Opening Events at Coney Island this Sunday!

Astroland may be gone but Coney Island keeps on keepin' on. This Sunday, April 5th is the Cyclone Rollercoaster's opening day and ALSO open house at the fab Coney Island History Project located in the shadow of the Cyclone on Surf Avenue.

As per the invite:
Palm Sunday is the traditional season opener for Coney Island's rides and attractions. The Coney Island History Project's public exhibition center under the Cyclone roller coaster will host an open house on Sunday, April 5th from 12-3 pm to celebrate Coney Island's and the Cyclone's opening day of the 2009 season.

You're invited to view historic artifacts, photographs, maps, ephemera and films of Coney Island's colorful past and preview selections from our 2009 exhibition season. Admission is free of charge.

Please stop by on April 5th and say hello to Charles Denson, CIHP executive director and author of Coney Island Lost and Found and Wild Ride: A Coney Island Roller Coaster Family; newly appointed "distinguished historian" Jimmy Prince of Major Market; staffers Amanda Deutch, Tricia Vita and Jeff Wilday; and special guests. Our guest of honor will be Brooklynite Howie Lipstein, who has ridden the Cyclone for 50 consecutive seasons and will be interviewed by Mr. Denson for the History Project's Oral History Archive.

The CIHP exhibition center will open for the 2009 season on Memorial Day Weekend with a new exhibition "Coney Island Icons." Located on Surf Avenue just east of West 10th Street, the center is open free of charge on weekends from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The centerpiece is an authentic Steeplechase horse from the legendary ride that gave Steeplechase Park its name. Visitors are invited to record a video interview and take a free souvenir photo of their visit.

Click here for a lot more info about recent happenings at Coney Island. There is a call for home movies of the Cyclone, info about just where the Astroland rocket has landed and so much more.