Catalina Island events through the year

Avalon is small, so a big event fills the town. Book rooms and boats early for any of these, and confirm dates with the organizers: most fall in the same month every year, but exact days shift. For what’s on this week, see our events calendar, updated every night from the island’s own calendars.

Winter

• Avalon Benefit 50 Mile & 50K (January): billed as California’s oldest ultra trail run, from Avalon to Two Harbors and back. It sells out months ahead.
• Avalon Harbor Underwater Cleanup (February): a couple of hundred divers clear the harbor floor at Casino Point, the Green Pleasure Pier and Step Beach. It’s the one day a year diving is allowed in the mooring field, and proceeds support the hyperbaric chamber.
• Sweetheart Dinner (February 14): Valentine’s dinner at the Harbor Reef in Two Harbors.

Spring

• Catalina Island Marathon (March): California’s oldest trail marathon, from Two Harbors across the interior to Avalon, with a 10K, 5K and kids’ run the same day. Together with the Avalon 50 and the November half marathon it makes up the island’s Triple Crown.
• Catalina Island Conservancy Ball (April): the Conservancy’s black-tie gala in the Casino ballroom, its biggest fundraiser.
• Easter: the spring Catalina Art Fair, and an egg hunt in Two Harbors.
• Taste Around Avalon (May): a walk around town tasting local restaurants, with diners voting for their favorites.
• Silent film benefit (traditionally May): the museum’s silent film weekend, with a live score in the Avalon Theatre and period dress encouraged.
• Catalina Wine Mixer (late May): yes, the party from Step Brothers, made real by the Catalina Island Company in 2015: a weekend that ends with a big day at Descanso Beach Club. Tickets go fast.

Summer

• Catalina Pride (June).
• Summer concerts (June to September): free shows on the stage on Crescent Avenue, plus movies on the beach and a kids’ fishing derby in August.
• Beach BBQ & Art Fest (June) and Brew Fest (July) in Two Harbors.
• July 3 in Two Harbors: a children’s festival, a dinghy parade and fireworks over Isthmus Cove.
• July 4 in Avalon: a golf-cart parade down Crescent Avenue in the afternoon, a concert at the Casino, and fireworks over the bay at night. It’s the busiest weekend of the year.

Fall

• Catalina Festival of Art (September): a free outdoor show along the waterfront, running for more than 60 years.
• Catalina Film Festival (September): screenings in the Avalon Theatre and around town.
• Catalina Channel crossing (September): outrigger canoe teams race across the channel.
• Two Harbors Wine Fest (September): sells out, so buy early. Labor Day weekend brings Two Harbors’ “Buffalo Chip” Toss.
• JazzTrax (October): smooth jazz over two weekends in the Casino ballroom and at Descanso Beach Club, on the island since 1987.
• Buccaneer Days (early October): Two Harbors’ pirate weekend, with treasure hunts and costumes (21 and over).
• Halloween: a costume parade down Crescent Avenue, and a chili cook-off at South Beach.
• Catalina Island Half Marathon (November), the last leg of the Triple Crown, and the museum’s Día de los Muertos festival.

The holidays

• Shop Catalina (December): the holiday kickoff and tree lighting in Avalon.
• New Year’s Eve gala: the island’s most famous party, a black-tie night in the Casino ballroom with dinner, a band and a balloon drop at midnight, held for more than 50 years. Reserve early; it sells out.
• Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve in Two Harbors: dinners at the Harbor Reef.