One of the most iconic landmarks ever to be associated with Bergen County was the legendary Palisades Amusement Park. For 74 years, Palisades grew to become one of the most popular amusement parks the nation had ever seen.

Wouldn’t your organization enjoy hearing the rich history of this fabulous New Jersey wonderland?

Program Information: For over twenty years, Vince Gargiulo has been speaking at libraries, museums and historical societies, detailing the history of the famed New Jersey fun center. Vince is the author of the book Palisades Amusement Park: A Century of Fond Memories, and Executive Producer of the NY/Thirteen PBS documentary of the same name.

The program runs around 90 minutes, including a question and answer period. The length of the show can be adjusted according to your library's needs.

Program Description: The popular and informative lecture is a comprehensive history of the Park beginning with its inception in the late 1800s, detailing its history of the world's largest outdoor salt water pool, the musical groups, the rides, the pageants and the disasters, until its ultimate demise in 1971. Throughout the show, the history of the park comes alive through the use of audio and video clips, music and over one hundred rare photographs collected by the Palisades Amusement Park Historical Society. It is a presentation that your visitors will be talking about long after the show.

Requirements: This program is presented as a multimedia PowerPoint presentation (this permits using a greater variety of images, video clips and sounds). For PowerPoint presentations, your group must provide an LCD projector and screen. If your facility does not have the capability to connect to a laptop, the show is also available as a traditional 35mm slide show. All you would need then would be a screen or suitable wall space for projecting slides.

References: Please feel free to ask others in the BCCLS library system for references.
Glen Rock Library (Betsy Wald); Lee Memorial Library, Allendale (Morgan Taylor); Secaucus Public Library (Jennifer May); Waldwick Public Library (Lori Quinn); Hasbrouck Heights Library (Melissa Singlewich).

Booking Information: Call 201-252-2558 or email vin@palisadespark.com.

Fees: The speaking fee is $250 in person; $150 through Zoom. Payment is expected the day of the event, unless prior arrangements have been made.

Travel Fees: A travel fee of $1.00 per mile from Mahwah, NJ applies for all programs. Tolls and parking fees (if any) may also apply.