Santa Monica's inaugural Ocean Way Festival and Venice's Abbot Kinney Festival both canceled within a single week, wiping out the Saturday and Saturday, Sept. 26-27 weekend.
Ocean Way, a two-day music festival planned for the beach south of the Santa Monica Pier, was called off Sept. 11 after Hurricane Marie eroded large sections of the site. Five days later, Abbot Kinney Festival organizers pulled the plug on what would have been the event's 40th edition, marking the third consecutive year the Venice street fair has been scrapped.
The losses leave Santa Monica without its first major music event in over a decade and Venice without its signature fall street fair.
Storm took the sand
Hurricane Marie, a Category 2 Eastern Pacific storm, sent heavy surf into Southern California beaches around Sept. 5. Rain fell across Los Angeles County on Sept. 6 and 7. The National Weather Service kept a High Surf Advisory in effect through Sept. 8.
The waves stripped sand from the beach south of the Pier, forcing the festival's safe shoreline setback 96 feet inland, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press. Runoff from the Pico-Kenter Storm Drain outfall also cut through the southern end of the site, pushing the festival's southern boundary roughly 500 feet north.
City staff assessed sand conditions, emergency vehicle access, tides and the extended forecast. They concluded the remaining footprint could not safely support the festival's infrastructure.
"The surf took the beach we planned this on, and we cannot put tens of thousands of festival-goers on that sand until it's safe," Mayor Caroline Torosis said Sept. 11.
Goldenvoice, the AEG Presents subsidiary that produces Coachella and Stagecoach, had partnered with the city on Ocean Way. The lineup featured The Killers and Olivia Dean as headliners across a 22-act, two-stage bill. General admission tickets started at $229 for a single day. All purchases will be automatically refunded.
City officials described Ocean Way as the cultural centerpiece of Santa Monica's $60 million Realignment Plan, an effort to reverse declining tourism and address a projected $29.6 million structural deficit. The festival would have been the city's first major music event in more than a decade, following the cancellation of the long-running Twilight Concert series on the Pier.
Abbot Kinney: three years, no festival
The Abbot Kinney Festival's cancellation, reported by Yo! Venice!, followed a different path. Organizers had promoted the Sept. 27 return as the free, all-day 40th edition along Abbot Kinney Boulevard, with live music, hundreds of vendors, food trucks and a KidsQuad.
In a statement posted Wednesday, Sept. 16, organizers cited a lack of community involvement and poor planning. The Abbot Kinney Festival Association, a Venice nonprofit, had previously blamed sponsorship challenges and lingering pandemic-era economic effects for the 2024 and 2025 cancellations.
The association said it plans to establish a Community Advisory Board starting in October to integrate neighborhood input into future event design and target a 2027 return.
What comes next
Ocean Way is the second major beachside music festival canceled in the Los Angeles area this year. The inaugural LA Jazz Festival was also called off Aug. 7, with organizers citing unexpected public safety and permitting costs, NBC Los Angeles reported.
Public Works crews have already begun restoring Santa Monica's shoreline, moving sand to the impacted area near the Pier and building a protective berm, according to the Santa Monica Lookout. The city is coordinating with Los Angeles County and private contractors to bring in larger equipment and evaluating whether additional sand needs to be imported.
Both Goldenvoice and the Abbot Kinney Festival Association have pledged 2027 returns. Goldenvoice said it will announce dates, programming and ticketing when details are finalized.
Upcoming Santa Monica events: The Montana Avenue Art Walk is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3, along Montana Avenue from 6th to 17th Street. The free event features local and regional artists, live music and family-friendly activities.
