Friday Nights on the Sand: Lake Worth Beach's Bonfire Season Starts November 6

The City of Lake Worth Beach's Bonfires & Night Market comes back to the Casino & Beach Complex on Friday, Nov. 6, and runs on select Fridays through Feb. 19. It is free, it starts at 6 p.m., and it ends at 9. The ticket costs nothing. The two things that do cost you something are a calendar that shifts in January and a parking meter that runs all night.

Eight Fridays, One Band Each

The city's Bonfires & Night Market page gives each month a theme and each night its own live act, with sound by DJ Chico561 and local vendors set up as a night market.

The city first announced this same set of eight dates in its 2026–2027 event schedule on Sept. 16. The Dec. 18 night is the one with something extra on the bill, since it adds Santa photos to the band and the fire.

January Breaks the Pattern

The series mostly runs on the first and third Fridays of the month. January is the exception. Those bonfires fall on the second and fourth Fridays, which puts them on Jan. 8 and Jan. 22. If you count first-and-third in January, you land on Jan. 1, New Year's Day, and on Jan. 15. Neither is a bonfire night.

Some calendars have the opposite problem. One widely shared event guide lists only four dates for the season, Nov. 6, Dec. 4, Jan. 8 and Feb. 5, as though the series were monthly. The city's own page has eight nights. Treat the city's list as the schedule. On a four-date calendar you would miss Sekond Nature, the Santa night, the reggae night in January and Wonderama's season closer.

The city's page also suggests arriving early to get a good spot. The Miami on the Cheap guide notes that the event is weather permitting and that dates are subject to change. Check the city calendar on the Friday itself before loading the car.

The Meter Doesn't Clock Out at Sunset

The second cost is parking. Lake Worth Beach posts its beach lot rates at $4 an hour on weekdays and $4.50 an hour on weekends. The meters are enforced 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, holidays included. The city's parking page lists no bonfire-night exception. A bonfire Friday is billed like any other evening at the beach.

Here is what that means over a season. At the $4 weekday rate, three hours from 6 to 9 p.m. comes to $12 a night. Go to all eight bonfires and that's $96 in meter time, before you stay for dinner. That figure is the useful baseline, because the city offers residents two ways to bring it down.

1. Resident beach parking permit. The city lists a year-round permit at $65 plus tax and a seasonal permit at $110 plus tax. Both run May 1 through April 30, so a permit bought now covers the whole bonfire season. Eligible residents live in ZIP code 33460 and a limited part of 33461, and the permit applies to designated permit spaces. The year-round permit costs less than eight nights at the meter, and it keeps working on every other beach visit through April.
2. ParkMobile resident discount. Eligible residents can register for a 20% discount in beach zones 4702 and 4704. At that rate, a three-hour bonfire night at $12 drops to $9.60. The discount applies only in the app and not at the meter, and it has to be renewed every year. Details are on the city's resident beach parking discount page.
3. Overflow across A1A. On bonfire nights, overflow parking is at Old Bridge Park across State Road A1A.

The beach lots also have a 2 to 6 a.m. tow zone. That won't matter for a 9 p.m. finish, but it will if you leave the car overnight and walk home from a late dinner. Permit eligibility and terms are the city's to set. Confirm your address and the current rules on the city's parking rates and permits page before you buy.

Where the Fire Is, and What to Carry

According to Miami on the Cheap's guide to the series, the gathering is on the sand of the municipal beach just north of the Lake Worth Pier. You can settle near the water or stay above the crowd on the oceanfront boardwalk. The same guide says dogs are allowed on the boardwalk but not on the sand. If you're bringing a dog, plan to watch from the boardwalk.

The city asks people to bring their own seating. The guide adds a few things to the list.

• Lawn or beach chairs, blankets and towels
• A cooler
• Your own s'mores kit, since nobody hands them out
• A flashlight for the walk back across dark sand
• Glow bracelets or necklaces if the kids want them

After 9 p.m., the Pier Is Still Open

The bonfire ends at 9, and several businesses at the complex stay open later.

Benny's on the Beach lists its pier hours as 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. Its site also advertises live music and weekly events. On a bonfire Friday, that leaves an hour for dinner on the pier once the band stops. The restaurant opened in 1986 and marks 40 years at the city pier this year. In September, city commissioners approved a 10-year lease extension that keeps Benny's on that oceanfront spot through Feb. 10, 2043, according to the Lake Worth Beach Independent.

Kilwins, in the Casino building at 10 S. Ocean Blvd., lists Friday and Saturday hours of 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., so it stays open two hours after the fire is out. Mamma Mia's on the Beach is running its Lake Worth Beach pizza shop and taking online orders. The city's Casino & Beach Complex directory lists both, along with Benny's and Lake Worth Beach T-Shirt Co.

Upstairs, parts of the Casino building have sat empty for years. In May, the city issued an Invitation to Negotiate for a roughly 3,000-square-foot second-floor ballroom and a separate 5,000-square-foot unfinished space. Commissioners voted 3-2 to start the bid process, and proposals were due June 25, WPTV reported. Bonfire nights take place on the ground floor, the boardwalk and the sand north of the pier.

To plan a season of Fridays, check whether your address qualifies for a beach permit before Nov. 6, and put Jan. 8 and Jan. 22 on the calendar now. If you're also thinking about what it would mean to live within walking distance of the pier, The Don Moore Team is glad to talk it through privately. Request a Confidential Market Consultation, and we'll tell you what we're seeing in the neighborhoods around the beach this season.