Coney Events: Polar Bear Brunch Munch

Image courtesy of Coney Island USA

Stay warm and cozy after a Polar Bear dip of spectating this Sunday, January 31st at the Coney Island USA Freak Bar & Museum!

Coney Island USA brings you bagels, cream cheese, hot coffee, Coney delights and souvenirs:

Watch The Coney Island Polar Bears Swim at 1pm and then join them at Coney Island USA for brunch! Bagels, cream cheese, coffee, espresso and cappuccino available for purchase. Plus you can play some pinball, throw some quarters in our jukebox, visit our newly expanded gift shop, take home some of our special sale items and visit The Coney Island Museum! All at Coney Island USA!

Brunch With The Polar Bear Club
At the Freak Bar

This Sunday, January 31st
Live Music at the Freak Bar

from Cannonball (as seen at Ruby's Bar on the boardwalk)

from 1:30pm - 4:30pm
FREE!
located at 1208 Surf Avenue

Coney Events: Gone Country For Coney

Note: Blogger had a problem with links this morning. They will be corrected later today.

Mozy on over to the epicenter of Brooklyn for a knaying good time. And while you're at it help save the future of Coney Island's playground. The music is to include:

Animal Pharm (playing a country set!)
Central Valley Wildfire
Rob Hecht
Pinataland
Citigrass

Brought to you by the hard working folks who love and want to Save Coney Island:
And a special dance number to finish off the night!

It's sure to set your boots a-stompin' and your hips a-shakin'.

Plus: Raffle prizes and games to keep you entertained all evening long!
Plus: BBQ from Jake's to keep you satisfied!
Plus: Catch up on the latest from Save Coney Island and maybe even wrangle yourself one of our new-fangled buttons

Rope in your friends! Please FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO FIVE FRIENDS and bring three with you to the event! Word of mouth is the best way to get the word out. Let's pack the place!
$15 til 5pm (Early Birds)
$20 after 5pm (Slow Pokes)
All tickets sales go to support the cause of Restoring Coney Island as the Playground of the World!!!

All the info is here on their website.

Galapagos Art Space
16 Main Street at Water Street
Subway: A & C to High, F to York.
Click here for a Map to Galapagos.

Saddle up on Saturday and we'll see you there!

Coney Vid: Coney Afternoon

"CONEY ISLAND"


Posted by agut16 [YouTube]

It's Time For The Coney USA Gala 2010

From Coney Island USA:

CONEY ISLAND USA SPRING FUNDRAISING GALA!

Click image to enlarge

Please join us for the 6th annual Coney Island USA Spring Fundraising Gala. All proceeds go directly towards funding CIUSA’s many unique programs and the fight to save Coney Island’s amusement district.

Cocktails and Hors D’oeuvres will be served.

Festivities Include:
- The Cast of the Coney Island Circus Sideshow

- A Bevvy of Burlesque Beauties and Old Tyme Coney Cronies.
- A stellar silent auction of art and curiosities

- Get your portrait taken in the photo studio
- Plus much, much more...


General admission tickets $100 ($80 tax deductible)

VIP tickets $250 ($200 tax deductible) The VIP ticket experience includes access to a private seating area with table food and drink service, goodie bag and meet and greet with our performers!

The 2010 Coney Island USA Spring Fundraising Gala
Thursday March 25th 2010
7-11pm
M2 Ultra Lounge 530 West 28th Street
(btw 10th and 11th avenues)

Summer Of Zamperla For Carnival Coney

Thor Equities is no longer able to bring us shams like a squatted flea market which left its decaying skin behind to rot in the winter winds on the dirt lot it killed. The City has come in to save the summer...at least this summer...and with better carnival rides. Think of it, if you will, as a new version of Astroland. Though the nostalgia for Astroland will be missed it was time for something new. With Zampera, the winner of the RFP (Request for Proposals) to bring amusements to the City of New York (into the recently purchased 6.9 acres in Coney Island), we are promised lots of good quality generic carnival rides from this Italian amusement ride manufacturer.

Though this would help keep Coney alive, it still simply brings in rides people can ride anywhere else. I was on many Zamperla rides down in Miami's Santa's Enchanted Forest. Though these new generic rides would be un upgrade to Astroland's old rides, I took a nice short snooze on some of them. In fact, I've seen a bunch of Zamperla's rides in five fairs in South Florida during the winter months.

Santas Enchanted Forest



And in always knocking Thor Equities, I do reserve the jeers for their original ideas with Thinkwell back in 2007.


Excperpt from a KC post of June 27, 2007:

The presentation took us through many renderings and video clips of some of the new rides in action. At one of the forefronts, would be an emporium which will house a museum of Coney Island which will actually be a dark ride through the history of Coney Island. The emporium will be a greeting station and pit stop for all your needs from digital media gear and supplies, tickets to shows, strollers, etc. Down Stillwell Avenue will stand high, the Freakenspiele Tower (or Freak & Spiel) which pays homage to the Dreamland tower. The Freakenspiele will be a ride, launching passengers into the air at rocket speeds. Along Stillwell will be added attractions like stunt shows, street performers, and the indoor water park which seem to be a major staple in their plans.

One upgraded old ride would be the new Steeplechase ride which will be a morph between the Steeplechase horses and motorcylces. This would be a faster speed Steeplechase which would at one point go through the water park and then hover high over visitors.

