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Earth Day Ferris Wheel lighting at the Santa Monica Pier

Published on April 9, 2024

The Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel will be lit green and blue on Monday, April 22 in recognition of Earth Day.

Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier’s Ferris wheel goes “Green” with a variety of green and blue colors, patterns, and icons, along with a spinning globe for Earth Day on Monday, April 22.

Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries. To learn more, visit earthday.org

Pacific Park is committed to being a leader in its industry for green initiatives and sustainability. This dedication is evident in the air by the world’s first solar-powered Ferris wheel and on the ground with the introduction of the world’s first wind-powered midway game, among a variety of other business greening initiatives.

The City of Santa Monica recognized Pacific Park with a 2020-2021 “Gold GoSaMo Achievement” award for reducing vehicle trips, congestion, and greenhouse gas emissions in the city. The GoSaMo program is designed to help employers and property managers comply with local transportation regulations and assist commuters, residents, and visitors to find the mobility options that best suit their needs. Pacific Park also received the “Excellence in Stewardship of the Natural Environment” award at the annual Sustainable Quality Awards by the City of Santa Monica, the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, and the nonprofit Sustainable Works.

Pacific Park was an early adopter of the City’s organic collection program. Every day, visitors to the Pier contribute to rubbish and trash being added to local landfills. In addition to recycling plastics, cans and cardboard, Pacific Park collects organic materials from its kitchens and concessions to be diverted from the landfill to the City of Santa Monica’s organics program. To learn more about how organics are reused by the City, visit www.smgov.net.

Pacific Park also supports Heal the Bay’s Santa Monica Pier Aquarium and their beach clean ups, and the Bay Foundation in their initiatives to rebuild local habitats for local, endemic flora and fauna.

WHAT:
Special Lighting of the Pacific Wheel for Earth Day

WHEN:
Monday, April 22
Dusk to midnight (around 7 – 7:30 PM)

WHERE:
Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier

 

Make Earth Day Last All Year Long

There are many ways you can make Earth Day every day: Consider reducing your carbon footprint by making small changes to your daily routine, like taking public transportation, walking or biking instead of driving and turning off lights when you leave a room. Shop sustainably by purchasing foods with less packaging and buying products made from recycled materials that can be reused or repurposed later on. Educate yourself about environmental issues so you can spread awareness in your community and encourage others to make sustainable choices as well!

Pacific Park regularly programs the Ferris wheel to display seasonal programming and themed light designs for holidays and special occasions. The Pacific Wheel’s state-of-the-art lighting package was installed in 2016 and can display over 1.6 million different colors and animate patterns and icons in 24 frames per second. The energy-efficient LEDs on the face of the Ferris wheel are powered by solar arrays inside Pacific Park. The light programs are curated and designed by Pacific Park staff. Each design is manually animated; some designs can take hours of programming. The aim is to provide fun, high-energy, and sometimes whimsical designs to entertain guests on the Santa Monica Pier and surrounding beaches.

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 present 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.

This special lighting event will take place on the evening of Monday, April 22. The Ferris wheel lights can be seen from dusk until 11:35 PM each evening. Enjoy watching the light program online at pacpark.com/live.

Feature image courtesy of @el_pep562