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DreamPark Opens Mixed Reality Theme Park at West Canal Yards in Seattle

DreamPark Opens Mixed Reality Theme Park at West Canal Yards in Seattle

Business Wire18-07-2025
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DreamPark, the creator of the world's largest downloadable theme park, today opened a permanent DreamPark experience at West Canal Yards, a new waterfront redevelopment on Seattle's Ship Canal. The 25,000-square-foot free-roam augmented world offers real-life fun and adventure for adults and kids alike (ages 4+). By transforming everyday environments into immersive adventures through mixed reality, DreamPark aims to make the real world a playground.
Grab your friends and family, and come visit DreamPark at West Canal Yards. Tickets Available at DreamPark's website: visitdreampark.com/seattle
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Situated on the water, the DreamPark location in Ballard is centrally located to Seattle landmarks and major employers, making it an ideal destination. DreamPark was founded by industry veterans Brent Bushnell, a Seattle-based entrepreneur and son of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese founder Nolan Bushnell; Aidan Wolf, co-founder of AR House and a former creator at SNAP; and Kevin Habich, co-founder of Kevaid and CTO/co-founder of Frameri. DreamPark was featured on ABC's Shark Tank in April 2025. DreamPark's unique and novel entertainment experience engages families, adults seeking social activities and corporate teams looking for innovative team-building solutions.
"This West Canal Yards installation is a testament to our ability to create immersive and profitable entertainment units quickly and efficiently," said Aidan Wolf, Co-Founder and CEO of DreamPark. "It's the world's largest mixed reality theme park, offering an unparalleled experience that differentiates us in the virtual reality marketplace. We are thrilled to bring this to the vibrant Seattle community, especially given its strong game audience and proximity to major tech companies and attractions."
The West Canal Yards installation, spearheaded by lead developer Ned Carner, addresses the growing need to revitalize idle retail spaces across the country. The national office vacancy rate was 19.4% in May, up 160 basis points year-over-year, with occupancy unlikely to rise in the near future, according to CommercialCafe. DreamPark's rapid deployment capability, combined with the capacity to handle bigger installations, addresses key challenges in transforming empty storefronts into revenue-generating entertainment destinations.
'With West Canal Yards, our goal is to create a place that invites people to visit and enjoy our working waterfront,' said Ned Carner, founder and president of Wing Point Partners and visionary behind West Canal Yards. 'DreamPark plays a key role in that vision by quickly revitalizing the space and helping to transform it into a vibrant entertainment hub for family fun.'
DreamPark eliminates the million-dollar construction costs of typical VR venues by requiring no permanent infrastructure. The immersive, multiplayer experience generates enough revenue to cover costs within its first month, making it a cost-effective way to revitalize underused spaces.
Grab your friends and family, and come visit DreamPark at West Canal Yards on Saturday, July 19, 2025. Tickets Available at DreamPark's website: visitdreampark.com /seattle
About DreamPark
DreamPark is creating the world's first downloadable mixed-reality theme park platform, transforming real-world spaces into immersive adventures. Using the latest XR technology, we overlay digital worlds onto physical environments, creating magical experiences accessible through Meta Quest headsets or mobile devices. With strategic locations across major cities, we're building the world's largest theme park—one that exists everywhere and is open to everyone. Founded by industry veterans Brent Bushnell, Aidan Wolf, and Kevin Habich, and backed by top VCs like Long Journey Ventures and Founders, Inc., DreamPark is reimagining how people play, connect, and experience their communities in the mixed reality era.
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Foreign couples flock to Denmark to get married. Copenhagen wants to save room for locals
Foreign couples flock to Denmark to get married. Copenhagen wants to save room for locals

San Francisco Chronicle​

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  • San Francisco Chronicle​

Foreign couples flock to Denmark to get married. Copenhagen wants to save room for locals

