15 Nov 2017 IAAPA 2017: David Willrich announces THEA Award winners BY Lauren Heath-Jones |
The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) has announced the winners of the THEA Awards during the IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando, Florida. The awards, which recognise achievement and talent within the attractions and themed entertainments industries, were announced by the TEA’s president of the International Board, David Willrich, at a press conference yesterday (14 November). Winners included Phil Hettema, president and creative executive of The Hettema Group, who was awarded the Buzz Price Thea award, which recognises lifetime achievement. Joe Fox and Annika Oetken won the Peter Chernack Distinguished Service award, while Cedar Point in Ohio was awarded the THEA Classic award. Winners of the Outstanding Achievement award included: Sleep No More at The McKinnon Hotel, Shanghai Ghost Town Alive at Knott’s Berry Farm, California Pandora – World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Orlando Avatar Flight of Passage at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Orlando Derren Brown’s Ghost Train: Rise of the Demon at Thorpe Park, Surrey Across the Irish Sea at the Jameson Distillery, Dublin Frozen Ever After at the Norway Pavillion at Epcot, Orlando Chimealong Ocean Kingdom Journey and Lights parade, Zhuhai Symbolica, Efteling Citadella Visitors Centre, Gozo Island Carrieres de Lumieres, Les Baux de Provence Aura at the Basilique Notre-Dame, Montreal Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, California Dreamworks Animation Zone at Motion Gate, Dubai Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington Gallipoli: The Scale of our War at the Musem of New Zealand, Wellington Rainis Museum Tadenava, Riga 3D Live - Holographic 3D LED Display. Recipients will receive their awards at The TEA Summit and THEA Gala, which will be held at the Disneyland hotel in California, in April 2018. Check back with Attractions Management and AM2 during the week for all the latest breaking news from IAAPA 2017 Close Window |