Volume 3, No. 10. May 23, 2003
Coaster Con XXVI Preview
The
pros of Cons
All along, the American Coaster Enthusiasts’ primary mission has been to
save classic old roller coasters threatened with demolition. The founding members—brought
together and bonding to participate in a coaster-riding marathon on Kings Dominion’s
Rebel Yell as a publicity stunt for the Hollywood thriller Roller
Coaster—saw the media attention their continuous riding drew and figured
they could turn that limelight into a means of garnering publicity for some
of their other favorite rides on the chopping block. The next year, the fledgling
club conducted it’s first convention, Coaster Con I, at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
to help that park celebrate the opening of its first steel looping coaster Loch
Ness Monster.
ACE returns next month to its birthplace and first home, Paramount’s Kings
Dominion and Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The 25 intervening years have seen
ACE grow into a mature organization with a personality largely determined by
those first two events. The club is all about riding coasters, it’s about
the fun and fellowship of people sharing a hobby, it’s about drumming up
publicity for the amusement industry, it’s about celebrating new innovations
at parks. And it’s still about saving and honoring classic coasters.
The past will be, naturally, the overriding theme of this year’s Coaster
Con, which concludes the club’s yearlong 25th anniversary celebration.
The convention will open at Busch Gardens with a panel discussion featuring
ACE’s founding members and presidents. ACE historic markers will be ceremonially
placed at Loch Ness Monster and Rebel Yell. What likely will be
one of the week’s most poignant moments will also occur at Rebel Yell,
a memorial service and a reading of the names for deceased ACE members officiated
by Cliff Herring, long-time ACE member and pastor of St. John’s United
Church of Christ in Northampton, Pennsylvania.
The future will be addressed at this year’s convention, as well. At the
top of the business meeting’s agenda is the association’s hiring of
a new management firm, and the ongoing efforts to build a Roller Coaster Museum
and Archive likely will dominate discussions.
While dwelling on the past and determining its future, the Coaster Con participants
will do what they always seem to do best: have fun in the here and now. Previous
hosts to Coaster Cons seem to be re-energized when the ACErs come calling, capturing
much of that big E word of the club’s acronymic name. This year’s
host parks are looking to not only capture that enthusiasm, but generate some,
too.
“Paramount Parks has had a wonderful relationship with the American Coaster
Enthusiasts,” said Mark Riddell, public relations manager at Paramount’s
King’s Dominion. “That’s why we want to make this event more
of a Paramount Parks thank you.” Said Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s
Public Relations Manager Cindy Sarko: “We’re looking forward to the
event. We’re looking forward to a lot of screaming and a lot of smiles
and looking forward to the next 25 years in a partnership with ACE.”
THE LOOP is written and produced by Eric Minton, Minton Enterprises, LLC. To see more examples of Eric Minton's work and Minton Enterprises services, visit www.ericminton.com.
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