Santa Monica Pier's Pacific Wheel To Celebrate National Taco Day

Nicole Charky
·2 min read

SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica Pier's Pacific Wheel will celebrate National Taco Day on Sunday with a special dedication to a favorite Mexican food with a 130-foot salute to tacos.

The 174,000 LED lights will feature custom white, blue and yellow taco patterns and designs. It starts at sunset from about 6:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. at Pacific Park, 380 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica.

In 2018, Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier with Major League Eating created the annual Pacific Park World Taco-Eating Championship to coincide with “National Taco Day.” The #1-Ranked Competitive Eater In The World, Joey Chestnut of San Jose won the inaugural event. In 2019, Chestnut defended his title to retain the Major League Eating record by destroying 82 Pacific Park street-style carnitas tacos in eight minutes. The third annual Pacific Park World Taco-Eating Championship has been postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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 Ferris wheel’s lighting system features 16.7 million color value combinations 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.

The Ferris wheel soars nine stories high and lifts riders more than 130 feet above the Pacific Ocean. The wheel offers extraordinary views of the Southern California coastline from its location on the internationally popular Santa Monica Pier.

The Santa Monica Pier is now open 24 hours. However, Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier’s rides and attractions, including the Pacific Wheel and West Coaster, remain closed until further notice during the pandemic.

You can also watch the lights and view the designs online from the stationary cameras from Pacific Park and watch the wheel light up and steam the live show: https://www.pacpark.com/live

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This article originally appeared on the Santa Monica Patch