News Archive: January 2010

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Sunday, 24 January 2010

Conference on amusement park history announced
This year's Institute for Archaeologists Conference will feature an entire morning session devoted to amusement park heritage, and Dreamland will feature heavily. Hosted by Jason Wood, who has provided heritage advice to The Dreamland Trust for a number of years, the session is called 'Fairgrounds for Debate: celebrating the heritage of amusement parks' and will run from 9.45 to 12.45 on Thursday 15 April at the Southport Theatre & Convention Centre at Southport, Merseyside.

Six speakers will be talking on various aspects of the history and heritage of amusement parks, from their early twentieth-century origins to the demise of many in the early twenty-first century.

The speakers and their subjects are:

Opening remarks
Jason Wood, Heritage Consultancy Services

The rise of the seaside amusement park: international perspectives
John K Walton, University of the Basque Country

‘A fortune in a thrill!’ Early amusement parks in Britain
Josie Kane, University of Westminster

Battersea Park: plans to build, plans to forget
Ian Trowell, University of Sheffield

Last night of the fair: heritage, culture and closure of Southport’s Pleasureland
Anya Chapman, Liverpool Hope University

Delivering the dream: saving Britain's amusement park heritage and the reawakening of Margate's Dreamland
Nick Laister, RPS Planning and Development & The Dreamland Trust

Places can be booked online and, although the conference runs for three days, it is possible to book for the Thursday only. Click here for more details of the morning amusement parks session ('Fairgrounds for Debate' features on Thursday 15 April). IfA Conference website

Saturday, 16 January 2010

Coast magazine highlights Dreamland
The February issue of Coast magazine features Dreamland prominently, as the first in a new series called 'Save Our Seaside'. The Editor's message on Page 7 explains: "...this month we are launching our Save Our Seaside campaign (or SOS for short) to highlight the plight of coastal buildings that have fallen on hard times. The campaign starts on page 20, with the inspiring story of Margate's Dreamland pleasure park, rescued by campaigners. They've proved that grass roots lobbying can change things for the better. Let's see what difference we can make."

"CASE ONE: Dreamland, Margate" is on pages 20 and 21, where architectural historian Allan Brodie starts the series with "the makings of a success story" as he briefly sets out the history of Dreamland, bringing it right up-to-date with the park's closure and Scenic Railway fire. The article states:

"Work is about to begin on the creation of the world's first heritage amusement park, due to open in 2012. Thirteen vintage rides have been collected and there are plans to obtain another 15." Magazine website

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