Latest news with #BeachParty
The Irish Sun
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Europe's first Lego-themed waterpark reopens for summer and you can fly there for £17
THE first LEGO-themed waterpark in Europe has officially re-opened for the summer season. Gardaland itself is one of the most popular theme parks in Europe, with the only themed aquarium in Italy and a Peppa Pig land. 5 Gardaland in Italy has re-opened its water park 5 There are huge Lego figures around the park And in 2019, Gardaland opened the first, and only, LEGOLAND-themed The waterpark has been closed through the winter months, but from May 31, 2025, has started to welcome visitors back to the pools and flumes. It's a great place to cool down during the summer months, especially for any fans of Lego. The water park has taken a lot from the parks, including its own Italian Miniland. Read more on Legoland The recognisable Miniland is the heart of every Legoland Park where visitors can see the most iconic landmarks from across the world. Gardaland water park also has its own lazy river called the River Adventure, a slow-moving river. Visitors can bob down the slow-moving water attraction on a dinghy customised with Lego bricks. From there, you can actually see Miniland depicting Italy and spot a Lego-brick built Colosseum, Tower of Pisa, Basilica and Bell Tower of St. Mark's Square. Most read in Family Also in the water park is a Beach Party - with its seven slides and a huge tipping bucket of water. Also in the park is the Pirate Bay swimming pool , as well as a pirate fortress, as well as Jungle Adventure waterslides and Beach Party cannons. Huge indoor-outdoor waterpark in Europe has 12 slides, lazy river and bars 5 Jungle Adventure has lots of waterslides 5 There's a lazy river with Lego-inspired dinghies For younger kids, there's the Duplo splash park, which has smaller water rides and attractions. Creation Island is the spot to go to for any kids who want to make their own Lego designs. Souvenir shops and restaurants will also be opening in the park. The water park is a real hit with visitors, one wrote on Tripadvisor: "The park is phenomenal and the water park is absolutely amazing." One even said it gives "I loved the jumanji ride, and the kids loved legoland water park." Another said that the water park is the perfect place to "cool down" in the summer. With From there, Gardaland is a 25-minute drive towards the coast. One Plus, the tropical indoor One Sun Travel Writer Had The "Best Family Holiday Maria Realf visited Garaland with her family - and it's safe to say she had an incredible holiday... As the ride began to climb, the two views before me were dramatically different. To my right, the serene turquoise waters of Italy's Lake Garda. On my left? A steep drop and a double loop-the-loop. I'd stumbled across Gardaland in spring while trying to book a last-minute trip to Disneyland Paris. Don't get me wrong, I love a Disney park — but this time, faced with high prices and the possibility of French strike disruption, I decided to take a chance on somewhere new. The result? One of the best family breaks we've ever had. On arrival, the next pleasant surprise was the lack of long queues. Most waits were 10-20 minutes. But while the resort might have been short on queues, it's certainly not short of fun. There's plenty for all ages here, from Fantasy Kingdom and a small Peppa Pig Land for little ones, to adventure attractions including the latest Jumanji ride and white-knuckle thrills galore. My personal picks were epic log flume Fuga da Atlantide and the Mammut coaster, which reminded us of Disney's popular Big Thunder Mountain. During the warm summer months until mid-September, guests can also cool off at Legoland Water Park — a 15,000-square-metre area within Gardaland. Explore the Lego River Adventure with its floating rafts, the Beach Party packed with slides, or the Duplo Splash zone for younger visitors. If all that has worked up your appetite, there are lots of places to eat dotted around, from sit-down restaurants to takeaway kiosks - 5 Gardaland water park has opened up for the summer season
Scottish Sun
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Europe's first Lego-themed waterpark reopens for summer and you can fly there for £17
