They may be calling it the Dog Days of Summer, but there’s at least one dog who won’t be there.
The folks at Chipotle and Six Flags Elitch Gardens have teamed up to offer a freebie-laden promo they say “gives theme- park fans a reason to celebrate the ‘dog days’ of summer.”
The only problem is that Scooby-Doo and a host of other costume-clad characters who used to roam the park were given the heave-ho less than two weeks ago. Kellen Owens – formerly Scooby-Doo – told The Denver Post that the number of characters at the park had been slashed to just a handful.
The owner of the park is swimming in debt and is marketing the Denver amusement park for $170 million.
Vail confab lets execs ride on the wild side
Some of the 350 tech industry executives and investors got a wild ride and a scenic treat while in Vail last week for the eighth annual Pacific Crest Securities Technology Forum.
It’s the seventh straight year for the conference at the Sonnen alp Resort.
Monday night’s dinner reception was held at Beano’s Cabin on Beaver Creek mountain. It was a rocky ride up to the restaurant, with shuttle buses navigating the mountain through a construction site, taking several of the East and West Coast executives by surprise.
“I found religion at one point,” said one of the attendees while clutching his beer in one hand and the shuttle bus seat in the other.
In addition to the picturesque mountain views, the trip up to Beano’s included sightings of deer, a few beavers and a marmot.
“Some (attendees) said we paid to have a beaver sitting there,” joked Pacific Crest chairman and CEO Scott Sandbo. “We’re not beyond paying to put a beaver up there.”
A brief thunderstorm added some electricity to the wet, dark ride down.
“It was very successful,” Sandbo said of the conference. “There were no behavior problems … with alcohol at 11,000 feet.” Actually, Beano’s is about 9,000 feet high, according to Beaver Creek Resorts.
Sandbo said the conference will be back at Vail next year.
And you thought that YouTube was just fun
In addition to showcasing bizarre, funny and sometimes pedestrian behavior, websites that post amateur videos have become a way to encourage relief efforts, with Hurricane Katrina a particular focus.
Though Katrina-related content is available on other sites, none comes close to the more than 950 movies available on www.youtube.com, according to The Associated Press.
Trevor Munson, 19, wanted to help with hurricane relief but felt he was “too far away” in his hometown of Littleton.
So he decided to make a video encouraging people to donate money to the Salvation Army and American Red Cross. Munson used a search engine to find images of the disaster.
The closing minutes of the film give information on how to donate to relief efforts.
“I felt this was the best thing I could do using my available resources,” Munson said.
