by Brent Hovey

Reporter

Aurora -- If you were one of the thousands of area residents saddened by the closing of Geauga Lake, you'll soon have an opportunity to get a piece of the park.

Everything from memorabilia to signs to equipment to ferry boats, including the shark tank and Big Dipper, will be up for sale.

Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. last week also announced selected Geauga Lake memorabilia will be sold at a discount for the next few weekends.

The Tradewinds gift shop outside Wildwater Kingdom's main gate (the old Sea World entrance) will be open as follows: Fridays from 5 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m.

Meanwhile, all of the rides still left at Geauga Lake will be up for auction in June, apparently including the Big Dipper.

Cedar Fair has hired Norton Auctioneers of Michigan to conduct a parkwide auction of all rides, equipment and remaining memorabilia June 17 and 18.

When an itemized list of what was to auctioned off came out April 24, the Big Dipper was not on it. This led to speculation that the 12th oldest roller coaster in the world would be saved and possibly moved to another Cedar Fair park.

But Cedar Fair spokesman Bryan Edwards said April 25 he did not know why the ride was not on the list, and that it should have been.

ON APRIL 30, a statement from Denise Kinsey of Norton Auctioneers stated: "The Dipper will be part of the auction, as of (April 28). The decision to sell, or not sell, was totally Cedar Fair's."

Before the itemized list came out, there were rumors surrounding the fate of the Big Dipper.

According to a source who said he has close ties to the situation but wanted to stay anonymous, a press conference or news release was scheduled for April 23 to say the Big Dipper would be moved, stored and later rebuilt at Cedar Point.

The announcement never came and Cedar Fair's spokesman said that was just a rumor and there was no truth to it.

So unless someone shows interest in purchasing it beforehand, the Big Dipper will be up for auction in June, along with everything else. A full list is available at www.nortonauctioneers.com.

The auction covers all items on the park's amusement property. As for the land itself, Cedar Fair is still accepting bids through Colliers Ostendorf-Morris through May 23.

When the submission process has been completed, all of the proposals will be reviewed and a decision will be made, according to Edwards.

E-mail: bhovey@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3115