Lost Parks Featured in the Santa Cruz Sentinel

Santa’s Village continues to bring in the press coverage! Today, we’re featured in the Sunday Santa Cruz Sentinel!
Not exactly sure WHEN I changed my last name to Rowland, however…
For those of you who don’t get the paper, you can read the article online, here:
December 29, 2013 | Categories: Lost Parks, Television Production | Tags: ACE, american coaster enthusiasts, amusement park, amusement parks, defunct parks, great american thrills, host, Huell Howser, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, lost parks, lost parks of northern california, new show concept, new talent, nicholas laschkewitsch, Nor Cal, norcal, press coverage, roller coaster, santa cruz sentinel, santa's village, scotts valley, the next huell howser, theme park, theme parks, travel, travel host, urban exploring | Comments Off on Lost Parks Featured in the Santa Cruz Sentinel
KION Central Coast News Features “Lost Parks of Northern California”
Not even a day after our story aired on KSBW – leading off the newscast, no less – KION Central Coast News got in on the “Lost Parks” action, with their own report!
Special thanks to reporter Cassandra Arsenault for coming out and recording us! (And for nerding out briefly on Boston area amusement parks, too!)
On a side note – what is it about Boston area-born reporters and the Bay Area? That’s two now!
Second side note – we’re filmmakers – someone reported it – so it’s official!!!
Jump to the story by clicking the link, below:
December 27, 2013 | Categories: Lost Parks, Television Production | Tags: ACE, ace nor cal, american coaster enthusiasts, amusement park, California, Cassandra Arsenault, central coast, defunct park, defunct parks, del holland, documentary, great american thrills, history, Huell Howser, KION, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, KSBW, lost parks, lost parks of northern california, media coverage, new host, new show concept, news, nicholas laschkewitsch, Nor Cal, norcal, santa's village, scotts valley, the next huell howser, theme park, travel, urban exploring, walt disney | Comments Off on KION Central Coast News Features “Lost Parks of Northern California”
Lost Parks Featured on KSBW Action News!
Chalk another news outlet onto the list that’s discovered the charm and passion of the “Lost Parks of Northern California” series…KSBW Central Coast News led their newscast with a story on our project!
Check out the the video, by clicking the link, here:
December 26, 2013 | Categories: Lost Parks, Television Production | Tags: ACE, ace nor cal, american coaster enthusiasts, amusement park, California, central coast, defunct park, defunct parks, del holland, documentary, great american thrills, history, Huell Howser, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, KSBW, lost parks, lost parks of northern california, media coverage, new host, new show concept, nicholas laschkewitsch, Nor Cal, norcal, santa's village, scotts valley, the next huell howser, theme park, travel, urban exploring, walt disney | Comments Off on Lost Parks Featured on KSBW Action News!
Santa’s Village Lost Parks Episode Now Available!

We decided to let you open one of your gifts a bit early – and we really hope you don’t return it to the store after the holidays…
Be sure to like, comment and SHARE this video with all your friends and family; it’s time to go back and re-discover SANTA’S VILLAGE of Scotts Valley! (Just click the link below to take you to the video page):
Santa’s Village – The Lost Parks of Northern California
December 23, 2013 | Categories: Amusement Parks, Lost Parks, Television Production, Theme Parks | Tags: amusement park, amusement park review, California, dundee, great american thrills, Huell Howser, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, lake arrowhead, lost parks #lostparks lost parks of northern california, new show concept, new show idea, Nor Cal, norcal, santa's village, scotts valley, theme park, theme park review, urban exploring | Comments Off on Santa’s Village Lost Parks Episode Now Available!
Featured in the San Jose Mercury News!
Big thanks to Mike Cassidy, who wrote a wonderful column (in the business section, no less!) about how we use technology to save parks that have been lost to the sands of time!
Read the full article, here:
December 13, 2013 | Categories: Amusement Parks | Tags: ACE, american coaster enthusiasts, amusement park, amusement parks, bang, bay area news group, defunct parks, great american thrills, host, Huell Howser, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, lost parks, lost parks of northern california, mercury news, mike cassidy, new show concept, new talent, nicholas laschkewitsch, Nor Cal, norcal, press coverage, roller coaster, santa's village, scotts valley, the next huell howser, theme park, theme parks, travel, travel host, urban exploring | Comments Off on Featured in the San Jose Mercury News!
Former Santa’s Village Theme Park Site A Tempting Location for Silicon Valley?

It’s been tried before, but will this be the project that finally replaces the empty space left by the Santa’s Village site in Scotts Valley?
You can read the whole article from our friend Nate Donato Weinstein in the Silicon Valley Business Journal, here:
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/11/23/new-owner-of-borland-campus-to-seek.html
December 12, 2013 | Categories: Lost Parks | Tags: borland, borland international, development, great american thrills, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, lost parks, redevelopment, santa's village, scotts valley, silicon valley, silicon valley business journal | Comments Off on Former Santa’s Village Theme Park Site A Tempting Location for Silicon Valley?
Lost Parks of Northern California – Santa’s Village Preview

Have you been naughty, or nice so far this holiday season? Either way – we’re happy to release a preview to our Santa’s Village episode of the Lost Parks of Northern California!
Find out how eating at McDonald’s may connect you to the park – in addition to the many pieces of Santa’s Village strewn throughout Northern California!
Stay tuned here to Great American Thrills for the latest updates, including a release date!
December 11, 2013 | Categories: Lost Parks, Television Production | Tags: #lostparks, ACE, american coaster enthusuasts, amusement park review, borland international, California, great american thrills, history, Huell Howser, keep santa cruz weird, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, lennar homes, local history, lost parks, lost parks of northern california, nicholas laschkewitsch, northern california, robert ingle, santa cruz, santa's village, santa's village road, scotts valley, silicon valley, the next huell howser, theme park review | Comments Off on Lost Parks of Northern California – Santa’s Village Preview
“Lost Parks” – Preserving History One Park at a Time

Part of the fun of doing the “Lost Parks” series, is knowing that we’re preserving history on film. That being said, we certainly didn’t think we were *THIS* close to losing one of our recent shoot locations:
http://www.scottsvalley.org/downloads/council/2013/11-20-13.Agenda.pdf
According to the latest Scotts Valley City Council meeting, the permit for building houses on the former Santa’s Village site has been changed – to add a demolition permit for the Polo barn (the last piece of the park still standing).
The Polo Barn also holds an incredible secret – we won’t give it away – but you should definitely check out our Santa’s Village episode when it debuts next month!

