In a press conference this morning, Wednesday, April 1, Will Russell - owner of Why Louisville, co-founder of Lebowski Fest and now ringleader of Funtown Mountain - made quite a few announcements about what the future holds for the highly anticipated Cave City attraction.
The former Wild West park, now eclectic attraction in the “Keep Louisville weird” style that Russell has become known for, will open its doors to the public on June 19. When it opens, the park will include the long standing Haunted Hotel, the iconic chair lift, a putt putt course, a zip line and carnival rides - all located at the bottom of the mountain.
Halloween weekend will celebrate the opening of the upper part of the mountain, which will include the Lucky Lady Saloon, Imagination Land Museum, a Treetop Village, the Kentucky Wondershow Theater, Mountaintop Amphitheater and Lolley Land, a forested area for sculptures by artist Kathleen Lolley.
Admission to Funtown Mountain will be free, working on a pay-as-you-play model, charging anywhere from $5 - $10 to visit the haunted house, ride the chair lift or play golf.
Funtown Mountain is a multimillion dollar project, supported in part by private donors, a $1 million grant, loans, lines of credit, ticket sales and sponsorships. Funtown Mountain is, “not about making money,” says Russell. In an effort to support the project, a Kickstarter campaign will be established.
To announce the opening day, the Funtown crew is hitting the road in an Argosy Airstream, known as the “Dreamstream,” to take the Funtown Mountain Wondershow to a few nearby cities. The sideshow-like event will feature live music, a magician, a burlesque dancer, a animatronic band, and showings of the attraction’s Kickstarter video, “The Funtown Connection.”
The tour will kick off April 17, with the Funtown Mountain Funder Explosion the night of Thunder over Louisville, at Fresh Start Growers Supply. Here, Louisvillians will have the opportunity to view the show before it hits the road.
Funtown Mountain will also have a float in the April 30 Pegasus Parade.
So, what can people expect from Funtown Mountain? Russell hopes the Mountain will host live music and act as a carnival atmosphere for visitors, as well as revive the roadside attraction economy of Cave City, a town he fell in love with as a child. The Wigwam Village and Dinosaur World are also located in the area and should benefit from increase in Cave City visitors.
For now, Russell and his crew are working on the logistics, like getting the old buildings up to code and making the road more accessible.
You can find more information on Funtown Mountain on their website.
Photo courtesy of Funtown Mountain.
