Santa Monica Top Events in 2019

Netflix, Nike and Fandango threw the best events, parties, and activations at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier.

2019 was a busy year in Santa Monica. The Pier once again saw a record number of visitors with some estimates exceeding 10 million people who walked the 110 year-old board walk over the Pacific. As the number of visitors to the Pier increases, the Park seeks to provide a richer, more enjoyable experience to more and more people. As the popularity of the Pier increases its status as a world-recognized Los Angeles icon, more and more companies seek to partner with the Pier to enhance their brand image and provide their consumers with unique and unexpected experiences. Here are our picks for this year’s best events in Santa Monica:

Netflix’s Stranger Things Season 3 Premiere

Over the summer, Netflix rented out Pacific Park for an exclusive after party following the premiere of Stranger Things, Season 3. Guests were treated to the world of Hawkins, IN, in 1985 complete with 1980s bands, theming from the show, and specially curated experiences reminiscent of a 1980s county fair. Guest could win free prizes from the midway games, enjoy ice cream from the Scoops Ahoy ice cream truck – themed after the ice cream shop in the show – and walk through a Demogorgon-filled fun house. In the days following the party, Netflix arranged for the experiences to be opened up to guests on the Pier’s parking deck. Over 6,000 people were able to walk through the experience.

Nike’s Joyride 5K and Shoe Launch

Nike’s new running shoe Joyride debuted with a 5K run along the beach in Santa Monica followed by an exclusive after party for the runners at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier. Following a 5K run along Santa Monica’s world-famous beach, runners enjoyed unlimited access to the Park’s 12 rides including the West Coaster and solar-powered Pacific Wheel. Nike also treated runners to complimentary game play in Pacific Park’s midway, where they tried their skills at boardwalk classics like Long Range Basketball and Roll-a-ball. In addition to the Park’s fun midway prizes like plushies and over-sized stuffed animals, winners had the opportunity to get premium swag from Nike, including pairs of the new Joyride running shoes.

Fandango’s Pier Party

The online ticketing company, Fandango, closed Pacific Park for an exclusive day of amusement park fun for their employees. The 500 employees were broken into teams to compete for cool prizes. The event was assembled by EventMakers, who completely themed portions of the Park to fit Fandango’s theme for the day.

Pier del Sol

This annual fundraiser generated over $50,000 for Special Olympics of Southern California. Guests were welcomed to enjoy samples and bites from 35 of LA’s best restaurants. This year’s 2019 Honorary Chef, Andreas Nieto of LA Prime, has been a third generation chef since the age of 14 and holds a special connection to Special Olympics. The event also included a variety of family-fun entertainment, such as music, arts and crafts, games, a silent auction, and cupcake decorating.

Luxury Connections Speed Networking

Not at every work event can you ride a roller coaster, ride in bumper cars, and shoot water guns, but at Luxury Connections, participants did just that. Between speed networking sessions with other attendees, guests were able to skip the line, hop onto a roller coaster and get right back to networking. 100 professionals from the field of luxury events and incentive planning came together for 3 common goals: networking, fun, and funnel cakes.

Each year, the Pier plays host to a couple dozen events ranging from the popular Twilight Concert Series to smaller, half-day pop-up experiences for guests to enjoy during their visit to the boardwalk. Additionally, Pacific Park opens up as a venue to events ranging from small group trips to huge take-overs of the entire amusement park and Pier deck. Of the dozens of events at the Pier each year, the Park only closes about 10 times, and even then, these planned closures usually only last for a couple of hours.

Pacific Park diligently works with event applicants to reduce the impact these private events have on Pier guests and neighbors. However, the need for companies with many employees and many guests to find a large venue on the west side makes the Pier an ideal location for a unique company event, fundraiser, or party.  When the Park decides to schedule a planned closure, these special operating hours are posted on our website; in the weeks leading up to the closure, the special hours are posted in pop-up on our homepage so guests planning their visit to the Park can’t miss it. If you have any questions about special park hours, be sure to check pacpark.com/hours, or feel free to drop us an email at guestservices@pacpark.com.

If you are interested in hosting your next event at Pacific Park, read more about opportunities, catering packages, and our event capabilities at pacpark.com/events.