ThrillNetwork.com :: Hersheypark Is Turning 100. Let the Celebration Begin!

Industry Announcements: Hersheypark Is Turning 100. Let the Celebration Begin!

By Alex W

Apr. 27th, 2007 -- To celebrate this remarkable milestone, a rededication of Hersheypark is planned for Saturday, May 5, the centerpiece of the Park’s Grand Opening Weekend, which is May 4 through 6.

The rededication festivities will begin Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and include a congratulatory speech by The Honorable Pedro A. Cortes, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Former Hersheypark general managers will be introduced and representatives from a number of Hershey entities also will be in attendance to extend their congratulations.

As the official countdown to gate opening begins, guests will be treated to an all-silver pyrotechnic display that ushers in the second century of Hersheypark Happy. The first 10,000 guests through the gates will receive a commemorative postcard (while supplies last) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To mark this historic occasion, the Park also has created banners displaying images of historic events in the Park’s history, which will hang along Tram Circle, where guests disembark from Hershey Resorts and parking shuttles, to the Park’s front gate.

Entertainment will be provided by the Milton Hershey School’s Little Big Band, which will play an array of musical selections from the past 100 years. The famous Hershey’s Product Characters will meet and greet guests, offering smiles and hugs to everyone.

The entertainment continues in the Hersheypark Amphitheatre when Otis Day and the Knights take the stage on Saturday at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. American Idol star Bucky Covington will perform for Amphitheatre guests on Sunday at 3 and 5 p.m.

Hersheypark is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, May 4; from 10 a.m. to

10 p.m. on Saturday, May 5; and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 6.

For more information visit www.hersheypark.com or call 1-800-HERSHEY.