Friday, April 19, 2024
Home Blog Page 1002

How to Celebrate the Fourth of July with Audubon Nature Institute

Judith Rubin
-
0
Fireworks on the Mississippi River. Photo: Audubon Images

(New Orleans) – As part of the Fourth of July holiday experience, all Audubon Nature Institute attractions will be open Monday July 4, 2011. Audubon Zoo, Aquarium of Americas, Entergy IMAX® Theatre and Audubon Insectarium will have loads of holiday fun for the family.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides An IMAX 3D Experience  
Entergy IMAX® Theatre – Daily Screenings Beginning July 1

Red, White and Butterflies – Audubon Insectarium July 2
In a most unusual salute to our nation’s birthday, Audubon Insectarium staff creates a salute to the American flag out of red, white and blue butterflies.

Go 4th on the River – Woldenberg Park July 4 
Fireworks at nightfall on the Mississippi River. Visitors enjoy a weekend long (July 1-4) discount of $4 off any admission to Audubon Aquarium or Audubon Insectarium.

July 4th Weekend Admission Discount  
Coupon available from www.Go4thOnTheRiver.com. More info: www.auduboninstitute.org.

Six Flags America Offers Free Military Tickets Independence Day Weekend

Judith Rubin
-
0

Maryland theme park hosts military appreciation days, music, and two nights of fireworks, July 3 and 4, 2011

BOWIE, Md., June 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — “Oh, say can you see…”thrilling coasters, sensational water slides, and a host of musical guests in a salute to America this Independence Day Weekend? Six Flags America, the Mid-Atlantic’s most exciting destination for family-friendly fun, offers a full weekend of thrills, headlined by free admission for Military personnel this Sunday and Monday, July 3 and 4, and two nights of fireworks.

This weekend, Six Flags America, salutes the Armed Forces with the return of its popular Military Appreciation Days program. Active duty, retired, and disabled members of the US Armed Forces will receive free admission to Six Flags America on Sunday, July 3 and Monday, July 4, 2011. Eligible service personnel may show their military ID cards at Six Flags America ticket booths to receive a complimentary one-day admission to the park. Family members can receive special discounted admission by purchasing tickets at participating Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) offices or Information, Tickets, and Tours (ITT) offices throughout Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Northern Virginia.

Military Appreciation Days are just one part of a spectacular weekend that salutes the nation and provides added fun for every guest. On Sunday, July 3, pop-rock favorites The Downtown Fiction (Fairfax, VA) and Hotspur (Rockville, MD) rock out at Six Flags America’s GOTHAM Arena, beginning at 6:00 p.m., part of the STARBURST Summer Concert Series. The concert is FREE with admission to Six Flags America and preferred floor access is available online at sixflags.com/America. Additional musical performances, sponsored through Six Flags America’s Live & Local series, include appearances by Marcus Johnson on July 3 and Beyond the Veil on July 4.

Your day of thrills is capped off with brilliant fireworks and a “Salute-to-America” musical spectacular on Sunday, July 3 and Monday, July 4. Performances begin each night at dusk, overlooking Hurricane Bay wave pool in Hurricane Harbor water park. The performances are free with park admission.

Six Flags America is the region’s family fun headquarters and located just minutes from the DC Beltway at Exit 15-A. This giant theme park boasts more than 100 rides, games, shows, and family attractions, including seven world-class roller coasters, headlined by the three-star lineup: SUPERMAN: Ride of Steel, BATWING- Maryland’s first flying coaster- and Mind Eraser, and Hurricane Harbor, a FREE-with- admission water park. Hurricane Harbor is home to one of the world’s largest wave pools, and ZoomAzon Falls, a new thrilling body slide experience that zooms sliders through an Amazon rainforest.

Six Flags America opens each day at 10:30 a.m.; Hurricane Harbor opens at 11:00 a.m. For more information, please visit sixflags.com/America.

About Six Flags Entertainment Corporation:
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is the world’s largest regional theme park company with 2010 revenue of nearly $1.0 billion and 19 parks across the United States, Mexico and Canada. Six Flags Over Texas, the company’s flagship location, is celebrating its 50th anniversary season in 2011.

