Santa Monica Pier's Ferris Wheel: Lunar New Year, Valentine's Day

SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica Pier's Pacific Wheel will light up to celebrate Lunar New Year and Valentine's Day this month.

The 90-foot-tall wheel at 380 Santa Monica Pier will feature "Happy New Year" in Chinese Friday, along with red and gold colors, and an Ox icon to recognize the Year of the Ox.

Valentine's Day designs will be on display Saturday through Sunday with red, pink, white, featuring hearts and emojis for sweethearts.

The lighting display begins at sunset, about 5:36 p.m., and ends at midnight.

The Pacific Wheel is the world’s only solar-powered Ferris wheel featuring 174,000 LED lights that are mounted on the Ferris wheel’s 40 spokes and two hubs. The wheel’s lighting system features 16.7 million color value combinations and the programming and displays software imaging up to 24 frames per second to display dynamic, custom, computer-generated lighting entertainment.

The Santa Monica Pier is now open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier’s rides and attractions, including the Pacific Wheel and West Coaster, remain closed until further notice due to the ongoing pandemic.

People can watch both celebrations from home at https://www.pacpark.com/live.