This kind of thinking is more like what Coney needs, but done by professional amusement operators. With a contract to be signed between the city and Zamperla for up to ten years, and with this first step sounding like a temporary one for the next couple of summers, hopefully Zamperla will include, as their main attractions of the small Coney amusement core, some original thinking for the new Coney Island.

Flickr Convoy: Coney Creek Rusty Relics

Image courtesy of Barry Yanowitz / KC Flickr Convoy

The Coney Island which went through a cleaning about three years ago still houses a few old rusty relics which gives it it's mysterious character. I'd love to see a boat tour here where you guided through the creeks vast history while viewing some of its residents; like the yellow sunken submarine.

Join the Kinetic Carnival Flickr Group to add your Coney Island images and have them featured on this blog.

R.I.P. Coney's 104 Year Old Strongman

Joe Rollino, a 104-year-old former Coney Island strongman known as "Kid Dundee" during his old days of boxing could've made it longer if not for being the victim of being hit by a minivan in Brooklyn this week. The Great Joe Rollino was a long time resident of Coney Island and member of the Association of Oldetime Barbell and Strongmen as well as the Iceberg Athletic Club for many years and worked with Strongman Steve to raise funds for Camp Sunshine.
(Image courtesy of Charles Denson)

The wake will be waked at Torregerossa located at 1305 79th street in Brooklyn. The number is 718-232-8844. Days and time are Thursday and Friday from 2 to 5pm and from 7 to 10pm. The funeral will be at Saint Bernadettes located at 8201 13th avenue. The number is 718-837-3400. Day and time is on Saturday at 9:45am. According the Coney Island USA message board, there is also a memorial being planned for Sunday near Nathan’s Famouse on Surf Avenue in Coney Island. But details are still not known at this time.

In a rare interview with Coney Island History Project director Charles Denson, Rollino talks about his Coney Island memories where he knew Jimmy Durante and Houdini. Click here to listen to the interview.


At a Mighty 104, Gone While Still Going Strong [The NY Times]
Joe Rollino, Famed Coney Island strongman, 104 killed after minivan hit [NY Daily News]

Coney Vid: Icy But Beautiful

Coney Island

Description:
Coney Island icy but beautiful

Posted by stahlwerkstatt [YouTube]

May The Master Of Coney's Ruby Rest In Piece

Image courtesy of Rubys Host

A funeral observance will be held for Genniero a.k.a. the Master of Ruby's in Coney Island. The wake will be today, Monday, January 11th from 2 pm to 5 pm or 7pm to 9pm at the Coney Island Memorial Chapel . The chapel is located at 2009 Mermaid Avenue. (718) 373-0880. The burial is expected to be held tomorrow, Tuesday.

Diana Carlin a.k.a. Lola Staar had something nice to say about the Master:

The Master embodied the Coney Island of today. It will never be the same without the Master…. but the never ending Coney Island party goes on and the laughter and energy that the Master shared with us will always radiate from the Coney Island Boardwalk.

Off Coney Topic: Evolving Blogosphere

What happened to the Gowanus Lounge blog?

Ever since Gowanus Lounge founder/blogger Robert Guskind died, things in the then still new blogosphere began to change. Many blogs have come and gone. Others have lingered but not disappeared. And most have acquired new looks - like Only The Blog Knows Brooklyn. But upon going back to look some past Coney Island information, to my surprise the Gowanus Lounge blog has been replaced with a new one. No information on who's running it and NO ARCHIVES! What happened? Since Gowanus Lounge was one of the most read blogs that means so many links are now linkless. Unless, the archives are hidden somewhere on the new blog it surely is a big loss. A click to their archives brings you nowhere. Let's hope Guskind's laborious work has not been permanently deleted.


One note: It's nice Only The Blog Knows Brooklyn has included the Wonder Wheel in part of their new header. Though, their search box is not to be found either. Also, in their 'best of' it would've been nice for a nod or mention to have gone to the wonderful Amusing the Zillion blog. Which does a superbly fantastic job in their Coney coverage with great writing and amazing pictures.

Coney Events: Coney Island Now, Then & Forever

(Click image for full poster)

A historic puppetry musical mayem spectacle to unfold in Brooklyn.

Come experience the thrill of Coney Island and the pleasure of Victorian Toy Theater with Magic, Music and Mermaids on a winter afternoon in the warm and cozy Historic Chapel at Green-Wood!

Coney Island–Now, Then & Forever, is an exciting multi-media show that celebrates the history and legends of Coney Island here at Green-Wood. Combining music, Victorian Mermaids, hand-carved marionettes and storytelling, these shows will bring life and depth to many of Coney’s legendary showmen

We're working with the brilliant Theresa Linnihan, director of The Puppeteer's Cooperative and this show will take place over three weekends at the lovely and cozy Green-Wood Chapel (history is everywhere here...the Chapel was built in 1911 by the same firm that built New York's Grand Central Station and that's the same year the bell plunged into the water", says Gene Ritter, diver who found the Dreamland Pier Bell and who will have the bell as part of this wonderful event.

Coney Island Now, Then & Forever
Saturdays: January 9, 16, 23
Sundays: January 10, 17, 24
Two performances each day: 1:00PM & 3:00PM
at a National historic landmark–Est. 1838
Main entrance is located at 500 25th Street (on 5th Avenue) in Brooklyn.
For more info, call 718.768.7300 or visit on-line at greenwoodcemetery.org

Happy New Year 2010 From Kinetic Carnival