News: Kimberley Locke at Great Escape Saturday

Posted at 12:24 PM EDT (1624 GMT)

May. 24th, 2004 -- Marching bands - including an ensemble of students from Columbia High School in East Greenbush - memorable voices, led by American Idol runner-up Kimberley Locke, and maniacal coaster enthusiasts from western New York will make Memorial Day weekend a memorable one at The Great Escape as the park ushers in the unofficial start of summer with the first of many celebrations to mark its 50th anniversary season.

Just as The Great Escape is an icon in the world of family entertainment,
Kimberley Locke is, to many, an idol in the recording industry whose
childhood dreams became a reality after finishing third in last year’s
American Idol competition.

Locke will be at The Great Escape on Saturday, May 29 as she hosts a local spin-off of the nationally celebrated show called Capital Region Idol.
Locke will be among the judges who will choose one winner from a pool of talented (and some not so talented contestants) to win a three-day,
two-night trip for two to Los Angeles to see a taping of a popular
Hollywood show, plus a recording session at a professional studio in New
York City.

The first 102 guests inside the gates beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday
may register at the front entrance to enter the Capital Region Idol
competition (contestants must be 12 years of age or older to register,
those under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian). Participants will have a chance to display their skills in a preliminary a cappella audition between 10 a.m. - noon. Once the field has been narrowed, Locke and several others will judge the remaining contestants who will have the option to either choose a song from a karaoke list provided by the park, or sing their own tune a cappella.

The 2004 Capital Region Idol champion will be selected at 4 p.m. Locke
will then be available to meet with fans and sign autographs from 4 – 6
p.m. at the Coco Loco restaurant inside The Great Escape.

Locke was the third place finisher in last year’s American Idol
competition behind runner-up Clay Aiken and winner Ruben Studdard. Since her defeat Locke has continued her musical pursuits, landing a recording contract with Curb Records and releasing her first record entitled “One Love,” from which the hit single, “Eighth World Wonder” originated. Shortly before the American Idol opportunity came her way, Locke had all but given up on her dream of performing, instead choosing to pursue law school. But spurred on by her sister-in-law and several close friends, Locke gave it one last shot, and the rest is history.

The special festivities are certain to get off to a melodious start on
Saturday with the aid of the Columbia High School wind ensemble. The
45-member band will welcome guests to the park with an inspirational
rendition of the National Anthem at 10 a.m. followed by a half-hour
concert, just inside the gates to The Great Escape.

Later in the afternoon, the Bolton Central School marching band will step
up the excitement as they lead patrons on a spirited march throughout the park. The excitement gets underway at 1 p.m.

As if Saturday were not crazed enough with activity, as many as 200
members of the Western New York Coaster Club will travel across the state for two hours worth of exclusive ride time aboard The Comet, The Great Escape’s signature wooden roller coaster. The group will be celebrating The Comet’s ten-year anniversary at The Great Escape where it opened in 1994 after spending four illustrious decades at Crystal Beach Amusement Park in Ridgeway, Ontario, just across the border of western New York. The Comet was trucked across New York and moved to The Great Escape after Crystal Beach shut down in 1989.

Members of the Western New York Coaster Club will celebrate old times with The Comet from 9 – 10 a.m. and 6 – 7 p.m. on Saturday, before the park opens and after it closes for the evening.

While The Comet is marking its tenth anniversary, The Great Escape is
celebrating 50 golden years of entertaining children and families in the
foothills of the Adirondacks. And even though the official birthday will
take place on the weekend of June 26 and 27, the celebrations will extend all season long.

When The Great Escape, then known as Storytown USA, opened half a century ago it was a 5-acre, single-themed amusement park dedicated to the popular nursery rhymes of Mother Goose. Today, The Great Escape is home to over 125 rides, shows and attractions including six roller coasters and several themed areas throughout the expanse of the 40-acre park.

Six Flags, Inc. is the world's largest regional theme park company.
Through its subsidiaries, it owns and operates a total of 31 parks in
North America and Europe. Six Flags parks serve 34 of the 50 largest
metropolitan areas in the United States. Six Flags, Inc. is a publicly
held corporation with corporate offices in New York City and Oklahoma
City. The Company's stock trades on the NYSE under the symbol: PKS.

For more information about The Great Escape, call 518-792-3500 or log onto sixflags.com and go to the pick a park for The Great Escape. For further information about special guest Kimberley Locke, log on to her official website www.kimberleylockeweb.com.