St Patrick’s Day Celebrated in Santa Monica on the Pacific Wheel

Published on March 9, 2021

The Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel will be lit green on Wednesday, March 17th in recognition of St Patrick’s Day.

Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier will join other landmarks across the globe in going green on March 17th in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. The special light program on the wheel will include colorful animations and festive shamrocks.

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated annually on March 17th, the date which many believe the patron saint of Ireland died in the year 461. The holiday has been celebrated in Ireland for over a thousand years. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place not in Ireland but in America. Records show that a St. Patrick’s Day parade was held on March 17, 1601 in a Spanish colony in what is now St. Augustine, Florida. More than a century later, homesick Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched in New York City on March 17, 1772 to honor their homeland’s patron saint. Enthusiasm for the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and parades in New York City, Boston and other early American cities only grew from there.

This special lighting event will take place on the evening of Wednesday, March 17th. 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 St. Patrick’s Day

WHEN:
Wednesday, March 17
Dusk to midnight (around 6 – 7 PM)

WHERE:
Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier

 

On March 2nd, Tourism Ireland announced details of some of the famous attractions and sites around the world which will go green to mark St. Patrick’s Day. New for 2021 is the most northerly ‘greening’ in the world ever – a postbox at the summit of Øretoppen Mountain in Norway, 350 kms above the Arctic Circle! Other sites taking part include The Sydney Opera House, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Niagara Falls, Victoria Falls, the ‘Welcome’ sign in Las Vegas, the London Eye, the Sky Tower in Auckland, the Prince’s Palace of Monaco, the Cibeles Fountain in Madrid, BC Place in Vancouver, and the tallest building in South America, the Torre Costanera in Chile, amongst many others.

In rolling out its Global Greening, Tourism Ireland aims to bring some positivity and hope to the 70+ million people around the world who claim links to the island of Ireland. At a time when Irish people overseas cannot travel home, Tourism Ireland wants to shine a green light in as many locations around the world as possible.

Speaking at the launch, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, said: “Today, we’re launching Tourism Ireland’s 2021 Global Greening initiative, which has become so successful in helping to keep the island of Ireland in the spotlight overseas during the St. Patrick’s Day period. The Global Greening initiative complements the Global Ireland strategy, which aims to strengthen Ireland’s engagement with our Diaspora and bring our rich culture and heritage to wider audiences. St. Patrick’s Day provides a truly unique opportunity to promote Ireland on the international stage and to renew the strong bonds between Ireland, the international Irish community and our global partners. I would like to commend staff in our embassies and missions overseas, in the Department of Foreign Affairs and in Tourism Ireland for the outstanding work they have done in organizing this initiative around the world.”

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “2021 marks the 12th year of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative and each year I am delighted to see so many attractions and landmark sites wishing to get involved and to mark St. Patrick’s Day. More than 70 million people around the world claim links to the island of Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day is a truly unique opportunity to reconnect them with their heritage. This year, in particular, we aim to bring some positivity and hope to our Diaspora across the globe. At a time when Irish people overseas cannot travel home, we want to shine a green light in as many locations around the world as possible, giving our Diaspora a sense of connection with home and reminding them that we cannot wait to welcome them back, as soon as it is possible to do so.”

In addition to coordinating the lighting and greening of many landmarks around the world, Tourism Ireland is offering an extensive virtual celebration that includes a live stream from Johnnie Fox’s pub in the Dublin Mountains called St. Patrick’s Day @Home Live and a new online video highlighting the sights and destinations in Ireland. Read more about their events at www.ittn.ie.

 

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Feature image courtesy of @muru_vellachamy