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Facing complex bureaucracy at home in Poland, Magdalena Kujawińska and her Colombian fiancé Heinner Valenzuela traveled to Copenhagen to become husband and wife. 'We realized that it's not that easy to get married in Poland,' the 30-year-old Kujawińska said as the couple waited for their 10-minute ceremony at the Danish capital's 19th-century City Hall. 'You need a certificate that you are not married,' she said. "We tried to get it from Colombia, but it's only valid for three months, and it couldn't get to Poland from Colombia in three months. It was just impossible for us.' The couple, who live in Krakow, had been engaged for more than three years when Kujawińska heard about Denmark's relatively relaxed marriage laws from a colleague. Working with an online wedding planner, the couple prepared the necessary documents. 'And in four days, we had the decision that the marriage could be done here,' a smiling Kujawińska said. Copenhagen attracts couples from around the world Couples who don't live in Denmark, both mixed- and same-sex, are increasingly getting married in the Scandinavian country — prompting some to dub Copenhagen the 'Las Vegas of Europe.' The head of the marriage office at Copenhagen City Hall, Anita Okkels Birk Thomsen, said that about 8,000 wedding ceremonies were performed there last year. Of those, some 5,400 of them were for couples in which neither partner was a Danish resident. 'That's almost double what we saw five years ago,' she said. 'They come from all over the world.' City wants to ensure room for locals But the city sees a downside to that: demand for ceremonies at City Hall now far exceeds the number of slots available. Mia Nyegaard, the Copenhagen official in charge of culture and leisure, said in a statement to The Associated Press that the 'significant rise' in the number of foreign couples getting married in the capital 'poses challenges for Copenhagen-based couples wishing to get married.' Local authorities plan to take action. Nyegaard said about 40% of wedding slots available at City Hall will be reserved for Copenhagen residents starting from the end of October. While booking a slot there is the most obvious way to get married in the city, arranging a ceremony with a private registrar is also an option, and that won't be affected. Copenhagen lawmakers will look after the summer break at what else they can do to relieve overall pressure on wedding capacity in the city. Liberal laws Denmark's marriage laws are liberal in several ways. In 1989, the country became the world's first to allow the registration of same-sex civil unions. The legalization of same-sex marriage followed in 2012. For unions of all kinds, Denmark — unlike many other European countries — doesn't require a birth certificate or proof of single status to obtain a certificate that grants the right to get married in Denmark within four months. Officials might, in cases where divorce papers don't show clearly that a divorce has been finalized, ask for a civil status certificate. Applications to Denmark's agency of family law cost 2,100 kroner ($326), and couples are issued with a certificate within five working days if they satisfy the requirements. Non-resident couples can travel to Denmark and get married with just a valid passport and, if required, a tourist visa. 'We get that thing like, 'Are you sure we do not need a birth certificate?' And we go, 'Yes,'' said Rasmus Clarck Sørensen, director of Getting Married in Denmark. Clarck Sørensen, a Dane, began the wedding planning business with his British wife back in 2014. 'In the last 20, 30 years, people just meet more across borders," he said. 'Marriage rules are often made for two people of the same country getting married.' 'They kind of piled on patches onto marriage law, and a lot of people get trapped in those patches,' he added. His online company's 'Complete Service' package, priced at 875 euros ($1,014), includes help gathering all the necessary documents, processing the certificate application and organizing the date of the ceremony. The business says it helped over 2,600 couples last year. Copenhagen, easily Denmark's biggest city with the country's best transport links, is the most popular location and so far appears to be the only one struggling with demand. Any changes to the city's rules will come too late to bother newlyweds Kujawińska and Valenzuela, who are now busy planning a celebration in Poland with family and friends. 'It means a lot for us because we've been waiting a lot for this,' Kujawińska said. 'We're really happy.'

Foreign couples flock to Denmark to get married. Copenhagen wants to save room for locals
Foreign couples flock to Denmark to get married. Copenhagen wants to save room for locals

Hamilton Spectator

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Foreign couples flock to Denmark to get married. Copenhagen wants to save room for locals

