Who pays for a free show once the city stops? For this Saturday, November 7, the answer is the businesses at the north end of the beach. The City of Pompano Beach left its Drone Show Extravaganza out of this year's budget to cut costs. Fishing Village businesses and Firefly Drone Shows then covered it, so the show returns for a fifth year over the ocean just south of Fisher Family Pier.
That funding shapes the whole evening. The show is staged on the beach next to its sponsors, and the city expects a large crowd. The plan it published moves people in from a park lot near the Air Park instead of through beachside streets that close by early evening. For anyone in Pompano Beach Highlands, the night starts at Pompano Community Park.
Who Is Paying for Saturday Night
The city's September 29, 2026 announcement explains the arrangement plainly. The city says it "made the difficult decision not to include the Drone Show Extravaganza in this year's budget as part of efforts to reduce expenses," and that "community partners stepped up to keep the tradition alive."
TAPinto Pompano Beach reported the same funding shift on October 1. It describes the show as funded by private support from Fishing Village businesses and Firefly Drone Shows after the city removed it from the budget.
The tradition is older than most of the copies. Pompano Beach launched South Florida's first municipal drone show in 2022, and according to the city, other Florida municipalities followed.
What the Sponsorship Buys
The city plans 500 drones this year, choreographed to music in patriotic and coastal designs for Veterans Day Weekend. TAPinto puts last year's show at 400 drones. Its designs included a giant clam, a pearl, the city logo, the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse, and an egg that cracked open to release a baby sea turtle swimming across a coral reef. If both numbers hold, a privately funded year flies a larger fleet than the last city-funded one.
The city's event page sets out the evening:
- 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. DJ set on the beach
- 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Live set from Junior's Entertainment Group, Top 40 and retro hits in English and Spanish
- 7:00 to 7:15 p.m. The drone show
- 7:15 to 8:15 p.m. More from Junior's Entertainment Group
- 8:15 to 9:00 p.m. DJ closes the night
The drones fly for fifteen minutes. The other three and a quarter hours are beach party, and that is why arrival time matters more than the show's 7:00 start.
A Crowd That Size Shuts the Beach Side Early
TAPinto reports that more than 10,000 people filled the oceanfront for last year's show. The city's 2026 closure list is built for a crowd that size, and it starts well before sunset.
Fisher Family Pier closes at 10:00 p.m. Friday, November 6, and stays closed until 7:00 a.m. Sunday, November 8. Viewers gather on the sand south of the pier, because the north side is closed for drone staging. Riverside Drive closes from NE 14th Street to 2nd Street from 2:00 to 10:00 p.m., and drivers need proof of residency to pass. North Pompano Beach Boulevard and eastbound Atlantic Boulevard at Harbor Drive can close as early as 6:00 p.m.
Here is how the options compare under the city's published rules:
| Getting there | Cost | Timing limits |
|---|---|---|
| Pier Parking Garage | $20, cash only | Eastbound Atlantic at Harbor Drive may close from 6:00 p.m. |
| Other lots and street meters | Holiday rate of $4 per hour | Same road closures apply |
| Rideshare | Fare only | Pickup and drop-off at Beach Branch Library, 3250 NE 2nd Street |
| Free shuttle from Pompano Community Park | Free | Runs from 1:00 p.m., last ride to the beach 6:00 p.m., last ride back 10:00 p.m. |
The meter rate adds up over a long night. Arrive at 5:30 for the opening DJ and leave after the 9:00 close, and three and a half hours at $4 an hour comes to $14. An afternoon arrival to claim a spot on the sand pushes that past the $20 garage fee. The shuttle costs nothing at any hour.
The Shuttle Line Is the Highlands' Way In
The city calls this year's service an "expanded free shuttle." It starts at 1:00 p.m. from Pompano Community Park, 1660 NE 10th Street. The shuttles are ADA accessible and have room for coolers and lawn chairs. On the event page, the boarding area is near the Pompano Beach Aquatic Center, 820 NE 18th Avenue, inside the park. Both addresses point to the same place: the park is the destination, and the Aquatic Center side is where riders board. TAPinto places the park near the Air Park.
From north Pompano, Community Park is the nearest of the city's shuttle starting points, and the route avoids every beachside closure. A Saturday built around it looks like this:
- Early afternoon. Shuttles start at 1:00 p.m. If you want a blanket spot close to the water south of the pier, an afternoon ride is the way to get one.
- Load up. Bring the cooler and the chairs on board. The city and TAPinto both say blankets, lawn chairs and coolers are welcome.
- 6:00 p.m. cutoff. The last shuttle to the beach leaves Community Park at 6:00 p.m., an hour before the drones launch.
- Beach stop. Shuttles drop off and pick up at Beach Branch Library, 3250 NE 2nd Street.
- 10:00 p.m. return. The last shuttle back to the park leaves the beach at 10:00 p.m., an hour after the DJ wraps up.
Once you're at the beach, the event page also points people to the free electric Pompano Beach Circuit, which you can request through the Ride Circuit app or by waving down a driver. The city describes the Circuit as a beach-area service covering Fishing Village, the pier, Harbor Village, beach hotels, shops and restaurants. On Saturdays it runs from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. It's useful for dinner in Fishing Village before or after the show. It does not replace the park shuttle as the way to get there from home.
That dinner stop connects back to the funding. The businesses that paid for this year's show are the ones a 10,000-person crowd walks past on the way to the sand.
If the Beach Isn't the Plan
Not every household wants a beach night with chairs and coolers. The city will stream the show live on its YouTube channel, @mypompanobeach, and on Comcast Channel 78, Digital 1092. The drones launch at 7:00 p.m. and fly for fifteen minutes, so tune in a few minutes early.
The Saturday After Comes Back North
One week later, on Saturday, November 14, two free morning events overlap, and one of them sits on North Federal Highway.
The Holiday Handcrafts Bazaar runs from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Charlotte Burrie Civic Center, 2669 N Federal Hwy. It is free and has more than 25 vendors selling handcrafted items, and the city lists vendor spaces as full. For holiday shopping, it is the closest of the November events to north Pompano.
The same morning, the Pompano Beach Green Market opens its 2026 to 2027 season in a new home on the Pompano Beach Cultural Center campus, 50 W Atlantic Blvd., just east of Dixie Highway. It runs from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and starts with free yoga led by Nzingah Oniwosan from 9:00 to 10:00. Kids' crafts follow from 10:00 to noon, with music by DJ Trish. Parking is available at City Hall and on the south side of the Cultural Center and Library campus. The Pompano Beach Historical Society and the city present the market, which runs on the second and fourth Saturdays from November through April. The next two dates are November 28 and December 12, and the market is closed on December 26 for the holiday.
Starting at 9:00, you can browse the bazaar on Federal Highway first and still reach the Green Market before its 1:00 p.m. close.
City event details can change close to the date, so check the drone show page on Saturday morning before heading to Community Park.
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