Two Nights of Fireworks Highlight Cedar Point’s 4th of July holiday Celebration

Judith Rubin
-
0


SANDUSKY, Ohio, June 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — To celebrate the Fourth of July holiday, Cedar Point will present eye-popping fireworks on two nights: Sunday, July 3 and Monday, July 4th.

The fireworks displays are scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. on both evenings.

During the holiday weekend, the Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park/resort will also be open later each evening so there will be even more time to enjoy the fun and festivities. On Sunday, July 3, Cedar Point will be open until 1 a.m. giving guests nearly three more hours to enjoy all the park’s rides and attractions after the fireworks display comes to a close. The park will also be open until 11 p.m. on Saturday, July 2 and Monday, July 4.

In addition to the fireworks displays, special entertainment, delicious meals and money-saving deals will also be available throughout the weekend.

Some of the special activities planned for the holiday weekend include:

Fourth of July Fireworks

  • On two nights, Sunday, July 3 and Monday, July 4, Cedar Point will set the sky ablaze with amazing colors and lights with their spectacular fireworks display beginning at 10 p.m. each night.
  • Presented by Zambelli Internationale, Inc., of New Castle, Pa., one of the oldest and largest companies in fireworks displays in the United States, the program is synchronized to patriotic music.

Salute to the Armed Forces
Cedar Point will salute members of the armed forces, Saturday through Monday, July 2-4. Any active, honorably-discharged or retired member of the military with a valid ID can receive one free regular admission ticket valid for one day during the holiday weekend. They may also purchase discounted tickets for members of their immediate family for only $37.99.

Special Entertainment
On Saturday, July 2, the Singing Angels, Cleveland’s world-famous children’s choir, will be performing by the fountain on the Main Midway. This non-profit coral youth group consists of 120 students who range in age from 8 to 18. They will be performing from 9:40 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Point Patrol Giveaways
For additional excitement, the park’s Point Patrol will be distributing prizes at select live shows from Friday through Monday. Giveaways will include prizes from Red Gold Ketchup, Toft’s Ice Cream and Johnsonville.

Great Eats
Back by popular demand will be the Johnsonville Big Taste Grill. From Friday through Monday, July 1-4, the world’s largest touring grill will be at Cedar Point cooking up Johnsonville bratwursts in front of the Dodgems from 11 a.m. to closing each day.

Hungry guests will also be able to enjoy a good-old-fashion all-you-can-eat picnic with broiled Johnsonville Brats, fried chicken, hot dogs, baked rigatoni, potato salad, baked beans, cookies, ice cream and ice-cold Pepsi beverages. Picnic at the Point will be served Saturday through Monday, July 2-4, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Coral Courtyard.

For more information about Cedar Point’s Fourth of July celebration, please log on to cedarpoint.com.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Lights up the Sky for Independence Day

Judith Rubin
-
0
Photo: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Busch Gardens invites guests to “Celebrate Independence Day with Fun, Fireworks and Live Entertainment”
 
TAMPA, Florida, USA – On July 2, 3 and 4th Busch Gardens Tampa Bay will illuminate the sky with a massive fireworks display at 9:30 p.m. The fireworks show will be visible from all over the park, but the best seats in the house are in Gwazi Park. 

The fireworks will be set off following the award-winning Kinetix show: an energizing 30-minute non-stop performance that includes live musicians, singers, dancer and artist from around the world. Their thrilling performance – along with modern music and fire effects – will pump up the crowd every night in Gwazi Park at 9 p.m. 

Magician Christopher Cool performs “Cool Allusions” street magic every Tuesday through Sunday during Summer Nights and will be making a special appearance on July 4. Stop by the Moroccan Village to check out what tricks Christopher Cool is up too.
 
Park hours for Summer Nights are extended until 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and ‘til 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Stay late to enjoy special entertainment such Kinetix and high-energy DJs, and ride all of Busch Gardens’ exciting attractions. And new this year, guests will have the chance to be launched through the dark of the Serengeti Plain on Busch Gardens’ newest roller coaster, Cheetah Hunt.

And right across the street, Adventure Island is open until 9 p.m. all summer long, with special entertainment and a taste of the islands every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night with Island Nights, now through August 13.
 