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Facing complex bureaucracy at home in Poland, Magdalena Kujawińska and her Colombian fiancé Heinner Valenzuela traveled to Copenhagen to become husband and wife. 'We realized that it's not that easy to get married in Poland,' the 30-year-old Kujawińska said as the couple waited for their 10-minute ceremony at the Danish capital's 19th-century City Hall. 'You need a certificate that you are not married,' she said. 'We tried to get it from Colombia, but it's only valid for three months, and it couldn't get to Poland from Colombia in three months. It was just impossible for us.' The couple, who live in Krakow, had been engaged for more than three years when Kujawińska heard about Denmark's relatively relaxed marriage laws from a colleague. Working with an online wedding planner, the couple prepared the necessary documents. 'And in four days, we had the decision that the marriage could be done here,' a smiling Kujawińska said. Copenhagen attracts couples from around the world Couples who don't live in Denmark, both mixed- and same-sex, are increasingly getting married in the Scandinavian country — prompting some to dub Copenhagen the 'Las Vegas of Europe.' The head of the marriage office at Copenhagen City Hall, Anita Okkels Birk Thomsen, said that about 8,000 wedding ceremonies were performed there last year. Of those, some 5,400 of them were for couples in which neither partner was a Danish resident. 'That's almost double what we saw five years ago,' she said. 'They come from all over the world.' City wants to ensure room for locals But the city sees a downside to that: demand for ceremonies at City Hall now far exceeds the number of slots available. Mia Nyegaard, the Copenhagen official in charge of culture and leisure, said in a statement to The Associated Press that the 'significant rise' in the number of foreign couples getting married in the capital 'poses challenges for Copenhagen-based couples wishing to get married.' Local authorities plan to take action. Nyegaard said about 40% of wedding slots available at City Hall will be reserved for Copenhagen residents starting from the end of October. While booking a slot there is the most obvious way to get married in the city, arranging a ceremony with a private registrar is also an option, and that won't be affected. Copenhagen lawmakers will look after the summer break at what else they can do to relieve overall pressure on wedding capacity in the city. Liberal laws Denmark's marriage laws are liberal in several ways. In 1989, the country became the world's first to allow the registration of same-sex civil unions. The legalization of same-sex marriage followed in 2012. For unions of all kinds, Denmark — unlike many other European countries — doesn't require a birth certificate or proof of single status to obtain a certificate that grants the right to get married in Denmark within four months. Officials might, in cases where divorce papers don't show clearly that a divorce has been finalized, ask for a civil status certificate. Applications to Denmark's agency of family law cost 2,100 kroner ($326), and couples are issued with a certificate within five working days if they satisfy the requirements. Non-resident couples can travel to Denmark and get married with just a valid passport and, if required, a tourist visa. 'We get that thing like, 'Are you sure we do not need a birth certificate?' And we go, 'Yes,'' said Rasmus Clarck Sørensen, director of Getting Married in Denmark. Clarck Sørensen, a Dane, began the wedding planning business with his British wife back in 2014. 'In the last 20, 30 years, people just meet more across borders,' he said. 'Marriage rules are often made for two people of the same country getting married.' 'They kind of piled on patches onto marriage law, and a lot of people get trapped in those patches,' he added. His online company's 'Complete Service' package, priced at 875 euros ($1,014), includes help gathering all the necessary documents, processing the certificate application and organizing the date of the ceremony. The business says it helped over 2,600 couples last year. Copenhagen, easily Denmark's biggest city with the country's best transport links, is the most popular location and so far appears to be the only one struggling with demand. Any changes to the city's rules will come too late to bother newlyweds Kujawińska and Valenzuela, who are now busy planning a celebration in Poland with family and friends. 'It means a lot for us because we've been waiting a lot for this,' Kujawińska said. 'We're really happy.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .

Siskel Center director Rebecca Fons is hired away by London's Barbican Centre
Siskel Center director Rebecca Fons is hired away by London's Barbican Centre

Chicago Tribune

time3 hours ago

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Siskel Center director Rebecca Fons is hired away by London's Barbican Centre

Rebecca Fons, the director of programming at the Siskel Film Center in Chicago since 2021, is the new head of cinema for London's multidisciplinary Barbican Centre, effective Sept. 1. The Barbican will announce the appointment early Tuesday, but word of Fons' new post made the conversational rounds late Monday at the national Art House Convergence gathering of art-house cinema exhibitors, held once again in Chicago. Fons, 43, will oversee a team of film programmers at the Barbican, which contains three cinema auditoriums. 'The opportunity at the Barbican is so incredible,' she told the Tribune late Monday. 'To be able to program for a new audience, to be part of a team with so much cross-disciplinary opportunity, it's very exciting.' Fons and her husband, Chicago-based filmmaker Jack Newell, are leasing a flat in London's Bloomsbury neighborhood and will maintain their Chicago residence as well. Fons said she has programmed the Siskel Film Center's calendar through October, with some of the late 2025 and early 2026 programming in place as well. The Barbican is best known as the Royal Shakespeare Company's London home base, with a wealth of theater, film, dance, music and other art forms sharing the building that opened in 1982. Fons' transition means the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which oversees the activities of the Siskel Film Center, is conducting a search for a film programming head. The Iowa native's canny array of cinematic offerings brought the Film Center out of the muck of the pandemic. She was hired first on a part-time basis, then went full-time later in 2021. She was the Tribune's Chicagoan of the Year in film for 2022.

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