Volume 3, No. 9. May 9, 2003
The Rye time
Timing couldn’t be worse. When you are a government-funded park, as is
Playland Park in Rye, New York, which is part of the Westchester County Department
of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, these days of constricted government
coffers can restrict your ability to run your operation, let alone make improvements.
Timing couldn’t be better. When you are turning 75 years old, as is Rye
Playland, you have a perfect fundraising medium available to you.
Rye Playland is taking advantage of its 75th season, which opens tomorrow, to
raise money that will supplement entertainment activities in the park, said
Peter Tartaglia, the Playland’s director of marketing. “We have a
new stage this season that will be ready in June, and we plan on doing more
concerts and more concerts of higher caliber,” he said. As part of its
yearlong anniversary celebration, the park also will hire actors to dress in
1920s costumes and work as greeters at the park’s most historic rides,
the Dragon Coaster, Carousel, Derby Racer, Old Mill and the Whip.
Working through the Friends of Parks, Recreation and Conservation in Westchester,
Inc., Rye Playland is engaging in a number of fundraising activities throughout
the season. The most elaborate took place Wednesday evening, a dinner gala at
the Westchester County Center. With prices ranging from $4,000 to $10,000 per
table (seating 10 each) or $350 per individual reservation, the gala attracted
170 people Tartaglia said. The evening included a silent auction and the opportunity
for patrons to purchase ads in the gala journal. Tartaglia did not yet know
the final tally.
The park also is offering The Walk of Fame for which corporations, families
and individuals can purchase a 6-by-8-inch (15-by-20 centimeter) brick etched
with their name or logo. “The Walk of Fame is something we’re going
to keep open to the public for the entire season; when we have enough bricks
we’ll install one section,” Tartaglia said. “We think that will
be very successful once the crowds start coming.”
This is the first time in memory the venerable park has engaged in any fund
raising efforts for itself, Tartaglia said, but the occasion of the 75th anniversary
presented an ideal opportunity. “Our budgets come from Westchester County,
and we are receiving similar funding this year to what we received last year,”
but that makes for shortfalls due to rising energy and insurance costs. “We
needed more to supplement our offerings. And (the fund raising campaign) is
a good way to bring attention to the 75th anniversary.”
What timing.
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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