The Pacific Wheel on the Santa Monica Pier will glow pink on Friday, Sept. 25, to mark California's first Dolly Parton Day.

Pacific Park announced the 90-foot Ferris wheel will display the messages "WE WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!" and "DOLLY" in a custom lighting program. The display will also feature pink hearts, pink stars and sweeping pink spiral animations visible along the Southern California coastline. The tribute follows an August lighting when the wheel joined landmarks across the country in honoring Parton after her death.

Parton died Aug. 25 at age 80 after what her representative called a brief battle with cancer, according to ABC 7.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 931 on Sept. 20, establishing Sept. 25 as Dolly Parton Day statewide. The date, written as 9-2-5, nods to Parton's hit song "9 to 5." State Sens. Shannon Grove, a Bakersfield Republican, and John Laird, a Santa Cruz Democrat, co-authored the bill. It was introduced Jan. 29 and approved after Parton's passing.

Newsom said in a statement that the bill creates an annual reminder to live as Parton did, with joy, grace and heart. Laird said Parton's legacy extends well beyond music, pointing to the millions of children who received books through her literacy program.

That program, the Imagination Library, has mailed 2.9 million books to registered California children since launching in the state in 2023, according to EdSource. About 172,000 California children under 5 receive a free book each month. California was the first state to offer the program's bilingual English-Spanish option.

The state covers half the cost. A local partner pays about $15.50 a year to send one child 12 books. As of March 2026, the program operated in 42 of California's 58 counties. Los Angeles County is one of several that still need a local community partner to bring the program to children.

Parton sold more than 100 million records worldwide over a six-decade career and scored 25 No. 1 hits, the most by any female country artist, according to the governor's office.

Beyond Santa Monica, San Francisco is holding a free outdoor Dolly Day festival at Union Square on Friday, Sept. 25, and Nashville has also designated the date as Dolly Parton Day, Rolling Stone reported.