AT: B. Derek Shaw
CINCINNATI — Every Friday night, Saturday and Sunday throughout January Snow Banks at The Banks turned four blocks of downtown Cincinnati into a winter wonderland for thousands of visitors. Highlights of the first-time 12-day event included Academy-Award winning snow effects, amusement and snow-related rides, music, food, drinks and more. This new attraction was managed by Game Day Communications, a media and marketing agency, for the retailers at The Banks, a multi-use entertainment district in the heart of the Queen City.
For a nominal $5.00 admission fee, attendees could go tubing down a 30-foot-high, 50-foot-long hill, snow sledding on a street that was closed to traffic, horse carriage rides, hockey skill challenges, an ice bar with s’mores and ice sculpture carvings. Also acoustic performances and numerous bars were open including a beer garden. A snow blizzard took place every 30 minutes for patrons to enjoy — and snap a snow selfie. A liability waiver was secured from everyone who entered the area.
Touted as “The Greatest Show in Cincinnati Snow,” the event featured a dozen live snow features created by Academy Award winning special effects expert, Dieter Sturm. “We’ve made it snow for “Superman” and “Transformers” as well as Academy Award winning films such as “Green Book.” We blanketed Key West and Louisiana with snow, and now we can’t wait for a month of fun and flurry at The Banks in Cincinnati,” said Sturm prior to the start. Crews took 300 pound blocks of ice using movie-grade snow-making trucks to shave it into the consistency of snow.
Added to this array of winter-time activities were two amusement rides. Right in the middle of the fun was the 150-foot SkyStar mobile observation wheel, giving passengers a breathtaking view of downtown Cincinnati, Roebling Suspension Bridge, both shores of the Ohio River and surrounding area. Owned by SkyView Partners, the Mondial World of Rides MCS 45-36 giant wheel has been in Cincinnati since August 2018. Previously it was in Louisville, Kentucky, and Norfolk, Virginia. Each of the 36 gondolas has a capacity of six people and four full revolutions during the 12-minute ride cycle. At night over one million Maxtron LED lights illuminate the wheel.
“It was two and a half years in the making,” said Todd Schneider, managing partner, SkyStar Wheel. This was due to modifying the ride to meet U.S. standards, including adding climate control to each vehicle. The wheel will run in Cincinnati through March 1. At that time, a 12-man crew will spend a week disassembling it, then travel across the country 10 days and spend another week reassembling it. The next stop for the wheel is Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. It opens there on April 4, the actual 150th birthday of the 1,017-acre park created largely on sand dunes in 1870 and attracts 24 million visitors a year. It will operate there through March 2021. SkyView Partners will bring a larger, permanent wheel to Cincinnati, later this summer. Currently they are working on permitting and the necessary approvals along with the final manufacturer selection.
Carol Ann’s Carousel, is owned by Cincinnati Parks and located in nearby Smale Riverfront Park. The three-row carousel with 44 Cincinnati-inspired menagerie figures, was a gift from the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Foundation/US Bank. Manufactured by The Carousel Works, Mansfield, Ohio, it opened in May 2015. The “Spring in Ault Park” ladybug, The Carew Tower Gorilla, Cincinnati Bengals Tiger, Great American Tower skyscraper giraffe and The Cincinnati Zoo Baby Elephant are just a few of the animals that tie in with the local culture. There’s even Trigger, Roy Rogers’ golden palomino, that plays tribute to the TV cowboys hometown. Two handicapped accessible chariots are riverboat themed. Cincinnati artist Jonathan Queen painted Cincinnati scenes on the rounding boards.
Both attractions were available for a small additional fee.
Amusement Today spoke with Jackie Reau, CEO of Game Day Communications about Snow Banks at The Banks.
How did the concept come about?
“We knew we wanted to host an event at The Banks in January between football and baseball seasons, so we started researching winter festivals. Snow Banks at The Banks is based on winter festivals you might find in Minnesota along with the feel of a ski resort.
Where did the start-up funding come from?
The funding has come from a variety of sources: The Banks Community Authority program budget, sponsorships, wristband sales and beer sales.
How has reaction been to your inaugural year event?
We had more than 5,000 guests over the first weekend despite inclement weather. Families and friends were enjoying the snow attractions and patronizing the bars and restaurants at The Banks.
We always learn a lot about our events when faced with weather issues. We had rain on the first two days, so we learned how to best adjust the snow attractions and marketing messages. On the first Sunday, the weather was ideal and Snow Banks had a terrific crowd of families and friends.
The beauty of Snow Banks is that it is an inside/outside event. The bars and restaurants at The Banks have created signature drinks and menu items along with attractions like a s’mores bar and acoustic music.
We have also been able to enhance the footprint of the event with six-foot snow banks, snow shovel racing and frozen yoga.
At the end of the day, Snow Banks is an event to market The Banks as a destination in January. Our media relations program yielded more than $1 million in earned media coverage in less than a month.”
There was support from a number of partners and sponsors to help build the Snow Banks at The Banks attractions. This included: Frisch’s Big Boy for the 50’ snow tube ramp, AC Hotel and its rooftop igloo experience, Cincinnati Auto Expo presented the horse carriage rides, Frontgate Furniture provided the fire pits and furniture, The Cincinnati Reds provided space for ice sculpture carving and frozen yoga, The Cincinnati Cyclones offered hockey equipment for a hockey skills challenge for kids and Cumulus Radio provided promotional support and hosting sing-a-longs on Friday evenings.
This article appears in the FEBRUARY 2020 issue of Amusement Today.
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