Calabasas Summer 2026: The Season Residents Are Actually Living
July 16, 2026
July 16, 2026
For years, the shorthand for a Calabasas summer was simple. You went to The Commons at Calabasas for dinner, you drove down to Old Town for the Saturday farmers market, and you kept an eye on the calendar for the 4th of July. That map still works. What has changed is which pins are lit.
The 2026 season has quietly reorganized itself around two anchors that were understated in prior years: a Sunday-evening concert series on a private lake that is only accessible during city events, and a dense new run of restaurant openings along a single stretch of Calabasas Road. If you already live here, this is the summer to walk more of it than you drive.
The Sun Sets Summer Concert Series brings the community together for free, family-friendly live music on Sunday evenings during the summer months, hosted on the Calabasas Lake Greenbelt adjacent to the Calabasas Tennis and Swim Center. The detail worth knowing, if you are new to the series or have never bothered to go: the private Calabasas Lake is open to the public only during City-sponsored concerts. Four Sunday evenings a year, a stretch of shoreline you cannot otherwise walk becomes yours.
The 2026 lineup is tribute-band programming, and the dates are spaced so you can plan around them without giving up the rest of your Sunday:
All concerts begin at 6:00 PM, run approximately 90 minutes, and are free to the public, located at the Calabasas Lake Greenbelt adjacent to the Calabasas Tennis and Swim Center at 23400 Park Sorrento. Parking at the venue itself is tight, but the city runs a free park-and-ride shuttle from the Calabasas Civic Center at 100 Civic Center Way, from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. If you have driven past that parking lot on a summer Sunday and wondered why it filled up, this is why.
A few small logistics that matter more than they sound. Seating is on the grass and guests are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs, with limited fixed seating on a first come, first served basis reserved for those in need. Guests are welcome to bring a picnic or purchase light refreshments at the site, cash only, and barbecues or other heating devices are not permitted. The cash detail catches out-of-town guests every year.
If you drove Calabasas Road in Old Town two years ago, you passed a lot of storefronts in transition. In 2026, the block reads as a genuine dining corridor for the first time. The most talked-about arrival is The Mulholland, a sophisticated dining experience at 23538 Calabasas Road. A block down, at 23536 Calabasas Road, Yume Sushi Bar has opened its second location, bringing a modern take on Japanese cuisine.
The interesting question for a resident is not whether these places are good. It is what they collectively signal. Old Town has always had 10 Speed Coffee and the farmers market as its daytime anchors, but its dinner traffic used to leak west to The Commons or east to Woodland Hills. Two full-service restaurants opening within a block of each other suggest operators now see Old Town as a destination in its own right, not a lunch stop.
A third opening is in the pipeline along the same corridor. According to local reporting from The Acorn, Bonzi Sushi is slated for the Courtyard at The Commons at 23669 Calabasas Road, and Shibuya has announced plans for a second location off Las Virgenes. The short version: if you like sushi, 2026 is your year, and if you have opinions about which one is best, you are going to have a lot of blocks to walk in order to earn them.
The Commons still sets the tone for the neighborhood's shopping evenings, but the more interesting story this year is one shopping center east. Sweet Lady Jane returned with new owners and a grand reopening at the Parkway Calabasas shopping center, 23653 Calabasas Road, with Sun Life Organics at 23643 Calabasas Road in the same center. If you were writing off Sweet Lady Jane after the original chain's closures, the Calabasas location is worth another visit under new ownership.
Two other openings round out the Parkway and Las Virgenes corridor. SoLe'Soups is at 22259 Mulholland Highway in the Gelson's shopping center, and Absolute Caviar is at 26500 Agoura Road at the Malibu Canyon Plaza. And after a long delay, Salsa and Beer Mexican Grill has signage up at 4895 Las Virgenes Road, a location that was previously in the works in 2020 but never came to fruition, with the owner confirming construction is finishing and they plan to open soon. The concept is not new to the Valley. Salsa and Beer has four existing locations, including one in Lake Balboa and three in North Hollywood, focused on the flavors of Jerez Zacatecas, Mexico. What is new is that Calabasas is now on the list.
Take the openings together and a pattern emerges. The neighborhood absorbed a full generation of new casual and mid-tier restaurants in a single 12-month window. That is unusual for a city this size, and it is why the summer feels denser than the last few.
The Calabasas Certified Farmers Market at 4835 El Canon Avenue is the constant that all of this new activity organizes around. If you have not been in a while, it is still the best proof that Old Town is a walkable neighborhood and not a stage set. The market opens early, coffee at 10 Speed handles the pre-market crowd, and by 10:30 the sidewalks along Calabasas Road are full enough that you notice how many of the new restaurant patios have opened for weekend brunch.
Two adjustments worth making this summer. First, the market crowd is materially larger than it was pre-2024, which means the on-street parking around El Canon fills earlier. Second, the same walk that used to end at the market now naturally extends into an afternoon, because the Calabasas Road cluster gives you somewhere to go after. Plan on it being a longer outing than it used to be.
Nothing in the summer calendar carries the weight of the city's 4th of July Spectacular: Fun Run, Pet Show and Splash Party. If you have kids or dogs or grandparents visiting, this is the one to build the day around. The rest of the summer programming works better as a series of small evenings than as a single showcase, which is arguably how a resident wants it.
Here is the shift worth naming. Two summers ago, the argument for spending a July evening in Calabasas was the same argument you made in Woodland Hills or Sherman Oaks. You went to a mall, you had a meal, you went home. The 2026 season is the first one in a while where the argument is specifically local. The Sun Sets series unlocks a piece of shoreline you cannot walk any other time of year. The Old Town cluster gives you enough dinner options within three blocks that you can leave the car home. Parkway Calabasas has absorbed the second wave of openings that could not fit into Old Town, which means the mile between them now reads as one continuous evening walk rather than two separate errands.
The practical takeaway is small but real. If you have out-of-town family visiting between June and August, the itinerary that used to require a drive to Malibu or Beverly Hills can now be built inside the 91302. Sunday concert at the lake, Saturday market and lunch on Calabasas Road, one dinner reservation at The Mulholland or Yume, and the 4th if the timing works. That is a full weekend without leaving the city limits, which is not something a Calabasas resident could reliably claim in 2022.
If you have been thinking about your own home's role in that picture, whether it is right-sized for the next few summers or worth reassessing, Ellie Khani is happy to talk through it. Get a Free Home Valuation whenever you are ready.
Stay up to date on the latest real estate trends.
Get assistance in determining current property value, crafting a competitive offer, writing and negotiating a contract, and much more. Contact me today.
