The Atlantic Boulevard bridge over the Intracoastal is a short span, and most residents cross it without noticing. Last December it set the plans for two evenings eight days apart. On December 4, 2025, it was locked down so the Yuletide on Atlantic parade could march across it. On December 12, 2025, it went up for the Chamber's holiday boat parade and stayed open until the last boat passed.
This year both events land in the same pattern, on December 3 and December 11, 2026. The beach end of the boulevard starts things off in early November, and two new restaurants are being built out on the mainland stretch, one of them targeting a late-November or December opening. Pompano's holiday season has more or less become one road, from Federal Highway to the ocean, and the bridge in the middle decides which half of it you can reach on a given night.
The Bridge Closes Twice in Eight Days
Last year's closures show the pattern for 2026. The city's published logistics for the 2025 Yuletide parade, posted on Weekend Broward's event listing, closed Atlantic Boulevard at 4:30 p.m. They also closed North Riverside Drive from East Atlantic Boulevard to 7th Street and locked the Intracoastal bridge from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Parking was at the Wells Fargo lot, 2400 E. Atlantic Blvd.
For the boat parade, the Sun Sentinel's 2025 guide to South Florida holiday boat parades reported that the Atlantic Boulevard, NE 14th Street Causeway and Hillsboro Boulevard bridges would be raised from about 6:15 p.m. until the last boat went by.
Neither event has posted 2026 closure times, parking, or bridge notices yet. Treat last year's details as a guide to how the evenings work, not as this year's rules. If 2026 follows 2025, the bridge will close to cars for the street parade on Thursday, December 3, and open for boats on Friday, December 11. Anyone who lives on one side and has dinner plans on the other has two December evenings to plan around.
The Beach End Starts First, on November 7
The island side of the boulevard gets going a month before either parade. On Saturday, November 7, the city's free Drone Show Extravaganza returns to Fisher Family Pier, 222 N. Pompano Beach Blvd. Firefly Drone Shows will fly 500 drones over the ocean just south of the pier for Veterans Day weekend, and the Fishing Village businesses are helping pay for the show.
The city's schedule for the evening:
- 5:30 to 7 p.m.: a DJ, then a live set from Junior's Entertainment Group
- 7 to 7:15 p.m.: the drone show itself
- 7:15 to 9 p.m.: more live music, then a DJ to close the night
The pier closes from 10 p.m. on November 6 until 7 a.m. on November 8. The north side of the pier is set aside for drone staging, so the city asks spectators to gather on the beach south of the pier. Anyone who fishes from the pier or walks it at sunrise will lose Saturday morning as well as Saturday night.
A few steps south, the Great Lawn at Atlantic Boulevard and Pompano Beach Boulevard hosts the second-Friday concert series, Music Under the Stars, presented by Briny Irish Pub. Music starts at 7 p.m., and the city asks guests to bring chairs and blankets. Laura Goodstone, a modern country rock artist, plays November 13. December moves to the 18th instead of the usual second Friday, with Happy Daze, an oldies band that plays in period costume. That shift puts the December concert a week after the boat parade, when the bridge is back to normal.
The Mainland Stretch Gets Two New Kitchens
West of the bridge, the boulevard's news is about restaurants. Both are reported as works in progress, so treat them as targets, not reservations.
RimLay Seafood is moving into the former La Terrazza Cubana space at 3428 E. Atlantic Blvd., a few blocks west of the Intracoastal. Pompano Beach Insider reported that it plans New Orleans-style seafood boils with Thai herbs layered into a Cajun butter sauce. The restaurant will be full-service in about 2,300 square feet, with roughly 40 seats inside and 40 outside. The opening is targeted for late November or December 2026, and hours and menu have not been announced. The space has a long restaurant history: before La Terrazza Cubana it was Mora Grill, and years earlier Frank's Ristorante & Pizza.
