Lights, live music and holiday decorations filled Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills on Nov. 15 for the start of another BOLD Holiday lineup of events every weekend through the end of December.

Alexa Meade’s artwork will be displayed on Rodeo Drive as part of the city’s second BOLD holiday program. (photo by Luke Harold)

Following her art installations at Summer BOLD, artist Alexa Meade turned 262 N. Rodeo Drive into a 3D art installation that appears two-dimensional when visitors photograph themselves standing in the foreground.

Meade painted a live model during the kickoff event last week, and will do so again on Nov. 30 and Dec. 14.

“I think people really enjoy it,” Beverly Hills City Councilwoman Lili Bosse said of the artwork that has been prominently included in each of the four BOLD seasons held so far.

The social media-friendly installations have helped drive online engagement with many BOLD visitors posting their pictures on Instagram, Twitter and other channels.

“It’s something people can bring home with them,” Bosse said.

BOLD (Beverly Hills Open Later Days) debuted in summer 2017 as a way to draw more visitors to the city with special events, installments and having businesses stay open later than their traditional early evening closing times.

But as wildfires continued to burn in southern and northern California, Mayor Julian Gold took a moment to recognize the victims. As of the beginning of this week, the Woolsey fire has resulted in three civilian deaths, three firefighter injuries, 1,500 structures destroyed and 341 damaged, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. City, Rodeo Drive Committee and Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce representatives presented representatives from the Red Cross with a $126,750 donation, and a planned fireworks display was canceled out of respect to everyone affected by the fires.

The kickoff also included music from Svet, an electro hip-hop violinist and “America’s Got Talent” contestant, and a 20-piece band that played all the holiday classics. Visitors also enjoyed a Champagne garden and food trucks lined up along Rodeo Drive, which was closed to traffic. Councilman Robert Wunderlich said BOLD has been a great way for the city to keep up with the increased retail competition from neighboring locations such as the newly renovated Westfield Century City mall and a Beverly Center receiving $500 million in renovations. The City Council decided to move forward with the first BOLD nearly two years ago in response to the changing retail landscape.

The BOLD calendar will look ahead to Christmas when Santa visits the Paley Center for Media on Nov. 24-25, along with multiple dates throughout December. Live holiday music at Beverly Canon Gardens on Nov. 23, a #BOLDBH Snowballs installation on Rodeo Drive from Nov. 23-24, and complimentary and brief tours of the area in a luxury or exotic vehicle leaving from Two Rodeo Drive on Nov. 24 are also on the schedule for this weekend.

BOLD events will be held every Friday and Saturday between 5 to 8 p.m. until Dec. 22 on the 200, 300 and 400 blocks of Rodeo Drive and other locations throughout the city. For the complete schedule of events, visit lovebeverlyhills.com/boldbh.