Busch Gardens’ Summer Nights and Adventure Island’s Island Nights are included with a day’s paid admission or any annual pass. For more information, visit BuschGardens.com, Adventureisland.com or call 1-888-800-5447

IAAPA reports successful Asian Attractions Expo 2011 in Singapore

Judith Rubin
-
0

Sold-out trade show floor and record participation in events and education program among highlights of “Asia’s premier attractions industry conference and exhibition”
 
A record-breaking trade show floor, sold-out special events, packed education sessions, and a strong turnout from serious buyers marked the continued growth and success of Asian Attractions Expo. The four-day conference and exhibition, owned by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), took place at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) in Singapore June 21-24.

Preliminary estimates indicate 4,900 people, including 3,500 buyers, participated in education programs and networking events, took behind-the-scenes tours of area attractions, and saw a variety of new products and services for the attractions industry on a sold-out trade show floor. Delegates from 46 nations around the globe participated in the event. Developers, owners, managers, and leaders from theme parks, waterparks, family entertainment centers, zoos, aquariums, museums, science centers, and resorts met with a record-breaking 236 companies from 30 countries at the Resorts World Convention Centre. The exhibits covered 4,461 net square meters of space.

IAAPA President and CEO Chip Cleary said he is pleased with this year’s event: “The growth of IAAPA’s Asian Attractions Expo mirrors the growth of the attractions industry in Asia. We look forward to continuing the trend as we take the Expo to Hong Kong in 2012.”

Andrew Lee, Executive Director for IAAPA’s Asia Pacific office in Hong Kong, shares Cleary’s optimism: “We’ve had a good show here in Singapore. We were very honored by the tremendous participation from exhibitors and buyers from throughout the Asia-Pacific region. As we continue to expand IAAPA’s operations in Asia Pacific, we look forward to additional growth for Asian Attractions Expo.”

Exhibitors say serious business took place on the trade show floor
“IAAPA Asian Attractions Expo again provided authentic, high-value leads, through a mutually beneficial and well thought platform for both exhibitors and buyers,” said Luke Riley with Australia-based attractions design firm, Sanderson Group International.

Junnie and Charles Sublett, owners of Mediak from New Albany, Indiana, United States, were visibly pleased with the buzz surrounding their photo personalized DVD product. “Last week we had 22 dealers around the world, but in these two days at this show alone, we have signed about 12 new deals,” said Charles Sublett, who summed up the response as “exceptional.” Junnie added she was impressed by the fact that the buyers came from different places throughout Asia and elsewhere including Czech Republic, Turkey, and Russia.

Oliver Vincent of Alterface, an interactive company from Belgium, gave the thumbs up to this year’s event. “We have good leads from this show,” he said, adding that Asia is the right market to target the growing industry.

Exhibitors Cosmic Animation Entertainment from Penang, Malaysia, showcased new products at the industry event. “We had better response this year in terms of sales query,” enthused company representative Lee Soo Lan. “Interested parties have come from Malaysia, Indonesia, India, the Philippines, China, Japan, even Russia and Spain,” she added.

Record turnout for education programs
Attendance at Expo education programs reached a record 1,280. Industry leaders participated in seminars and roundtable discussions on a variety of topics including: employee engagement, reducing attractions’ carbon footprint, family entertainment centers, reinventing attractions, marketing strategies, integrated resort development, and risk management.

A total of 205 delegates participated in the IAAPA Safety Institute to learn about best practices, safety standards, and government regulations in Singapore. More than 400 people attended Leadership Breakfast keynote presentations by Mario Mamon, President and Chairman, Enchanted Kingdom, in the Philippines, and Mike Barclay, CEO, Sentosa Leisure Group.

Other Asian Attractions Expo 2011 highlights


Asian Attractions Expo 2012 will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre June 5-8. More than 140 companies have already reserved 80 percent (3,700 net square meters) of the space available on the trade show floor. Information on the 2012 event will be available in the weeks ahead at www.IAAPA.org.

About IAAPA
The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) is the premier trade association for the attractions industry worldwide. Founded more than 90 years ago, IAAPA is the largest international trade association for permanently situated amusement facilities and attractions and is dedicated to the preservation and prosperity of the amusement industry. IAAPA represents more than 4,000 attraction, supplier, and individual members from more than 90 countries. The association’s global headquarters is in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. The association maintains regional offices in Brussels, Mexico City, and Hong Kong. 

