Torrance, Calif. USA, 23 March 2009 – Wildfire, Inc., the industry leader in UV (aka ultraviolet or “black light”) effects, fixtures and products, announced an exclusive sales and product development agreement with Modern Masters, a leader in the decorative paint market and subsidiary of Rust-Oleum.

Effective immediately, Modern Masters will take charge of all wholesale sales and distribution of Wildfire brand paint products. The arrangement enables Wildfire and Modern Masters to combine their resources to roll out new Wildfire products, improve existing products and increase their availability to customers. Wildfire will announce two new product lines within the next few months.

“We are very pleased to announce this agreement with Modern Masters,” said Wildfire president John Berardi. “We have partnered with Modern Masters in a variety of ways over the past 18 years. We take this next step knowing that Modern Masters understands our markets as well as our paint products. Modern Masters has the foundation and global resources of its well-known parent company, yet is still run by the family that originally founded it, which allows them to provide the same high-quality, attentive and efficient customer service that Wildfire customers know and expect from us.”

“Modern Masters is totally committed to the amusement park and themed entertainment communities,” exclaimed Jim Rogers, vice president of Modern Masters. “Wildfire paints are a perfect compliment to our existing product lines, including Modern Masters Theme Paint. We look forward to working with Wildfire on developing more innovative and exciting products for these industries.”

The Wildfire team at Modern Masters includes Russell Brasher, Global Sales Manager; Neil Cody, North Eastern Regional Manager; Diana Sartor, Western Regional Manager; Mark Mattei, Mid South Regional Manager; Scott Hutchinson, Southern Regional Sales Manager; Blanca Lopez, Customer Service Supervisor; Sulie Soto, Customer Service Representative; Joe Saenz, Technical Support/Studio Manager; and Joe Saenz, Technical Support/Studio Manager.

This quite easily has been the best and most amusing story to come out of the aquarium world for quite some time.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-octopus27-2009feb27,0,3764268.story

This quite easily has been the best and most amusing story to come out of the aquarium world for quite some time.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-octopus27-2009feb27,0,3764268.story

“Connecting with client decision-makers should be a top priority for every firm hoping to succeed in the coming months,”says Steven J. Thorburn, president of the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA). “In the case of the visitor attractions industry, the TEA Summit and TEA’s Thea Awards Gala are two of the top networking events of the year – one educational and the other celebratory – March 6-7 at the Disneyland Hotel. If you want to know your industry and the people in it, if you want to receive project information and referrals, we say, ‘Get out there and network!’”

TEA website: www.teaconnect.org.
Tickets for both events: http://www.teaconnect.org/boxoffice_2008-12.php
or call 818-843-8497.

2009 TEA Summit, March 6 & 7, Disneyland Hotel
The 2009 TEA Summit is a TEA members’ 2-day international think-tank for the attractions industry, held March 6 & 7 at the Disneyland Hotel. Sessions are geared to identify markers of success in business and project creation, this year stressing simple survival. The keynote is “Business Survival in a Challenging Economy,” presented by Barbara Lewis, president of Centurion Consulting Group. Advance tickets are necessary for the Summit; seating is limited.

Tickets: http://www.teaconnect.org/boxoffice_2008-12.php
or call 818-843-8497.

The Summit schedule also includes “Emerging Opportunities in a Post-Recession Entertainment Landscape,” with Michael S. Rubin, Ph.D., MRA International, “Built to Last, How Three Companies Have Withstood the Test of Time,” a discussion with Monty Lunde (Technifex), Jack Rouse (Jack Rouse Associates) and Julie Brinkerhoff-Jacobs (Lifescapes International). In the session “So What Now?” economic analysts John Robinett (Economics Research Associates) and Dave Schmitt (Management Resources) look at the future business landscape in the UAE, India, China, Europe and North America. “Celebrating the Magic of Placemaking” will feature Robert L. Ward, recipient of this year’s Thea Award for Lifetime Achievement, and Norm Newberry, who both played major roles shaping Universal Studios parks, resorts and entertainment properties.

“Project Case Studies” will focus on several current Thea Award recipients, including the 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremonies, Jungala at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Florida, The Newseum, the National Museum of the Marine Corps, Operation Spy, an Interactive Adventure at the International Spy Museum, and the Audubon Insectarium.

15th Annual Thea Awards Gala, March 7, Disneyland Hotel
The 15th Annual Thea Awards Gala, open to the public, celebrates excellence in the creation of compelling experiences and places with a gala black-tie dinner and awards ceremony, sponsored by Economics Research Associates (ERA). Truly international in their recognition of outstanding productions, the Awards will be formally presented the evening of March 7, 2009 in the Grand Ballroom of the Disneyland Hotel.

Tickets: http://www.teaconnect.org/boxoffice_2008-12.php
or call 818-843-8497.

“Because the Thea Awards Gala is open to the public, it is an ideal ice-breaker for newcomers to our industry and our association,” says TEA executive director Gene Jeffers. “In this most challenging year, the Thea Awards are are a vital, international opportunity to network – to renew old acquaintances, meet new contacts, and to be seen by our industry’s top people and decision-makers.”

