Something shifted in the town calendar this year, and if you have lived in La Mirada for a while, you probably noticed it the first Thursday of June. Concerts Under the Stars is not where it used to be. The rest of the summer rhythm reorganized around that one decision, and the fall lineup at the theater arrived in April with a set of run dates worth writing on the fridge.
The Thursday That Moved
For years, the summer concert series ran out of La Mirada Regional Park, which put music, the Night Market, and the waterpark crowd all within a short walk of each other. In 2026, the city moved the concerts to Neff Park at 14300 San Cristobal Drive, starting Thursday, June 11 from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. That is a real change in the shape of a Thursday night here, and it is worth stating plainly.
The format itself did not change. The Night Market opens at 5 p.m. with more than 20 vendors and music starting at 6:30 p.m., and the food lineup runs from tacos, teriyaki chicken, gourmet sausages, and skewers to Lao cuisine and wood-fired pizza, plus burgers, fries, and dumplings. Lighter options include lobster rolls, hummus and dips, fresh produce, and cold-pressed juice.
What did change is the footprint. Neff Park is a neighborhood park, not a regional one, which means arriving at 6:15 and expecting the same parking cushion you had at the Regional Park is a mistake most residents make once. A blanket and a folding chair still work the same way. The sightlines to the stage are just tighter.
If you used to combine a Buccaneer Bay afternoon with a concert night, those two things are now on opposite ends of La Mirada Boulevard. Plan the drive, or pick one.
What Splash! Is Actually Doing This Season
The aquatics center did not move. It just kept its own calendar, and once the concerts left the Regional Park, the summer schedule at 13806 La Mirada Blvd. reads a little differently in context.
Splash! is an 18-acre aquatic park with a 25-yard heated teaching pool, a 50-meter pool, and a warm water spa on the competitive side, plus Buccaneer Bay in the summer months featuring a lazy river, two-story water slides, tiny tot slides and play area, splash zones, and shaded seating. The waterpark opens to the public during the summer season, and the facility itself is open to residents and nonresidents year-round.
The dated events on the season calendar are the part locals actually plan around:
- Friday Night Swim on June 26 and July 24, from 5 to 8 p.m.
- Junior Lifeguards, June 22 through June 25 and July 20 through July 23, 8 a.m. to noon in the 25-yard pool
- Swim-In Movies on July 11 and August 1, from 7 to 9 p.m.
- Labor Day holiday hours on September 7
- Floating Pumpkin Patch on October 24 (lessons and rec swim closed)
- Legends of Coaching Meet, November 5 through 8
- Chili Holiday on December 5, holiday hours
Two of those deserve a note. Swim-In Movies book up fast because the pool deck holds a finite number of towel-anchored spots. The Floating Pumpkin Patch is one of the rare events that pulls families from Whittier and La Habra Heights into La Mirada rather than the other way around, so if you have kids and you go every year, you know to arrive early. If you have never been, the closure of rec swim that day is the important line, not the pumpkins.
The Theater's 2026-27 Season, Now Public
The other institution on La Mirada Boulevard is the theater at 14900, and its calendar is the reason the town has been drawing audiences from Whittier, Fullerton, and Cerritos on weeknights for decades. On April 15, 2026, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts and McCoy Rigby Entertainment announced the 2026-27 season.
Before the new season starts, the 2025-26 slate finishes. Anastasia runs June 5 through June 28, 2026, closing the current season. Then a summer bridge: An Evening with Lily Tomlin is scheduled for August 7, 2026.
The new season itself is compact and title-driven:
| Show | Run |
|---|---|
| Little Shop of Horrors | Sept. 18 – Oct. 11, 2026 |
| Dear Evan Hansen | Oct. 30 – Nov. 22, 2026 |
| To Kill a Mockingbird | February 2027 (Christopher Sergel adaptation) |
| Hairspray | April 2 – April 25, 2027 |
| Les Misérables | June 4 – June 27, 2027 |
A few things about this list a resident might not catch from a passing glance. Dear Evan Hansen is the Southern California regional premiere, which is unusual for a house this size and typically translates into limited-run pressure on tickets. Season subscription prices range from $86.25 to $431.25, with La Mirada resident discount prices from $69 to $345. If you live inside city limits, that discount is worth checking before you buy singles.
Parking at the theater is free, and the outdoor patio café opens before the show, which is the small operational detail that separates a La Mirada evening from a comparable night in downtown Los Angeles. You can walk from the parking lot to your seat without paying for anything twice.
The Rest Of The City Calendar Worth Marking
The city's community services department publishes a shorter list of events that fills out the shoulder months. Between the summer concerts and the end of the year, the schedule includes the Independence Celebration, a Family Campout at Neff Park, Stroll in the Park, National Night Out, the Community Health, Information and Safety Fair, Bark in the Park - Puptoberfest, the Floating Pumpkin Patch, Halloweenfest, Chili Holiday, and Santa's Holiday Caravan.
Two of those are worth pausing on. The Family Campout at Neff Park is a real overnight, and it sells out on residents alone. Puptoberfest is the reason you will see the dog population of the neighborhood tripled on a specific October weekend. If you are new to town and wondering why every neighbor with a golden retriever suddenly disappears at the same time, that is where they went.
What A Good La Mirada Thursday Looks Like In 2026
Now that concerts and the aquatic center are on separate ends of the Boulevard, the practical version of a summer Thursday reads like this. Pick your anchor first. If it is music, drive to Neff Park at 14300 San Cristobal, arrive by 5:15, eat from the Night Market before 6:30, and stay until 8:30. If it is water, get to Splash! at 13806 La Mirada Blvd. before dinner, plan around the specific Friday Night Swim dates in June and July, and treat Swim-In Movie nights as separate from a normal rec swim visit.
On a theater night, the pattern is different again. The theater sits at 14900 La Mirada Boulevard near the intersection of Rosecrans Avenue where the 91 and 5 freeways meet, which means the front-of-show traffic pattern is genuinely regional. Arriving 45 minutes early is not a superstition. It is the correct math.
The through-line for a resident is this. La Mirada's summer used to concentrate in one park on one night. This year it stretched down the length of the Boulevard, and the calendar rewards people who plan a Thursday around one anchor instead of trying to combine two.
When You Are Ready For The Other Kind Of Local Question
Living somewhere long enough to know that concerts moved to Neff Park is the kind of local knowledge that also matters when it is time to sell a home, buy the next one, or help a family member do either. That is the work we do every day. If you want a straight answer about your home's value or the current market on your block, Christine Kennedy and the Kennedy team are here for the conversation. Get a free home valuation whenever you are ready.