Immersive digital cinema experiences advance at planetariums & science centers in Moscow, Chicago, Taipei, Peoria & San Diego: Interview with Martin Howe of Global Immersion

Judith Rubin
-
0
Martin Howe
Martin Howe, chief executive of UK-based Global Immersion, has many talents and more connections. I first met him at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium in July 2008 at the inaugural Fulldome Summit of IMERSA, a trade group devoted to promoting digital dome video (“fulldome”) and other immersive media formats. In a very short time, Martin, as IMERSA’s (volunteer) sponsorship chair, secured financial commitments from a number of institutions and industry suppliers to enable the young association to get off to a running start.
A convergence is taking place among the giant-screen cinema, digital video, planetarium and themed entertainment communities. Here, we look at several examples – new theaters and guest experiences at two of the world’s oldest and best-known planetariums, Chicago’s Adler Planetarium and Russia’s Moscow Planetarium – as well as the Taipei Astronomical Museum, the Peoria Riverfront Museum, and the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in San Diego. All these projects feature Global Immersion systems.
Later this year, Martin Howe will speak about the Adler Planetarium project on the panel “Digital Dome Stories,” at TEA’s SATE ’11 Orlando conference on Experience Design, Sept 22-23. I caught up with him for an interview shortly after his return from Moscow. – Judith Rubin, IPM co-editor
Moscow Planetarium. Photo: Global Immersion

Judith Rubin: You attended the June 12 re-opening of the Moscow Planetarium. It must have been a dramatic event after having been closed 17 years for a comprehensive redesign and upgrade.

Martin Howe: It was a big day for everybody. What had been a construction site for a long time was now immaculately clean. There were lots of TV and press, happy people, and happy customers. People have worked very hard to get this planetarium back on its feet.
The event was held to coincide with Russia Day, the national holiday of the Russia Federation. I was there helping to greet VIPs, who included Russian cosmonaut Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev and Professor Anatol Cherepashchuk, Director of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute, who was one of the main speakers.
Inside the theater at the Taipei Astronomical Museum. Photo: Global Immersion
The Planetarium had just received a new artifact, and it was sitting at the front door – a vintage Vosktok 3KA-2 space capsule that had flown unmanned 20 days before Yuri Gagarin’s historic 1961 launch. It seems that this test capsule carried a life-size mannequin nicknamed Ivan Ivanovich and a dog called Zvezdochka (“little star” in Russian), and, according to the Russian news service RIA Novosti, both the dog and the mannequin came back down safely… This historic spacecraft was recently auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York; a Russian businessman, Evgeny Yurchenko, bid nearly $2.9 million for it and generously donated it to the Planetarium.

The Planetarium is centrally located on one of the main ring roads in busy downtown Moscow not far from the Kremlin and Red Square, and next to the Moscow Zoo. This will put Russia back on the map for having a world class science center.

JR: Give us some details about the six projection systems in three theaters that Global Immersion provided and how they help to confer contemporary “world class” status on the updated Planetarium.
MH: They are by far the most comprehensive and powerful systems we’ve installed and they facilitate presenting a wide range of educational and entertaining content.
The mini-dome at the Moscow Planetarium. Photo: Global Immersion

First theater: The centerpiece venue is the Star Hall which features three digital display systems. As a 25 meter diameter planetarium, it’s said to be the biggest in Europe and can seat 364. The first integrated system is our Fidelity Bright™ and comprises 14 high resolution and brightness projectors. It is really punchy, bright, colorful and resolute, and ready to show almost anything – we even designed a custom lens to meet the client’s specifications. Also in the Star Hall is a giant-screen stereoscopic 3D theater display, and a panoramic multi-channel display that wraps around the dome periphery and works in synchronization with the new Zeiss starball projector. It’s effectively a planetarium system within a planetarium system.

The Grainger Sky Theater is the Adler’s third digital dome installation since the 1990s. Photo: Adler Planetarium
Second theater: In addition to the Star Hall, the facility’s new Space Center features a 47-seat, 4D theater integrated with our proprietary Intensity® multi-dimensional cinema experience which includes a whole range of effects from ticklers and motion to snow and scent. The third theater is a 4.6 meter mini-dome for in-house production testing and show programming for younger visitors. It has a serious amount of technology packed into it. We integrated LED and 3D fulldome projection systems, plus 11 custom motion seats from our Canadian motion seating partner, D-BOX.
The Star Hall at the Moscow Planetarium. Photo: Global Immersion.