The Awards stand as an important acknowledgement of the outstanding achievements of the international attractions industry. The Thea Awards Nominating Committee evaluated more than 120 nominations in order to recommend the current slate of 17 Thea recipients for the prestigious award, with final approval by the TEA International Board of Directors.

Like the TEA, the Thea Awards, sponsored by Economics Research Associates, were created to bring recognition to achievement, talent and personal excellence within the themed entertainment industry. From a modest beginning in 1994, the Thea Awards have become internationally recognized as a symbol of excellence. The name of the award is a play on three words: the first is “Thea,” the Greek goddess from whom all light emanates. Thea was the mother of Helios (the sun), Eos (the dawn), and Selene (the moon). The second key word is “Theater,” a word derived from the goddess Thea. The third word, of course, is TEA, the name of our association.

Recipients – 15th Annual Thea Awards
Thea Lifetime Achievement Award: Robert L. Ward
Thea Classic Award: EPCOT, Walt Disney World, Orlando, FL

Thea Awards for Outstanding Achievement (AOA)
Attraction: The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood
Attraction Limited Budget: BeWILDerwood (Norwich, UK)
Attraction Limited Budget: Molenheide The Forgotten Mine (Molenheide, Belgium)
Museum: The Newseum (Washington DC, USA)
Museum: National Museum of the Marine Corps (Quantico, VA, USA)
Museum Exhibit: Operation Spy, an Interactive Adventure at the International Spy Museum, (Washington DC, USA)
Museum Exhibit, Limited Budget: Forces of Nature at Arizona Science Center (Phoenix AZ, USA)
Learning Experience: Air Force One Discovery Center at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library (Simi Valley CA, USA)
Technical: Muppet Mobile Lab (Hong Kong Disneyland, China)
Science Center: Audubon Insectarium (New Orleans LA, USA)
New Theme Park Land: Jungala at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Florida
Event Spectacular: 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremonies (Beijing, China)
Live Show: Finding Nemo The Musical (Walt Disney World, FL, USA)
Live Show: The Legend of Mythica, Tokyo DisneySeas, Japan
Casino Attraction: Wynn Macau’s Tree of Prosperity, Macau, SAR, China

A layout unique to Jeffersonian courtrooms posed interesting design challenges to audiovisual and acoustic engineers Thorburn Associates, Inc. in the restoration/expansion of the Madison County Courthouse in Madison, Virginia, which houses the Madison Circuit Court of the state’s 16th Judicial Circuit. The project is slated for completion around the end of the year.

“Like most of the judicial facilities our company has designed for, the Madison County Courthouse called for a combination of sound recording, sound reinforcement, and video display,” says Thorburn Associates’ Senior Consultant Lance Sturdevant, CTS-D. “But the layout of the main courtroom here is quite different from what people generally expect. The jury box is located directly in front of the judge’s bench facing into the room, and the witness stands at a podium facing the judge and jury (instead of sitting to the judge’s left). Hiding the audio system components in this space was relatively simple, but video systems presented a special challenge.”

“The sightlines for projectors or other visual aids presented some unique circumstances to design around,” concurs Eric W. Amtmann, AIA, partner with Dalgliesh Gilpin Paxton, PLLC Architects, which brought Thorburn Associates onto the project. “The boilerplate solution for a courtroom didn’t fit. This is Thomas Jefferson’s courtroom layout and you only find it in Virginia.”

Thorburn Associates’ design locates microphones for recording and speech reinforcement at the normal positions (judge, witness and counsel tables). As in all courtrooms, attorneys occasionally get up and address the jury directly. Small, surface-mounted microphones will be mounted in the railing in front of the jury box to pick up the voices of these wandering attorneys. The ability to record court sessions is also provided, via an automatic microphone mixer/DSP (digital signal processor) plus a wall-mounted audio connector.

For the video display, small, individual monitors were considered but would have cluttered the “old world” look of the Jeffersonian design. Two large, wall-mounted, flat panel displays were also proposed, but one would have blocked a new window that the architect had carefully placed near the front of the room. Thorburn Associates’ ultimate design solution was a large, fixed wall-mounted projection screen at one side of the room, and a wall-mounted video projector on the opposite wall, providing very good sightlines for judge, jury and counsel tables, and for most observers in the gallery. A 23-foot high ceiling prevented a more typical, ceiling-mounted, recessed motorized projection screen.

Now under construction, the finished project will add a total 15,020 square feet to the facility’s core 3,260 square feet. Thorburn Associates provided audiovisual and acoustical design for the new construction spaces as well.

“The court needs to be able to conduct proceedings that are undisturbed by noise outside of the room, and have good audio intelligibility within the room,” notes Amtmann. Thorburn Associates’ design includes ADA hearing assist systems and sound-dampening material that simulates the look of a plaster ceiling, plus suggestions for mounting equipment and insulating ductwork. Thorburn Associates will oversee and approve the installation of these systems when they take place near the end of the construction phase.

