Memorial Day Ferris wheel lighting at the Santa Monica Pier 2025

Published on May 22, 2025

The Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel will be lit red, white, and blue on Friday, May 23 to Monday, May 26 in recognition of Memorial Day.

The Pacific Wheel will be lit in red, white, and blue and feature an animated, waving American flag for Memorial Day weekend.

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States dedicated to honoring and remembering the men and women of the U.S. military who died while serving their country. It is observed annually on the last Monday of May, serving as both a solemn remembrance and the unofficial start of summer in the U.S.

This special lighting event will take place on the evening of Friday, May 23 to Monday, May 26. The Ferris wheel lights can be seen from dusk until 11:35 PM each evening. Enjoy watching the light program online at www.pacpark.com/live.

WHAT:
Special Lighting of the Pacific Wheel for Memorial Day

WHEN:
Friday, May 23 to Monday, May 26
dusk (around 7:30 PM) to midnight

WHERE:
Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier

 

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

Pacific Park regularly programs the Ferris wheel to display seasonal programing 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.

 

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Feature image courtesy of @pacpark