All the theaters are joined across a 10 gigabyte digital backbone and linked to 96 terabytes of storage, a 240 cpu core render farm and a remote support system. It’s a robust system with a great deal of power and resources that will let them do pretty much whatever they want to do with room to expand. In the process of shipping, it was stopped at Russian customs and reclassified as a “supercomputer.”

JR: Yours is not the only company that’s been busy with new digital video installations in the planetarium and science center market. What are the factors that are prompting so many facilities to undertake these comprehensive projects?

MH: Partly because the technology is maturing. That’s not to say it’s mature; there are still many challenges that we have to overcome. But these high performance visual systems are now affordable, especially when compared to the technologies that preceded them, either film based or opto-mechanical – and of course these digital systems are also so much more powerful and flexible.

Space Portal leading to the Grainger Sky Theater. Photo: Adler Planetarium
JR: The Adler Planetarium was one of the first to install a permanent digital dome or “fulldome” theater in the 1990s, which it upgraded 3 years ago (the Definiti Space Theater on the lower level). That makes the Global Immersion system in the 21.6 meter diameter Grainger Sky Theater (opening to the public July 8) the third generation of digital dome video projection that Adler has adopted. What particularly distinguishes this new installation?
MH: The Grainger Sky Theater at the Adler stands out on two fronts: technology and visitor experience. Both reflect the client’s vision, as it emerged and was shaped during the concept stage and the ensuing design/build process.
We call it the “world’s first digital starball” because the upgrade included removing the old opto-mechanical starball and replacing it with our Fidelity Black 8K™ system, with a 20-channel hyper-array of  Zorro® projectors from Rockwell Collins in a custom configuration with custom-built lenses. It has enough contrast and resolution to compete with the contrast and clarity of a starball while providing all the advantages of digital. We believe the Grainger Sky Theater is now the highest resolution digital theater in the world. It’s not a stereoscopic system, but it feels very 3D with the configuration and the high contrast. There is a lot more to 3D than just stereovision – I’ve written a few papers on the subject. I like to think it sets a new benchmark in immersive theater layout and also a new standard in planetarium systems.
Deep Space Adventure. Photo: Adler Planetarium
The project realizes the vision of Adler president Dr. Paul Knappenberger for a new entry experience, designed to provide a transition from the outside world. The Adler has a truly wonderful collection of artifacts and the theater is there to get visitors in the right state of mind for exploration. It gives them inspiration and information to make decisions about what to do/see in the rest of their visit. Previously, visitors would come into the main hall where they would decide what to do/see, purchase tickets and make their way around the museum. The new entry experience, Deep Space Adventure, begins for all visitors in a welcome gallery, and then continues in the Grainger Sky Theater with the show “The Searcher.” There is also an updated ticketing system.
We and the other key players on the project – architect Wights of Chicago and Pacific Construction – challenged each other to come up with a building layout that would accommodate the client’s vision and a ticketing strategy that was appropriate, looking at visitor flow, visitor numbers and audience capacity.
The 4D theater at the Moscow Planetarium has 6-axis motion seats. Photo: Global Immersion.
JR: Was that the same starball for which the Adler had sought a Federal grant to replace, and which then-presidential candidate John McCain referred to as an “overhead projector”?
MH: Yes it was. I’d like to give him a tour of the universe with it one day.
JR: Please elaborate on how Global Immersion functioned as a design partner on the project.
Taipei Astronomical Museum dome theater. Photo: Global Immersion
MH: This was no cut-and-dried installation. We were involved from the early design stages. Global Immersion creative director Rick Rothschild, who is a former Disney creative executive, joined me on this project as he often does. He brings a wide range of creativity and knowledge of show production, and he’s also very good at how to incorporate technology inside a building structure. 
We looked at other projects around the world – we even took a client team to Disney parks for a couple of days to look at rides and experiences. Rick led a number of design charrettes – with the client team, with our team, with the architectural team and with the construction team – to explore what was possible, what the building could accommodate and what the client wanted to achieve. Rick and the client were able to sketch what that would look like; then we and the architects set about engineering it and working out how to configure the building to accommodate it and fit it into the budget. We used their vision to come up with specs and functionality requirements. It was a true team design/build effort.
JR: Tell us about Taipei and Peoria.
MH: Taipei Astronomical Museum opens to the public July 7. It is a straightforward project, with our standard Fidelity Black™ display, high performing video servers and 12 Zorro projectors in a conventional layout designed primarily for astronomy presentations. It’s an existing IMAX dome theatre, 25 meter diameter, 30 degree tilt, 330 seats. The superb black level and digital functionality of the new systems enable the client to dramatically expand their range of programming.