“Thorburn Associates was very adept at meeting our particular design needs on this unique and challenging project,” testifies Amtmann. “There are all kinds of things you encounter in an historic courtroom project and you need to do things in a sensitive way. They were successful in that, proposing various options for how to make things work. They were good at staying within the budget, too: We had a contract and they followed it.”

“This has been a remarkable project and we look forward to seeing the finished result,” says Thorburn Associates Principal Steven J. Thorburn, PE, CTS-D, CTS-I. “As audiovisual technology system consultants, we often have to wait two or three years for our designs to come to fruition. We believe that this particular courtroom project will be worth the wait.”

For the past several years, I have gathered a group of friends and, in the dead of winter, trekked up to Warrens, Wisconsin for a weekend at the Three Bears Resort and Waterpark. Their comfy cabins and fun indoor waterpark (designed by Ramaker & Associates) always made for a relaxing weekend. We particularly enjoyed sitting in the outdoor hot tub while icicles formed on our hair and eyebrows. It certainly made for great memories.

But in September of this year, the resort closed, and its future remains uncertain. Admittedly, the destination is quite literally in the middle of just about nowhere, but it was attached to a very successful campground that had flourished for years. Although new owners are being sought at this very moment, one has to wonder if the indoor waterpark bubble has burst, or at least started to deflate a bit.

Full story here: http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2009/01/08/news/z00jellystone0108.txt

SCS Interactive, in its on-going relationship with Wilderness Resorts, has created a dynamic waterplay structure at the recently opened Wild WaterDome
indoor waterpark at the Wilderness at the Smokies Resort.

The SCS structure that is featured in Wild WaterDome is a customized attraction called, “Washout Mountain” The wilderness themed structure integrates perfectly with the rest of the waterpark and its wide variety of interactives allows for a new experience each time you enter the structure.

“Washout Mountain is an asset to the park because it appeals to guests of all ages. The entire family can enjoy themselves as they climb in and around the structure and since this structure is in our indoor park, this attraction will draw people all year, no matter the weather.” says Joe Eck, director of sales and marketing for Wilderness Resort.

The structure has 10 climbable decks and two slides and is topped with a memorable 752 gallon tipping bucket that continually draws in a crowd. Come ready to get wet!

“It is always a pleasure working with Wilderness Resorts and this latest SCS attraction is sure to add an extra element of interactivity to the Wild WaterDome. SCS is happy to continually be able to provide Wilderness Resorts with great family attractions and we look forward to working with them again in the near future.” stated Bryan Merritt, president of SCS Interactive.

SCS partnered with the slide manufacturer, ProSlide, to complete this structure and worked with Aquatic Development Group, the park designers, to integrate its custom-themed waterfort with the resort’s overall theme. Other attractions at Wild WaterDome are; a see-through roof that allows for year-round tanning, a wave pool where you can ride the swelling waves in your Wilderness tube and the Smokies surf ride which combines the thrills and skills of surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding all in a wet, wild and (best of all) safe environment.

Resorts World at Sentosa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Genting International P.L.C., has announced that Premier Rides, Inc. has been awarded the contract to build the ride equipment for The Revenge of The MummyTM attraction at Universal Studios Singapore, which is presently under construction. The award, one of the largest ride contracts associated with the new theme park project, has a contract value of over $20 million USD. The Revenge of the MummyTM is one of Universal’s signature ride attractions having already debuted at Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood.

Genting International is building a world class gaming and destination resort on Sentosa Island, Singapore and Universal Studios Singapore will be a key element of the development. Mr. Tan Hee Teck, CEO of Resorts World Sentosa said, “We are excited to have Premier as one of our key suppliers. Their experience on this attraction will ensure a successful opening of the ride.” Jim Seay, President of Premier Rides, adds, “Genting International is one of the most highly regarded companies in Asia in multiple fields, including entertainment, and it is an honor for Premier to have been selected to provide the equipment for such a prestigious project. We look forward to teaming with Genting International on this amazing rideattraction and look forward to its success.”

“The Revenge of the MummyTM is consistently recognized as one of the top attractions at both Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood and we look forward to guests of Universal Studios Singapore being able to experience this one of a kind attraction,” Mr. Seay said. Premier was the supplier of the ride equipment for both the Universal Studios’ installations in the United States.

Universal Studios Singapore is scheduled to open at the end of 2009.

For nearly all of his adult life, Jim Yellig was known as “Santa” at Santa Claus Land (now Holiday World) in Santa Claus, IN and in parades and appearances around the country including television’s What’s My Line and To Tell the Truth and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Santa Jim’s daughter, Pat Koch, opened the Santa Claus Museum in 2006 to celebrate all things Santa. A year later, she and the museum staff began an effort to create an exhibit to honor her father and his contribution to the world of Santa. The Weber Group was commissioned to design and build the new exhibit which features a life-size recreation of Santa Jim, dressed in his original Santa suit, yak fur beard, and trademark holly leaf belt buckle. It also includes the original oil on canvas 15 foot wide by 9 foot tall mural from 1959 commissioned by the park by California artist Lee Sorenson. The permanent exhibit’s opening is timed to celebrate Santa Claus’s annual festival which will be held December 12 and 13, 2008.