One Sun Writer described their visit as being "one of the best family breaks" SPLASH ABOUT Europe's first Lego-themed waterpark reopens for summer and you can fly there for £17 THE first LEGO-themed waterpark in Europe has officially re-opened for the summer season. Gardaland itself is one of the most popular theme parks in Europe, with the only themed aquarium in Italy and a Peppa Pig land. 5 Gardaland in Italy has re-opened its water park 5 There are huge Lego figures around the park And in 2019, Gardaland opened the first, and only, LEGOLAND-themed water park in the world. The waterpark has been closed through the winter months, but from May 31, 2025, has started to welcome visitors back to the pools and flumes. It's a great place to cool down during the summer months, especially for any fans of Lego. The water park has taken a lot from the parks, including its own Italian Miniland. The recognisable Miniland is the heart of every Legoland Park where visitors can see the most iconic landmarks from across the world. Gardaland water park also has its own lazy river called the River Adventure, a slow-moving river. Visitors can bob down the slow-moving water attraction on a dinghy customised with Lego bricks. From there, you can actually see Miniland depicting Italy and spot a Lego-brick built Colosseum, Tower of Pisa, Basilica and Bell Tower of St. Mark's Square. Also in the water park is a Beach Party - with its seven slides and a huge tipping bucket of water. Also in the park is the Pirate Bay swimming pool, as well as a pirate fortress, as well as Jungle Adventure waterslides and Beach Party cannons. Huge indoor-outdoor waterpark in Europe has 12 slides, lazy river and bars 5 Jungle Adventure has lots of waterslides 5 There's a lazy river with Lego-inspired dinghies For younger kids, there's the Duplo splash park, which has smaller water rides and attractions. Creation Island is the spot to go to for any kids who want to make their own Lego designs. Souvenir shops and restaurants will also be opening in the park. The water park is a real hit with visitors, one wrote on Tripadvisor: "The park is phenomenal and the water park is absolutely amazing." One even said it gives "I loved the jumanji ride, and the kids loved legoland water park." Another said that the water park is the perfect place to "cool down" in the summer. With Ryanair, one-way flights from the UK to Valerio Catullo Airport in Verona start at £17. From there, Gardaland is a 25-minute drive towards the coast. One Sun Travel writer lives in the water park capital of the UK - and you can visit five of the country's best for £8. Plus, the tropical indoor UK water park that families say 'feels like a holiday abroad' with 30 attractions. One Sun Travel Writer Had The "Best Family Holiday Maria Realf visited Garaland with her family - and it's safe to say she had an incredible holiday... As the ride began to climb, the two views before me were dramatically different. To my right, the serene turquoise waters of Italy's Lake Garda. On my left? A steep drop and a double loop-the-loop. I'd stumbled across Gardaland in spring while trying to book a last-minute trip to Disneyland Paris. Don't get me wrong, I love a Disney park — but this time, faced with high prices and the possibility of French strike disruption, I decided to take a chance on somewhere new. The result? One of the best family breaks we've ever had. On arrival, the next pleasant surprise was the lack of long queues. Most waits were 10-20 minutes. But while the resort might have been short on queues, it's certainly not short of fun. There's plenty for all ages here, from Fantasy Kingdom and a small Peppa Pig Land for little ones, to adventure attractions including the latest Jumanji ride and white-knuckle thrills galore. My personal picks were epic log flume Fuga da Atlantide and the Mammut coaster, which reminded us of Disney's popular Big Thunder Mountain. During the warm summer months until mid-September, guests can also cool off at Legoland Water Park — a 15,000-square-metre area within Gardaland. Explore the Lego River Adventure with its floating rafts, the Beach Party packed with slides, or the Duplo Splash zone for younger visitors. If all that has worked up your appetite, there are lots of places to eat dotted around, from sit-down restaurants to takeaway kiosks - Maria Realf
CBC
27-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Pride Toronto loses 3 corporate sponsors in move it connects to attack on DEI programs in U.S.
