The 2026 BirdStock Music Festival will arrive a month earlier than in previous years.
The annual free event presented by the Bird Rock Community Council features live music from local performers, shopping and an array of activities, from a pet adoption zone and pet costume contest to mini golf and face painting.
BirdStock was revitalized in 2022 after a 12-year hiatus, with volunteer organizers Arianna Opsvig, Merisa Titlow and Kelsey Martin leading the way.
The 2025 iteration of BirdStock took place Oct. 25 during the thick of Halloween-related festivities across La Jolla and on the same day of the La Jolla Loves Pets Foundation’s Dogoween and the final day of Birch Aquarium’s Halloween Aglow.
This year, BirdStock will be held Saturday, Sept. 19, along the 5500 to 5700 blocks of La Jolla Boulevard.
“In September, we have more light and don’t run up against all the Halloween festivities happening in the community,” said Opsvig, who added that September also offers a great chance for good weather.
BirdStock is made possible through contributions and sponsorships, with proceeds going to the Bird Rock Foundation, which supports Bird Rock Elementary School, and future BirdStock festivals.
At the Community Council’s November meeting, Opsvig reported that the 2025 event was the biggest and most lucrative since the festival’s return.
BRCC President Joe Parker announced Feb. 3 that it raised $15,000 for the Bird Rock Foundation.
Though the next BirdStock is seven months away, Opsvig and Parker said work on it is already underway.
“It’s something to get started on early because there’s a lot of planning and preparation that takes place,” Parker said. “This team gets better every year, and they’re starting their planning now.”
Applications are available for vendors and bands, Opsvig said. Some details, including the announcement of a “Oktobirdfest” beer garden, are on the festival website, birdstockmusicfestival.com.
Other BRCC news
“Less words, more entertainment”: With the February meeting marking Parker’s first month as a second-time president, he took time to echo sentiments he had shared with the La Jolla Light about efficiency and increased community participation.
Joe Parker leads his first meeting as a second-time Bird Rock Community Council president on Feb. 3. (Noah Lyons)
The group held a community happy hour at Beaumont’s restaurant Jan. 28, which Parker said drew a crowd of about 70, including many new faces. Parker made brief remarks at the gathering, which also included discounted food.
The goal of events like that, Parker said, is “less words, more entertainment.”
In the future, he said, he wants to expand happy hours and other community activities to more businesses across Bird Rock.
Next meeting: The Bird Rock Community Council next meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at Bird Rock Elementary School, 5371 La Jolla Hermosa Ave. Learn more at birdrockcc.org. ♦