originally posted on 6/30/2023
All photos: Liz Doughty Tan. View full-sized image.
On June 10, nearly 70 ACE members in addition to their families and friends gathered on a foggy summer morning at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (California) for the annual Beach Boardwalk Bonanza event. Attendees were given beautifully themed name badges, wristbands for Roll-A-Ball plus an unexpected bonus: a valuable parking discount coupon.
Attendees gather outside the ACE Roller Coaster Landmark Giant Dipper to begin the day with an ERT session on the seaside classic.
View full-sized image.
The event officially began with 90 minutes of ERT on the ACE Roller Coaster Landmark Giant Dipper. Most rides were a single time around, but several rides included two in a row and the last ride of the session included three laps. There was a brief stop outside Giant Dipper when outgoing ACE Northern California Regional Representative Nicholas Laschkewitsch helped to open the park for the day.
From there a group photo was taken, and attendees headed over to the new Roll-A-Ball lounge for an hour of exclusive roll time. No prizes were given but the participants didn’t mind. The chance to enjoy a solid hour of a modern update to the classic game Fascination was reward enough.
Neptune’s Kingdom was closed to the public for a brief period, allowing attendees exclusive time for Roll-A-Ball – a modern take on Fascination.
When the hour of gaming had concluded, the group headed upstairs to Boardwalk’s Cocoanut Grove’s ballroom for a buffet lunch that included fajitas, salad and an impressive array of desserts including ICEE-flavored cotton candy, It’s-It ice cream sandwiches and deep fried cheesecake.
Following lunch, a trio from Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk management took the stage to discuss their experiences, fuel speculation about future plans and introduce an exciting new pretzel stand featuring fresh-made gourmet pretzels. Park President Karl Rice, General Manager and Vice President Omid Aminifard and Director of Strategic Development and External Affairs Kris Reyes facilitated the conversation.
The last official component was a short auction for a very full gift basket provided by the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in addition to a sneak peek of the trailer for the upcoming “Legacy of Schwarzkopf” documentary being worked on by Northern California ACE members Robert Ingle and Laschkewitsch, among others. The event ended with a changing of the guard as outgoing Regional Representative Laschkewitsch handed over the official banner to incoming Regional Representative Brian Christensen and Assistant Regional Representative Robert Ingle.
— Liz Doughty Tan
#ACENews