Source: Thirsty Girl Productions
It’s time to get your history on and tap into your databank of Coney Island trivia during the Second Annual History Day at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park and The Coney Island History Project, tomorrow, August 11 (rain date: August 12), from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Everything old will be new again—especially if you dress in classic Roaring Twenties garb, which will entitle you to one free ride on the Wonder Wheel, so break out those spats, cloche hats and flapper dresses and get ready to do the Charleston.
Live Entertainment
Shake your booty with NYC’s legendary Hungry March Band, satisfy your soul with Ragtime and Dixieland from The Banjo Rascals and let loose with Benjamin Ickies & The Coney Island Screamers, who attack Golden Age Circus Music with a Rock ‘n Roll attitude. The always-amazing Lady Circus will also be on tap.
Performances and events will be held at The Wonder Wheel, at The Coney Island History Project, 3059 West 12th Street off the Boardwalk, and throughout Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park.
Plus: Ride The Wonder Wheel and receive a nostalgic Coney Island commemorative gift and have a chance to take your photo with old timey cutouts for free.
Live History
Test your Coney Island smarts at the Coney Island Trivia Contest with historian and author Charles Denson. Prizes include ride passes for Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park and souvenir postcards. You are invited to come and record your memories for the History Projects oral History Archive if you have a Coney Island story to share.
The public can also participate in Deno’s Draw-a-thon. Adults and kids are invited to draw a picture of the landmark Wonder Wheel, which will then become part of an online photo exhibit. Crayons and paper will be provided.
Additionally, a new exhibit on the cultural history of Coney Island’s bathhouses and the art of bathhouse key tags will open on History Day at the Coney Island History Project. There were once more than 50 bathhouses of all kinds lining the beach at Coney Island.
A century ago bathhouses provided the only access to the beach and, for many, a home away from home. Now hardly anyone knows what a bathhouse is. The shorefront facilities were a popular cultural phenomenon, providing entertainment, lockers, changing rooms, showers, swim suit rentals, steam baths, massive salt water pools, athletic equipment, game courts, restaurants, and fenced wooden decks for nude sunbathing.
This exhibit provides a history told in photographs, admission tickets, oral history, and the folk art of bathhouse key tags.
Celebrate Coney Island’s history and have a chance to make some of your own. This daylong event is not to be missed.
For more, go to www.wonderwheel.com and www.coneyislandhistory.org.