Pride Toronto says three large corporate sponsors have pulled their funding from the festival this year in a move it says is connected to a backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in the U.S. Kojo Modeste, executive director of Pride Toronto, said on Wednesday that the non-profit organization was given a range of reasons by the three companies for their decisions to end sponsorship. It was told in the last couple of weeks that the companies have either experienced a "shift in mandate" or they do not have the financial resources to continue to support the annual event. "Every time we lose a sponsor, there is less money that is directed to the festival. And so, it will definitely have an impact on us being able to deliver on the festival," Modeste said. "If I say I am surprised, I will be telling a lie because we have been there in the past. But I'm very disappointed because so much work has been done to get us where we are, in understanding and doing diversity, equity and inclusion work. And knowing that one or group of individuals can just cancel that, it really saddens my heart." All three companies that withdrew their corporate sponsorship do business on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border. Modeste did not name the sponsors because Pride Toronto hopes to do business with them in the future, but said two can be described as "gold" sponsors, meaning they provide $150,000 in cash or in goods, and one as "silver," meaning it provides $100,000. Both Rogers and Air Canada confirmed to CBC Toronto that they are sponsoring the event. Modeste believes the loss of support is connected to an executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump in January that ordered an end to all DEI programs, mandates, policies, programs, preferences and activities in the U.S. government. Modeste said companies may be removing themselves from public support of LGBTQ organizations because they fear losing U.S. government support. "It does connect to some of the policies under the new administration in the U.S.," Modeste said. "I think it is fair to say that, as a result of some of the executive orders that the President of the United States has put out and some of the language used, that organizations are removing themselves for whatever reason from supporting DEI, which include supporting the 2LGBTQ+ community," Modeste said. Organization to cancel stage and signature event Modeste said the loss of the three sponsors means the organization will have to cancel one main stage and one signature event as well as seek other sources of funding. It will not set up the south stage, which is usually located close to Dundas Street East and Church Street, and will not hold its annual Beach Party, a ticketed event that is usually held at Cherry Beach for up to 1,000 people. "We will continue to work with our community and to make sure that they are fully aware of any changes that are coming, but this, by no means, means that Pride will be cancelled because we will not allow that to happen," Modeste said. "The parade will continue. Our dyke march will continue. Our trans rally will continue." Tom Hooper, an assistant professor in the department of human rights and equity studies at York University, said Modeste has worked hard to bring financial transparency to Pride Toronto, especially when it comes to sponsorships. It doesn't make sense that corporate sponsors, which have supported the organization in some cases for many years, would remove that sponsorship now other than political developments in the U.S., Hooper said. "There's no reason why any sponsor would withdraw from Pride Toronto at this stage but for this attack on diversity, equity and inclusion," Hooper said. Chance to return to festival's roots: professor Hooper said the loss, however, represents an opportunity for the organization because it could go back to its roots. "I think it's an important lesson for us, for our communities, that maybe we should never have relied on these corporate and government sponsorships in the first place. And maybe a downsizing of Pride and a returning of Pride back to its community, back to its roots wouldn't be such a bad thing. "We're going to need Pride Toronto and organizations like it to fight back against anti-trans sentiment and attacks on our communities, attacks on our rights. And so, a return to our community roots to me seems like the right way to go here," Hooper said. Aida Sijamic Wahid, a professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, said it's important to remember that sponsorship is seen by companies as something that generates publicity. "Companies usually sponsor events because they want their name associated or presented. It gives them the opportunity to market themselves as being socially friendly and in support of certain causes," Wahid said. "It may be that they simply do not want their name attached to an event that could be construed as something that's in support of the DEI policies more broadly. And so, just to avoid the spotlight, they have pulled out." Wahid said Pride Toronto may not be the only Canadian organization to be affected by the DEI backlash engineered by Trump. "If companies generally stop believing that this is a cause that they would like to associate themselves with, then we could see similar behaviour from companies that decide not to put their names on any social events that are associated with diversity in any form or shape," Wahid added. "I hope that there are still enough sponsors that are willing to support Pride. And perhaps this is an opportunity for companies that truly believe that diversity, equity, inclusion matters to step up and say we're going to pick up the tab."
