- Storyland (Ontario)
Infobox Amusement park
name = Storyland
caption = Main entrance
location = Renfrew, Ontario flagicon|Canada
phone_number = (613)432-2222
opening_date = 1966
rides = ?
games = ?
exhibits = ?
owner = John Berkhout
homepage = [http://www.storyland.ca/ Storyland Family Park]Storyland is a
theme park located northwest ofOttawa ,Ontario ,Canada , near the town ofRenfrew, Ontario in Horton Township. It features depictions of classicfairy tale scenes rendered inpapier mache andfibreglass . The park also features amini-golf course and a smallwater park , bilingualpuppet shows, aplayground , and staff dressed up as fairytale characters. It is near the Champlain Lookout inBrown's Bay , whereSamuel de Champlain made land. In 1953 a large rock was found in the area bearing a chiselled inscription: "Champlain Juin 2, 1613" The authenticity of the rocks inscription has been brought into question by the date format. The Champlain Lookout was a part of the landscape long before Storyland was founded. During the 2007 season, owner John Berkhout announced his retirement plans and that the park would be looking for a new owner. The website for the park indicates that an announcement will be made on May 7, 2008 regarding the future of the park. [ [http://www.storyland.ca Storyland Family Amusement Park ] ]Founding
The Park was founded by Durk and Bonnie Heyda, two immigrants from the
Netherlands . They were unable to have children, so they chose instead to build story scenes to amuse hikers on their way to the Champlain lookout. In 1966 the park opened featuring awindmill , several story scenes and a playground. The park continued to expand, adding new scenes at a steady rate until 1973 when Durk suffered a heart attack and control was handed to family friend John Berkhout. John continued the parks growth throughout the 1980s, adding mini golf,paddleboats and many additional story scenes, some including moving mechanical scenes.Location
* Coordinates: (coord|45|33|18|N|76|40|21|W|type:city_scale:50000)
Sources
*Cobden Then and Now, by George A. Wallace
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.