Quick Take
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk will present a drone show in the night sky on May 17, taking part in a growing trend of using computer-choreographed light shows in place of more dangerous fireworks displays.
On Saturday, May 17, visitors to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk will see something they’ve never seen there before. That’s saying a lot for an attraction that’s been around for close to 120 years.
For the first time ever, the Boardwalk will host a drone show, an increasingly popular high-tech alternative to fireworks as a dazzling light show in the night sky.
A drone show is a sophisticated display of multiple small drones choreographed to create a wide variety of images in the sky, from fireworks-like plumes of light to recognizable logos and artistic depictions to even text, as a new form of skywriting. You can even create QR codes in the sky, a boon to marketing companies but perhaps a bane to those wary of advertising.
“We wanted to create an entertainment event to kick off the summer,” said Gladys Rodriguez, promotions & special events manager at the Boardwalk. “We’re going to be doing a number of featured designs, such as rides, food, ocean themes, surfing themes. All the things that incorporate the summer.” The Boardwalk will begin its summer hours May 22, with rides open every day.
The drone show will be presented by a Fresno-area company called Skye Dreams, which put on a similar drone show last fall at the Santa Cruz County Fair.
“These are very specialized drones,” said Deb Toews, who runs Skye Dreams with her husband, Terry. “I kind of jokingly call them flying light bulbs, which is essentially what they are.”
The Boardwalk show will feature about 200 such programmed drones, to launch on a spot on Main Beach near the mouth of the San Lorenzo River at about 8:45 p.m. on that Saturday evening. The drones are launched in what Toews called a “souls ascending to heaven” pattern, a few at a time until, with the aid of GPS positioning, they are all in place for the first formation.
It’s a busy time of year for Skye Dreams; drone shows are becoming increasingly popular at graduation ceremonies. “We have 11 graduations in five days,” said Toews.
Traditional fireworks will always have its proponents, even if only for nostalgia. But drone shows have plenty of obvious advantages, including no booms or other sounds that might be jarring to some people and pets, and no danger of fire. A possible disadvantage? Unlike traditional fireworks shows, which can be enjoyed by anyone within sight of it, from whatever angle they might have to see it, drone shows are often oriented to a particular audience with a straight-on orientation to it. You’ll be able to see the show from, say, the Municipal Wharf, it’ll just be backward, or at a sharp angle. Anyone at Main Beach near the Boardwalk, or on the Boardwalk itself, however, will enjoy the intended view of the show.
Rodriguez said the best view will probably be from the Dream Wheel, the Boardwalk’s Ferris wheel: “If you’re on the Dream Wheel, it’ll be perfect.”
In other Boardwalk news, a new ride at the Boardwalk is coming for 2026. Vertigo 360 is an enormous, pendulum-like attraction that swings and rotates its riders. It is set to debut sometime before Memorial Day 2026.
The Boardwalk’s drone show takes place Saturday, May 17, at 8:45 p.m. at Main Beach. It’s free.
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