By Lookout Staff

January 16, 2026 -- City Hall will be closed Monday to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day as Santa Monica hosts one of Southern California's biggest celebrations honoring the civil rights icon.

In addition to City Hall, the following facilities will be closed on Monday: The Transit Store, the Santa Monica Swim Center and Santa Monica Public Library.

The Big Blue Bus (BBB) will operate on weekend hours and parking meters will not be enforced except for those daily according to posted signage. Meters that are enforced daily must be paid.

However, preferential Parking (residential/visitor permits) will be enforced on Monday.

All City of Santa Monica beach lots and pay-by-space lots are enforced 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, including Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

There will be no refuse, recycling, or yard/green waste collection or street sweeping on Monday.

Street cleaning regularly scheduled for Monday will take place on Tuesday.

Santa Monica's 41 Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration will take place at 9 a.m. at John Adams Middle School (JAMS), 2425 16th Street and will be followed at 12:30 p.m. by a Community Involvement Fair.

The multi-ethnic, interfaith program features a keynote address by Emmy Award-winning producer, reporter, and talk show host Bonnie Boswell, inspirational readings, speakers, and musical performance.

Boswell currently serves as executive producer and reporter for Bonnie Boswell Reports on PBS. Her PBS projects include the 2024 Emmy-winning Saving Moms, a documentary on maternal health, and A Conversation with Pastor James Lawson and Attorney Bryan Stevenson.

At NBC-Los Angeles, Boswell was a community reporter and produced Seeds of Peace, a Golden Mike Award–winning documentary. She holds degrees from Harvard University and the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT).

The celebration is presented by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Westside Coalition and sponsored by the City of Santa Monica, Santa Monica College Associates, Santa Monica College, Santa Monica Malibu United School District, SGI-USA, Rand Corporation, Santa Monica Bay Area Human Relations Council and other organizations and individuals.

For more information and to view a live-stream of the event, click here