Adirondack Studios (ADKS), a company that provides creative solutions for designers, artists, producers, and owners in the themed entertainment industry, will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025. The award-winning creative solutions provider, which has locations in Upstate New York, Orlando, Pasadena, Dubai, Singapore, and Shanghai, invites the industry to join its celebrations through a yearlong series of events and initiatives.
Established in upstate New York in 1975 as a boutique theatrical scenic design and fabrication company, ADKS now employs over 300 team members globally throughout its design and production facilities. The company has designed, fabricated and installed more than 5,000 projects and counting, with clients including some of the world’s most iconic theme park operators, consumer brand and IP providers, visual and sculptural artists, opera and ballet companies, museums, zoos and cultural facilities, real estate developers, cruise lines and resorts.
Sixteen of the world’s top 25 theme and amusement parks are either current or former ADKS clients, according to the most recent TEA/AECOM Theme & Museum Index. This means that in 2023, more than 173 million visitors had an ADKS experience at those parks alone. 25 Thea Awards have been won by ADKS projects, most recently for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and SeaWorld Abu Dhabi.
Some of the other recent and upcoming projects include The Nutcracker at South Carolina Ballet, Hersheypark Dark Nights, Bavarian Blast waterpark at Bavarian Inn Lodge, the brand-new Top of the Rock experience (in partnership with THG Creative), Candylicious at Dubai International Airport, and Sesame Street Learn & Play at American Dream.
50 years of making a scene
In 2025, ADKS will hold several events to celebrate its anniversary, including meet-and-greets at international tradeshows and larger-scale gatherings for partners and team members. Adirondack Studios is also keen to welcome the public into its production facilities and is presently undergoing aesthetic improvements to provide a more engaging experience for visitors.
The company will share its colourful history with a limited-edition book, video interviews, and a social media series highlighting each of ADKS’ five decades, in addition to a commemorative logo and an upcoming demo reel.
“Ever since we adopted the tagline and ethos of ‘Make A Scene’ last May, we’ve become more excited about sharing our journey with the public and inviting clients, colleagues and partners to make a scene with us,” explains Michael Blau, Adirondack Studios president and principal. “The purpose of this celebration is to say thank you to the thousands of individuals who got us where we are today.”
“Not a lot of companies can say they’ve been around for 50 years,” adds ADKS founder and principal, Tom Lloyd. “In addition to letting the industry know that we’re still here, it’s important that we celebrate why we’re still here. That ‘why’ is built on relationships – with our team, our clients, our colleagues, our partners and our communities.
“It also comes down to our values – even though we have grown and changed throughout the decades, our values such as collaboration, leaning into our theatrical and storytelling roots, and developing the next generation of creators never have and never will.”
Although the company is proud of its legacy, it has no plans to slow down in its golden years. “We’re making some exciting changes to future-proof our company for the next 50 years, which you’ll be hearing about in the coming months,” says Blau. “We look forward to seeing how the company will continue to evolve in the face of visitor experience trends and technologies – but the fact remains that our sandbox is the world, and our tools will be whatever is needed to create captivating experiences for clients and their guests.”
Members of the Adirondack Studios team will be at IAAPA Expo 2024 in Orlando from November 18 to 22. Attendees can email Kate Garrity, executive assistant, to make an appointment. To schedule a tour of the Orlando production facility, contact Raylen Farries via email.
This summer, Adirondack Studios shared details of its work for local community attractions in Florida.
The post Adirondack Studios to celebrate 50 years in business appeared first on Blooloop.