Pacific Park will light up its Ferris wheel with a 90-foot animated American flag on Veterans Day, adding a new visual centerpiece to Santa Monica's 7th annual ceremony on the beach.

More than 174,000 computer-controlled LED lights will display the flag, along with seals of the U.S. Armed Forces, in red, white and blue patterns from sunset at 4:53 p.m. to midnight Wednesday, Nov. 11, according to a Pacific Park announcement. Residents who can't make it to the pier can watch via a live streaming camera on Pacific Park's website.

The light show coincides with the city's Veterans Day ceremony, which starts at 11 a.m. in Beach Parking Lot 4, between Santa Monica Beach and Crescent Bay Park. The ceremony runs until noon, followed by music and entertainment until 1 p.m.

As we reported Nov. 6, the ceremony moved to the beachside lot this year. It began in 2020 as a private gathering at the Santa Monica Veterans Memorial during the pandemic and has grown into a full community event.

General Ronald P. Clark, who leads U.S. Army Pacific from Fort Shafter, Hawaii, will deliver the keynote address. Clark, a West Point graduate, has commanded soldiers from battalion level through major Army commands, the Santa Monica Lookout reported.

Medal of Honor recipient Gary Littrell will also speak. Littrell, a Vietnam War veteran, earned the medal for actions over four days in April 1970 in Kontum Province. He single-handedly rallied a besieged battalion after all other advisers were killed or seriously wounded, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. President Richard Nixon presented the medal on Oct. 15, 1973.

Santa Monica Councilmember Dan Hall, an Army veteran who served eight years and rose to the rank of captain, will give the opening and closing remarks. Hall deployed to Iraq and Kuwait as a pilot-in-command of the AH-64D Apache helicopter. Mayor Caroline Torosis and Major General Dianne Del Rosso, deputy chief of Army Reserve, will also deliver remarks.

The event is free to attend.

The lineup includes a Chinook/C-130 flyover from Coulson Aviation, a performance of "God Bless the USA" by Heidi-Marie Ferren, and music by the 300th Army Band and singer Rora Wilde.

Veterans and active military members will receive free ride tickets, courtesy of Pacific Park. Meals on Wheels will provide free meals and information on meal resources for veterans and active military members.

Sonki Hong, former Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army and the event's organizer, said the ceremony carries extra weight this year as the country marks its 250th birthday.

Big Blue Bus will run a regular weekday schedule on Nov. 11, with some service exceptions including Route 9 express trips canceled in both directions due to Palisades High School's closure and changes to Route 14 southbound service.

Upcoming community events in Santa Monica:

  • Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day ceremony, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Beach Parking Lot 4
  • Wednesday, Nov. 11: Pacific Wheel Veterans Day light tribute, sunset to midnight, Santa Monica Pier