Year of the Horse Ferris wheel lighting at the Santa Monica Pier

Published on February 11, 2026

The Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel will be lit red and gold on Monday, February 16 to Tuesday, February 17 to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier will light up its iconic Ferris wheel to celebrate the “Year of the Horse” with a dazzling 90-foot-tall “Lunar New Year” display. The celebration will feature an animated “Horse,” the phrase “Happy New Year” in Mandarin, and vibrant red and gold colors, patterns, transitions, and festive icons.

Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations of the year among East and Southeast Asian cultures, including Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean communities, among others. Los Angeles is home to over 800,000 Asian Americans, the city’s 3rd largest cultural subgroup. Lunar New Year is celebrated across the globe.

The horse is the seventh of the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac, which is based on a repeating 12-year cycle aligned with the lunar calendar. Each year is associated with one animal sign, and the Year of the Horse occurs once every twelve years. In Chinese culture, the horse symbolizes speed, strength, independence, and vitality. People born in the Year of the Horse are traditionally believed to be energetic, intelligent, and optimistic. They are often described as hardworking and friendly, but may also exhibit impulsive or self-centered tendencies

WHAT:
Special Lighting of the Pacific Wheel for Year of the Horse

WHEN:
Monday, February 16 to Tuesday, February 17
dusk (around 5:30 PM) to midnight

WHERE:
Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier

See the lights from home at pacpark.com/live.

The Pacific Wheel’s 174,000 LED lights are mounted on the Ferris wheel’s structure including the 40 spokes and two hubs. The world’s only solar-powered Ferris wheel’s lighting system features 16.7 million color value combinations while the programming and display software presents imaging up to 24 frames per second to display dynamic, custom, computer-generated lighting entertainment. The eco-friendly, enhanced LED lighting provides 81 percent greater energy savings than most Ferris wheel’s traditional incandescent bulbs.

Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier, LA’s only admission free amusement park, offers 12 amusement rides, 14 midway games, Snackville with five fun food offerings and seaside retail shopping. Prices and operating hours are subject to change. For more information and operating hours, please call 310-260-8744, visit pacpark.com, and go to Facebook.com/pacificpark, Instagram.com/pacpark or X.com/pacpark.