoon at the Walk's vendor booths gets one more chance to shop.
Why Everything Points to Dahlia
The garden's entrance is temporarily on Dahlia Avenue. Sherman's homepage says the grounds stay open during an improvement project, with signage pointing to the Dahlia entrance. Some areas are closed off, and construction may be audible.
The project faces the highway. The Newport Beach Independent reported that Sherman plans a rebuilt two-story building facing Pacific Coast Highway, near a new Bell Tower entrance. It will replace the former visitor center and garden shop space and overlook a refurbished Tea Garden. It will house Hazeltine's, a restaurant to be operated by Damian Orozco, owner of the Tea House on Los Rios, serving late breakfast, lunch and dinner with a full bar and catering. The Independent's headline gives late summer 2027 as the opening. Sherman's own homepage says the farm-to-table restaurant opens in fall 2027, and that regular dining is not available on site in the meantime.
That explains the evening menu. Until Hazeltine's opens, Merry & Bright food comes from a cash-only taco cart. Diners who want a sit-down meal on December 6 will find it on the restaurant row the Walk spends the afternoon promoting.
One Corner, Two Crowds, the Same Lots
Sherman's parking guidance sends evening guests to two lots off Dahlia Avenue. One is at the corner of Dahlia and East Coast Highway, and the other is behind the library building. Street parking fills in the rest. All of it is free and first-come, first-served. The Chamber, meanwhile, puts the Walk's vendor fair at PCH and Dahlia. The Chamber says the Walk draws thousands into the village each year, and on December 6 the evening crowd arrives at that corner while the afternoon crowd is still there.
The last time the Walk and a Sherman holiday event shared a date, the garden's event page told visitors to expect more crowds, limited parking in the area, and to allow extra time to arrive. This year's overlap is tighter, since the evening entry starts the minute the Walk ends.
Residents who live within walking distance of Dahlia have the simplest version of the day. They can walk to the Walk, take the trolley along PCH for the afternoon, and walk to Sherman's gate at five. Everyone else should plan parking for 5 p.m., when the Walk is breaking up and the first Merry & Bright guests are trying to park, not for 11 a.m.
High | Corkett has watched Corona del Mar's December calendar grow up around the same corners for years. If a sale or purchase on the Flower Streets lines up with holiday season in the village, we're glad to talk through timing, showings and the quieter weeks in between. Work With Us: Start a Confidential Consultation.