The installations at Taipei and the Peoria Riverfront Museum are both markers of the giant-screen cinema industry transitioning from film-based systems to digital – the “convergence.” Peoria will be a flat-screen, all-digital 3D theater with stadium seating and 4K projection on a 70’ x 52’ screen. Not very many years ago the operator would most likely have selected an IMAX film projection system. In fact they’ve had to field many questions from the community regarding the decision to go digital. Their choice is an affirmation of the high quality of projection that digital systems can now provide, plus it gives the museum a lot of freedom in terms of choosing content. Construction on the theater begins this summer.

JR: The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center is a very high profile example of the convergence: a giant-screen theater expanding its options by adding digital projection. In the 1970s it was the home of the first permanent IMAX dome installation. To upgrade the theater, Fleet director Dr. Jeffrey Kirsch conducted an exhaustive shopping trip that lasted for several years and was highly visible within the visitor attractions industry.
MH: It is a very exciting project that stands to set a new quality benchmark for digital dome video. The Fleet recently upgraded the screen [Spitz Nanoseam] and engaged Global Immersion to provide fulldome technology, working with Jeff Kirsch’s very experienced team of display technologists, staff and advisors. They will work with us on every component of the system from projectors to lenses, from servers to configuration to control software. For each and every component they are looking for the best possible performance and specifications within the budget. They’ve set very clear performance metrics and we are using our CAD modeling tools to accurately predict the performance of the theater and its systems, and enable us to go quickly from the design stage to the building process. They are putting us through our paces and we are on board with that: we want it to be the best.

The “digital starball” effect in the Grainger Sky Theater. Photo: Adler Planetarium.

Celebrating Independence Day at Kings Dominion

Judith Rubin
-
0
www.kingsdominion.com

DOSWELL, Virginia, USA June 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Kings Dominion will celebrate America’s Independence Day with three expanded installments of the nightly fireworks display, Night of Fire, on July 2, 3 and 4. Celebrating over 35 years of family fun and excitement, the Mid-Atlantic’s premier amusement park is proud to salute the ‘Stars and Stripes’ and everything they stand for!

To add to the weekend Kings Dominion is offering free admission to our Military personnel with the “Tribute to the Armed Forces” program. All active duty, retired and former members of the armed forces will receive free admission to Kings Dominion on Sunday July 3 and Monday July 4. Proper ID or discharge paperwork is required and family members can receive special discounted admission.

“Snoopy’s Starlight Spectacular,” a million dollar nighttime walk-through light and sound experience featuring Snoopy and the PEANUTS™ gang continues to light up the nights at Kings Dominion beginning at dusk around 8:45pm.

Designed using a dazzling mixture of low energy and high efficiency LED lighting, this immersive light and sound spectacular is located around the park’s Eiffel Tower, along the Center Walkway to The Grove area, and features more than 1.2 million LED lights. The colorful lights and spotlights adorn the Eiffel Tower and surrounding trees up to 80 feet in height. The entire experience is accented by vibrant animated and stationary light displays, vivid theatrical lighting and other cutting edge special effects, all orchestrated to a custom designed audio soundtrack.

Kings Dominion and Water Works waterpark are open daily until through September 5. Kings Dominion is a 400-acre amusement park and waterpark, that is home to over 60 total rides, slides, live shows and attractions. The park features one of the largest roller coaster collections on the East-Coast, with 15 World-Class scream-machines, two children’s areas, and Water Works, a 20-acre water playground. Kings Dominion is located at exit 98 on I-95, north of Richmond. For more information about Kings Dominion and complete operating hours, please visit www.KingsDominion.com.

Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (NYSE: “FUN”) is a publicly traded partnership headquartered in Sandusky, Ohio. The Company, which owns and operates 11 amusement parks, six outdoor water parks, one indoor water park and five hotels, is one of the largest regional amusement park operators in the world. Its parks are located in Ohio, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Missouri, Michigan, and Toronto, Ontario. Cedar Fair also operates the Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park in Gilroy, California under a management contract. Cedar Fair’s flagship park is Cedar Point.

Universal Studios Hollywood Dares Filmmakers to Submit Their Most Twisted Horror Short Films as Part of Annual "Halloween Horror Nights" Short Film Competition

Judith Rubin
-
0

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., June 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Universal Studios Hollywood(SM) invites aspiring filmmakers to compete in its annual “Halloween Horror Nights” short film competition, offering budding directors an opportunity to have their most disturbing horror short films judged by a panel of industry insiders, including horror film auteur Eli Roth, Daily Variety senior writer, Marc Graser and “Halloween Horror Nights” Creative Director John Murdy. The winning film will be awarded a premiere showing on Chiller, a posting on Syfy.com, a cash prize of $1,000, and a trip for two to “Halloween Horror Nights'” opening night “Eyegore Awards” at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Contest entries will be accepted from June 27 through August 1, 2011. Prospective filmmakers can submit short films from 90 seconds to three minutes in length on DVD (two copies of each film must be submitted). Films will be judged based on storytelling skill, originality and scare factor. The top 10 horror shorts, as determined by the panel, will be posted online at HalloweenHorrorNights.com from August 22 to September 9, 2011 for public voting. The winning film will be announced on September 12, 2011.

Eyegore Award recipient and horror filmmaker, Eli Roth said: “As a producer I’m always looking for new talent, and happy to help a first time director get their big break. New blood, so to speak, is vital for the continuation and growth of our beloved genre, and programs like this one can help deserving people get noticed. I am excited to see the competing films, and whoever makes me lose the most sleep will win.”

Returning film contest judge, Marc Graser, Daily Variety, said: “As a studio known for bringing the horror film genre to life, it’s a thrill to help Universal Studios identify the next generation of filmmakers that will scare audiences. I can’t wait to see who steps forward with their creepy visions this year.”

John Murdy, Creative Director, Universal Studios Hollywood, said: “Just as ‘Halloween Horror Nights’ interprets horror filmmakers’ visions into living horror movies for the most ardent fans, our film competition provides a platform for future horror film directors to showcase their work to an audience of influential entertainment industry professionals.”

Entries must be sent to: “Halloween Horror Nights” Short Film Competition, 100 Universal City Plaza, Building 5511-5, Universal City, CA 91608. Additional information on the contest, including a complete list of rules and regulations, is available online at the Halloween Horror Nights website.

Last year’s “Halloween Horror Nights” Eyegore Award recipient, Eli Roth is a renowned award-winning, horror-genre filmmaker and actor. His credits include “Cabin Fever,” “Hostel,” “Grindhouse,” “The Last Exorcism” and “Inglorious Basterds.” For the past 10 years, Marc Graser has been a reporter at Daily Variety covering the entertainment industry. John Murdy, Universal Studios Hollywood’s Creative Director, oversees the theme park’s attractions, including its very intense annual “Halloween Horror Nights” event.

Universal Studios Hollywood hosts the Eyegore Awards annually on opening night of the theme park’s popular “Halloween Horror Nights” event to honor individuals for their significant contributions to the horror film genre.

Universal Studios Hollywood is a unit of the Universal Parks & Resorts division of NBCUniversal. NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. Comcast Corporation owns a controlling 51% interest in NBCUniversal, with GE (NYSE: GE) holding a 49% stake.

Steve Thorburn is Named Educator of the Year by InfoComm International

Judith Rubin
-
0

Steve Thorburn is immediate past president of the Themed Entertainment Association. Congratulations on receiving this honor from InfoComm! — IPM editors

InfoComm International, the trade association serving the professional audiovisual and information communications industries, has named Steven J. Thorburn CTS-D, CTS-I, Educator of the Year, for his dedication to the education and training of the AV industry. The InfoComm International Educator of the Year award was created to recognize an individual who has made important contributions to the professional development, education, and training of the AV industry on AV topics and values.

