Vincent Price was born 100 years ago tonight--May 27th--as the Great Dreamland Fire blazed, ultimately to consume a never-to-be-rebuilt Dreamland amusement park at Coney Island. Bizarre coincidence? Cosmic reincarnation?

Join us tonight as we try to figure it out with Hendrick's drinks bearing his name, theatrical performances, and the unveiling of a new 19th Century-style disaster spectacle!

Full details follow; Very much hope to see you there.

Unveiling of a brand new 19th Century style disaster amusement! Free Hendrick's Gin! Disaster tunes of yester-year! Lord Whimsy! Stars of TV's Oddities! Vintage Coney Island films curated by Zoe Beloff! Rare appearance of the old Dreamland Bell!

All this and more await you next Friday at our Centennial Celebration of the Great Dreamland Fire. Please, come celebrate the end of an era with us!

Full invite below. Hope very much to see you there!!!

Centennial Celebration of the Great Dreamland Fire Featuring the Opening of Coney Island’s Newest Cosmorama
Presented by The Coney Island Museum, The Morbid Anatomy Library, and Atlas Obscura
Date: Friday May 27, 2011
Time: 7:00 PM
Admission: $25 (Tickets at the door, or purchase here)
Location: The Coney Island Museum, 1208 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn (map here)

Next Friday, May 27th, you are cordially invited to a party commemorating the "awful splendor" of The great Dreamland fire of May 27, 1911, the most devastating disaster to hit New York City in the pre-9-11 era, a fire which devastated a never-to-be-rebuilt-Dreamland 100 years ago on this day.

This event will mark the premiere of the Cosmorama of the Great Dreamland Fire, a 360 degree immersive cosmorama telling the story of the great fire in pictures, sound, and light. Based on Coney Island’s great immersive disaster spectacles, the cosmorama is the product of months of labor, thousands of dollars, and the expertise of artists and artisans from the Metropolitan Opera, and uses real boards from the original Coney Island boardwalk in its construction.

The party will also feature a complementary gin bar with custom cocktails, disaster tunes of yester-year curated by The Foppinton Brothers, vintage Coney Island films, a rare appearance of the old Dreamland Bell, celebrity appearances, anatomical give-aways, myriad performances, and much more!

Full line-up:

• Complimentary Gin Bar (!!!) courtesy of Hendrick’s Gin and Atlas Obscura
• Our incomparable host, Lord Whimsy, author of The Affected Provincial’s Companion, Volume 1
• Special guest appearance by Ryan Matthew, Evan Michelson and Mike Zohn of TV’s “Oddities”
• A rare appearance of the long submerged bell of the Dreamland Pier, 100 years after its climactic plunge into the depths of the cold Atlantic
• Puppet Vaudeville from Jonny Clockworks and "The Cosmic Bicycle" of "The ClockWorks Puppet Theatre"
• Vintage Coney Island Films from the collection of artist Zoe Beloff
• Giveaways of anatomical puzzle and other sundries complements of Kikkerland Design
• Custom Cocktails and Early 20th Century disaster tunes complements of The Foppinton Brothers
• The Accordion stylings of Matt Dallow
• “Reconstruction,” a performance featuring contortionist Jonathan Nosan and with musical accompaniment by Gordon Beeferman, Composer/Pianist
• Sword Swallowing, burlesque and Coney Island entertainment
• 19th Century waxworks, freak animals, and a real shrunken head
• Unlimited access all night long to the newly unveiled Cosmorama of the Great Dreamland Fire
• And, of course, More!

Tickets are available by clicking here or purchasing at the door. See you there!