The Polo Barn, which dates back to the 1930’s – and is the last piece of Santa’s Village still standing – is now scheduled for demolition as soon as possible, according to the latest Scotts Valley City Council minutes. Photo by ACE NorCal – used with permission.
Apparently, they’re okay with demolishing a historic (albeit in rough shape) landmark in the process. Alternative plans include razing the building and building a replica, or having Lennar Homes (the developer) pay a one lump sum to the city in the amount of $1 million to allow to, “demolish and forget it.”
Thankfully, the Santa’s Village episode was able to capture this soon-to-be-gone structure – so it will be preserved foreever, despite the roar of the bulldozers.
November 22, 2013 | Categories: Lost Parks, Television Production, Theme Parks | Tags: amusement park, bay area proud, CA, demolition, great american thrills, historic landmark, history, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, lennar homes, lost parks, lost parks of northern california, new show concept, new talent, polo barn, preserving history, roller coaster, santa's village, scotts valley, scotts valley city council, theme park, thrill ride, tv host, tv production | Comments Off on “Lost Parks” – Preserving History One Park at a Time
Featured in the Register Pajaronian!

The hits just keep on coming – check out the latest coverage on the “Lost Parks” project, this time from the Register-Pajaronian, out of Watsonville, CA:

The hits just keep on coming – thanks to the Register Pajaronian for covering our “Lost Parks” journey!
Read the whole article by clicking here or, copying the link below:
http://www.register-pajaronian.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=72&story_id=15497
November 21, 2013 | Categories: Amusement Parks | Tags: ACE, american coaster enthusiasts, amusement park, amusement park expert, coverage, defunct park, great american thrills, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, media coverage, new host, new talent, new tv show concept, newspaper coverage, nicholas laschkewitsch, roller ocaster expert, santa's village, scotts valley, theme park, theme park expert, watsonville | Comments Off on Featured in the Register Pajaronian!
Featured tonight on “Bay Area Proud” and NBC Bay Area

Bay Area residents – be sure to tune in this evening to NBC Bay Area (KNTV) at 5:00p.m., as you’ll get a behind the scenes look at our latest “Lost Parks” project, “Santa’s Village of Scotts Valley.”
If you’re not in the Bay Area, you can catch the segment here, once it’s posted online.
Garvin Thomas (Emmy award winning journalist) followed the whole Lost Parks crew for most of the day, to highlight the work we’re doing. For those who have not seen the show, “Each week NBC Bay Area’s Garvin Thomas profiles the people, the groups, and the companies making the Bay Area, and the world, a better place to live. Bay Area Proud stories are success stories; inspiring profiles of those making a positive change in our communities.”

Special thanks to Garvin Thomas and Claire the Intern for hanging out with us and seeing what “Lost Parks” is all about. Photo by ACE NorCal, used with permission.
Be sure to give him a like or follow to see many of his other uplighting stories and subjects. Even he had to admit, he has the best job in all of journalism – covering only positive stories.
Check out our video series here.
So, who’s inspired to go preserve a piece of history?
November 14, 2013 | Categories: Lost Parks, Television Production, Theme Parks | Tags: ACE, american coaster enthusiasts, andrew hansis, barbara lawson, Bay Area, bay area proud, CA, California, defunct parks, featured on, garvin thomas, great american thrills, Huell Howser, kntv, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, lost park, lost parks of northern california, macdorsa park, mushrooms, nbc, nbc bay area, newscast, nicholas laschkewitsch, Nor Cal, norcal, northern california, roller coaster, santa's village, scotts valley, the next huell howser | Comments Off on Featured tonight on “Bay Area Proud” and NBC Bay Area
“Lost Parks” Goes Vertical!

With every video we’ve produced so far in the “Lost Parks” series, we’ve aimed to add one piece of equipment to make them better than the previous episode. For instance, in the first three episodes, did you notice:
Pacific City – DLSR camera slider:
Luna Park – GoPro Hero 2:
Manteca Waterslides – Camera crane / jib:
And now, for our Santa’s Village episode, may we debut our latest addition…FLYING CAMERA DRONES!

Aptly named “Big Bird” who did most of the heavy lifting for the shoot. Photo by ACE NorCal, used with permission.
Well, two to be precise, “Little Bird” and “Big Bird.” They’re proudly owned by Andrew Hansis, an ACE NorCal member, who couldn’t resist seeing what they could do for the Lost Parks series.
Turns out, it was a TON! Look for their shots in our latest episode – debuting December 9th, 2013!
For more info on the “Lost Parks” series – click here!
November 13, 2013 | Categories: Lost Parks, Television Production | Tags: ACE, aerial footage, american coaster enthusiasts, behind the scenes, camera, camera crane, camera drone, drone, flying drone, go pro, gopro, great american thrills, jib, kris rowberry, kristopher rowberry, lost parks, lost parks of northern california, Nor Cal, norcal, northern california, santa's village, scotts valley, slider, tv production | 2 Comments