Educator of the Year, Steve Thorburn is the cofounder and Director of Engineering at Thorburn Associates Inc. As an industry expert and thought leader of the AV industry, he has dedicated over 35,000 student hours in teaching acoustics and audiovisual technology. Since 1995, Steve has taught at least two or more courses annually at the InfoComm conference, developed and taught multi-day sessions under the original IPD program and co-taught sessions with fellow faculty members of the InfoComm Academy. Steve participated in the development of the CTS-Installation and CTS-Design curriculum courses, and designations which ultimately became industry standards. He is a member of the Senior Faculty for InfoComm Academy and was on InfoComm’s Install School Committee and Design School Committee. Active in the AV industry for over thirty years, Steve has volunteered his knowledge, energy, time, and passion to the AV industry and InfoComm.

What makes Steve Educator of the Year is his ability to teach acoustics and audiovisual system design with passion and clarity such that all of his students respect him as a knowledgeable presenter, bringing real world experiences to each session. Because Steve is such an organized, clear, and engaging teacher he has many repeat students attend his courses. Time and time again students say Steve is a well-respected, knowledgeable, technical and engaging teacher. His students call him, “a deep well of knowledge and a very good speaker that makes even the most complicated topics understandable.”

Steve is a dedicated designer and educator known for his valuable principals on acoustics and audiovisual technology, and he is honored to share it with the rest of the AV industry. Steve’s educational umbrella extends beyond InfoComm. He is also a writer and frequent presenter at industry conferences and educational seminars. Steve is constantly finding different outlets to share information regarding acoustics and audiovisual technology.

At InfoComm 2011 Steve Thorburn is teaching “Acoustics in Architecture,” on June 15th and “AV System Integration Issues for Owners/Facilities Managers,” on June 16th. In addition, he will be teaching a workshop on Planning for Technology on July 24th in National Harbor, Maryland, prior to the SCUP National Conference and again on October 17th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, prior to the EDUCAUSE National Conference. For more information see http://www.TA-Inc.com/planning.

About InfoComm International
InfoComm International® is the international trade association of the professional audiovisual and information communications industries. Established in 1939, InfoComm’s 5,000 members including manufacturers, systems integrators, dealers and distributors, independent consultants, programmers, rental and staging companies, end‐users and multimedia professionals from more than 80 countries. InfoComm International® is the leading resource for AV market research and news. Its training and education programs, along with its separately administered Certified Technology Specialist (CTS) and corporately administered Certified Audiovisual Solutions Provider (CAVSP) credentials, set a standard of excellence for AV professionals. InfoComm International is the founder of InfoComm, the largest annual conference and exhibition for AV buyers and sellers worldwide. InfoComm also co‐sponsors the Integrated Systems show in Europe and Russia and the InfoCommAsia shows InfoComm China, InfoComm India and InfoComm Asia. Visit http://www.infocomm.org.

About Thorburn Associates
Thorburn Associates Inc. (TA) is a professional service firm providing acoustical, technology and lighting design for commercial, corporate, leisure, residential, retail, and houses of worship. TA works in both new construction and renovations. TA is an independent consulting firm – not associated with the sale of any specific brand – offering unbiased designs to improve communication and fully realize the functionality of all projects.

Headquartered in Castro Valley, CA, with regional offices in Los Angeles, Orlando and Raleigh-Durham, NC, TA specializes in highly technological projects. Thorburn Associates has been recognized as one of the leading firms in the acoustical and audiovisual system design industry. In the course of 19 years in business, TA projects have received multiple awards, from the International Communications Industry Association (ICIA-InfoComm), the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA). Visit http://www.TA-Inc.com.

The Walt Disney Company Executives to Discuss Fiscal Third Quarter 2011 Financial Results via Webcast

Judith Rubin
-
0
BURBANK, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) will discuss third quarter 2011 financial results via a live audio Webcast beginning at 5:00 p.m. EDT / 2:00 p.m. PDT on Tuesday, August 9, 2011.

Results will be released at approximately 4:15 p.m. EDT / 1:15 p.m. PDT.

To listen to the Webcast, point your browser to www.disney.com/investors. The discussion will be available via re-play through August 23, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. EDT / 2:00 p.m. PDT.
1...1,0011,0021,003...1,093Page 1,002 of 1,093

InPark Magazine (IPM) covers the intersection of themed entertainment and technology. We specialize in creating custom-crafted content designed to appeal to the industry’s top designers, creators, developers, owners and operators.

Contact us: email
Read our privacy policy