Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier will offer unique support to the Make-A-Wish Founfation of Greater Los Angeles’s “A Season of Wishes” holiday campaign by adding blazing blue lights to its Pacific Wheel, the world’s only solar-powered Ferris wheel.
On Monday, November 21, a “wish child” from the Foundation will flip the switch to turn on 6,000 blue lights on the 130 foot-tall Ferris wheel, coinciding with the blue lighting of a number of Southern California landmarks and institutions to mark “Blue Monday,” the first full day of “A Season of Wishes.” The blue lights will shine until November 28.
“The Pacific Wheel is a Southern California icon,” said Jeff Klocke, director of marketing for Pacific Park. “Historically, there have been only a handful of occasions in which the 6,000 bulbs located on the Pacific Wheel have changed from their traditional multi-colored scheme. Clearly, displaying support for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the dreams, hopes and wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions is such an occasion.”
Rising nine stories over the ocean, the Ferris Wheel on the Pier has become a familiar sight on the Southern California coast since the opening of Pacific Park in May 1996. Converted to solar power in November 1998, the wheel generates more than 71,000-kilowatt hours of renewable solar power.
“Partnering with Pacific Park is a natural fit for Make-A-Wish Foundation, as the two organizations are dedicated to bringing joy and happiness to children and their families,” said Kelli Seely, president and CEO of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles. “The Pacific Wheel is undoubtedly one of the most recognized symbols of Southern California, and at nine stories high, we could not think of a better display of support for the Foundation’s goal of granting a record number of wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions this holiday season.”
Following the lighting of the Pacific Wheel, the Foundation will embark on a holiday season campaign to grant an unprecedented number of wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions and to bring greater awareness to the Foundation’s 25th year of making wishes come true.
For “A Season of Wishes,” the Foundation is teaming up with local and regional businesses and civic leaders to implement a six-week celebration, beginning in late November, featuring high-profile events, family activities, celebrity involvement and the granting of children’s wishes.
Founded in 1980 when a group of individuals helped a young boy fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer, the Foundation is now the largest wish-granting charity in the world, with 72 chapters in the U.S. and its territories. Granting more than 12,000 wishes a year and 132,000 wishes in the United States since its inception, the Make-A-Wish Foundation celebrates “25 Years Making Wishes Come True” in 2005.For more information about how to participate in “A Season of Wishes,” please contact Lisa Townsend at (310) 556-4443, or via email at ltownsend@ppmgcorp.com.
