Carnival del Mar runs on Thursday, October 15, from 5 to 8 p.m. along PCH in Corona del Mar. It closes the second season of 3rd Thursdays, and the city has already said the series won't return until April 2027. That gap shapes the whole evening. Each business taking part has one night to make its offer, and the October list is long enough that three hours won't cover all of it.
A Schedule Built on Three Dates
Visit Newport Beach describes 3rd Thursdays as a seasonal series that launched in 2025. It takes place on the third Thursday of April, July and October, and it's free. The same page calls it a grassroots effort coordinated by Mayor Lauren Kleiman, local businesses and volunteers. It credits the series' growth to more than 70 local businesses, along with Visit Newport Beach, Greet Corona del Mar Magazine, Newport Beach Living Magazine, the Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce and residents.
Because the organizers are volunteers rather than a standing market operator, the series doesn't meet every week. Three dates a year means every event has its own theme, and each theme reuses the same blocks of PCH in a new way.
The Same Blocks, Reused Each Season
The 2026 season opened April 16 with "Village in Bloom." The Cozy Earth lot hosted a tennis and pickleball pop-up, B.Candy put on a butterfly exhibit with mini ice cream, and Gallery Sonder ran a flower bar. July's "Endless Summer" event brought hula dancing, a touch tank, animal adoptions, a mechanical bull and the Anaheim Ducks mascot, Wild Wing.
October uses those same spots again under a carnival theme. In April the Cozy Earth lot was a court. On October 15 it hosts an '80s-themed step aerobics class led by Newport Peach and a Rolling Zone Creamery cart brought by Newport Beach Living Magazine. B.CANDY swaps butterflies for a live petting zoo. The city's bulletin adds a live band, caricatures under the clock tower, pumpkin decorating, a fortune teller, scavenger hunts and raffles across the village.
October 15, Sorted by Who Is Coming With You
The published lineup for the finale lists businesses by category. For a household planning one evening, it helps more to sort them by who's coming along. All of the entries below come from the official event page.
| Coming along | Where | What's on offer |
|---|---|---|
| Young kids | Corona del Mar Branch Library | Live reptile zoo |
| Young kids | B.CANDY | Live petting zoo |
| Young kids | LaLa's Wee Loft | Cotton candy and carnival-style games |
| Young kids | Grounded Coffee House | Mini pumpkin decorating with paint pens |
| Young kids | Mark Patterson Fine Jewelry | Halloween window painting |
| The dog | Summer House and CdM Restaurant | Bacon-topped pup cups |
| The dog | Corona del Mar Animal Hospital | Dog and cat treats and adoptable pets |
| Dinner plans | SideDoor at Five Crowns | $2 fresh oysters and live music in the courtyard |
| Dinner plans | Gina's Pizza | Happy hour pricing all night |
| Dinner plans | Foretti's | 20% off Butternut Squash Ravioli and fresh sidewalk pasta |
| Dinner plans | Avila's El Ranchito | Happy hour and a taco bar |
| Dessert | Gelato del Mar | "Festival of Flavors" tasting of fall specialties |
| Dessert | See's Candies | Complimentary chocolate samples |
| A workout | Newport Peach, Cozy Earth lot | '80s step aerobics class |
| A workout | Mantra Hot Yoga | Snack bar, protein coffee and a two-week new student special for $45 |
| Art | SCAPE Gallery | Artist reception curated by Hanna Slak |
The times matter for one stop. Rothschild's runs happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m., so it starts an hour before the official 5 p.m. kickoff and ends an hour into the event. Konpa Nikkei is giving a free agua fresca with any food or drink purchase over $15, and Cugini Italia Market is featuring meats, cheeses and fine wines.
The library has the most packed single stop for families. Next door, Fire Station No. 5 is holding an open house, and Tora, the Newport Beach Fire Department's support dog, will be there for photos. That puts the reptile zoo, a fire station and a dog photo op next to each other.
Some activities support a cause or come with a prize. WELL Premium Water's "Ring Toss for a Cause" supports the Pacific Marine Mammal Center. HG Home Services is running a Halloween costume contest with a $500 cash prize, and Med Lounge is raffling off more than $1,200 in prizes. On Que Style has a fortune teller inside the store, and The Quiet Woman is hosting hopscotch and dancing.
The Sherman Lot and What the Trolley There Means
The Sherman Library & Gardens lot at Dahlia Avenue and PCH works as its own hub that night. One of Newport Beach's new trolleys will be parked there for people to climb aboard and take photos. The lot will also have inflatable carnival games, along with Hazeltine's, Corona del Mar High School and the Corona del Mar Residents Association.
The trolley in the lot is a photo stop. The city's free trolley service still runs only on the Balboa Peninsula. In 2026 it ran on Saturdays and Sundays from May 23 through September 7, 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., with a trolley at each stop about every 15 minutes. The route has 22 marked stops, from the Avon Lot and Marina Park to the Balboa Pier and Via Lido. When the Daily Pilot reported in November 2024 that the vintage-style vehicles would replace the old trolleys, extending service to Corona del Mar came up only as a possibility. That hasn't changed. On October 15, the trolley is a place to take a picture.
Hazeltine's is the newer name in that lot. In June, the Newport Beach Independent reported that Sherman Library & Gardens is adding its own restaurant facing PCH, set to open in late summer 2027. Carnival del Mar comes almost a year before that opening date, so stopping by the Hazeltine's spot in the lot is an early look at a restaurant that will soon be part of the village's regular dining options.
Where October Goes After the Finale
October 15 is also opening day of the 27th Newport Beach Film Festival, which runs through October 22. After that night, the 3rd Thursdays crowd won't have a Corona del Mar stroll to return to until April, and the rest of the month's local calendar takes place elsewhere in the city:
- Roger's Gardens Moonlight Masquerade: The seasonal Halloween boutique at 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Environmental Nature Center Fall Faire & Pumpkin Patch: The 50th annual faire is October 18, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with free admission, food, pumpkins, nature activities and live performances.
- Halloween Spooktacular: The city's ninth annual event is October 24, 3 to 6 p.m., at Mariners Park and VJ Community Center, 1300 Irvine Ave. It's free and includes trunk-or-treat, games, a haunted walkthrough and food trucks.
Each of these is a single destination you drive to. On October 15, the destination is a walk along PCH that takes in a library, a fire station, an oyster courtyard and a parked trolley, and the next one is April 2027.
The 3rd Thursdays series shows how much a Corona del Mar block depends on the businesses along it. Valuing a home works the same way. Those details are where pricing gets decided, and Jen Gong and her team build home valuations from them, with numbers-driven analysis and service in English and Mandarin. If you're curious what your Corona del Mar or Newport Beach home is worth this fall, start with a free home valuation.