About a mile west, Pho Bar Vietnamese Kitchen is building out a space at 2515 E. Atlantic Blvd. It sits in the Publix-anchored Pompano Beach Shopping Center, on the north side of Atlantic just east of Federal Highway. Pompano Beach Insider noted that an earlier late-summer target has passed and no opening date has been announced. This will be the group's first location in north Broward, after Davie and Pembroke Pines. Every Pho Bar seats first-come, first-served, with no reservations. The menu is built around slow-simmered broth, and the item regulars at the other locations know is the "Hangover Cure," pho broth with bone marrow and egg.
Both addresses matter for the parade calendar. The Yuletide route ends at SE 24th Avenue, close to Pho Bar's shopping center, and RimLay sits on the boulevard between the bridge and that end point. If either opens before December 3, it will be serving inside the parade zone on its biggest night of the year.
December 3 Puts the Parade on the Pavement
The city lists Yuletide on Atlantic for Thursday, December 3, 2026, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., free. The parade leaves Riverside Drive on the island at 6:30 p.m., heads west on Atlantic Boulevard over the bridge, and ends at SE 24th Avenue. MCs will announce each float, and performances will take place at the judges' stand at Harbor Drive and Atlantic Boulevard. The city's seasonal roundup gives the event as 6 to 9 p.m., so check the dedicated event page closer to the date.
In 2025, the city's press release placed the judging stand and viewing bleachers at NE 26th Avenue and Atlantic Boulevard, the Harbor Drive intersection. That puts the best seats on the mainland side, west of the bridge. Float applications are due November 14 for any business or group planning to march.
December 11 Moves the Season Onto the Water
Eight days later, the 64th Greater Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce Holiday Boat Parade takes over the Intracoastal on Friday, December 11. The parade begins at 6 p.m., more than 50 boats are expected, and this year's theme is "A Party in the U.S.A." New this year, the Chamber will run its own boat in the parade, with tickets at $200 per person including an open bar. The official VIP viewing party is at The Cove in Deerfield Beach for $100 per person, and the parade will be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube.
The 2026 route has not been posted. In 2025, the city's release had the boats leaving Lake Santa Barbara, heading north on the Intracoastal, and finishing at Hillsboro Boulevard. That route took the parade under the Atlantic Boulevard bridge. Last year's recommended Pompano viewing spots were Alsdorf Park at 2901 NE 14th Street, Sands Harbor Resort at 125 N. Riverside Drive, and Miraggio Italian Grill at 3100 E. Atlantic Blvd., where the city said reservations were required. Two of those three are on East Atlantic or just off it, one on each side of the bridge.
The Corridor Calendar
| Date | Event | Where on the boulevard | Side of the bridge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Drone Show Extravaganza, drones at 7 p.m. | Fisher Family Pier, south beach | Island |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | Music Under the Stars, Laura Goodstone | Great Lawn, Atlantic and Pompano Beach Blvd. | Island |
| Late Nov. or Dec. | RimLay Seafood target opening | 3428 E. Atlantic Blvd. | Mainland |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Yuletide on Atlantic, 6:30 p.m. step-off | Riverside Dr. west to SE 24th Ave. | Both, via the bridge |
| Fri., Dec. 11 | Holiday Boat Parade, 6 p.m. | Intracoastal; 2026 route not yet posted | Water |
| Fri., Dec. 18 | Music Under the Stars, Happy Daze | Great Lawn | Island |
| To be announced | Pho Bar Vietnamese Kitchen opening | 2515 E. Atlantic Blvd. | Mainland |
Off the Boulevard, Same Weeks
Some of the city's holiday dates fall elsewhere, and a few land right next to the Atlantic Boulevard nights. The city's 'Tis the Season roundup lists Light Up MLK in the MLK corridor on November 28 at 5 p.m. It also lists the Untapped tree lighting at 41 NE 1st Street in Old Town on December 4 at 6 p.m., the evening after Yuletide. The Green Market Holiday Edition runs December 12 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the morning after the boat parade. At the Pompano Beach Cultural Center, Gutenberg! The Musical! runs November 6 to 15, which overlaps the drone show weekend.
If you'd like to know how the bridge, the parade route and the new tables on East Atlantic affect a home on either side of the Intracoastal, Roman Tschannen can walk you through it street by street. Request a private consultation.
