Zombie-loving geeks of the Valley, prepare thyself. Haunted attraction and event space Monsterland is set to rise from its grave and live again later this summer. The horror-themed establishment in downtown Mesa, which closed down at the beginning of the year, will reportedly reopen for business on a limited basis in late August for special events.
Rumblings of life started coming from Monsterland's grave last week when its Facebook page featured a message promising that a "GIGANTIC announcement" about the venue's future would be made over the weekend. And said announcement came this past Saturday afternoon when Marco Regalado of Tempe's Pop Culture Paradise proclaimed that Monsterland would become a functioning event space after a special "Resurrection Party" on Saturday, August 24.
See also: Mesa's Monsterland to Close Next Weekend Pop Culture Paradise's Marco Regalado Attempting to Buy and Re-Open Monsterland
Regalado, who previously told Jackalope Ranch> of his desire to reopen Monsterland several months ago, made the announcement during a special zombie-themed event at the Arizona Collectors Marketplace. And according to the Pop Culture Paradise proprietor, he and several other individuals have formed a local production company that will use Monsterland for special events.
Regalado made a vague mention of the group on Saturday at the marketplace when announcing Monsterland's reopening, which you can see in the following YouTube clip.
"So a few of us got together and decided, you know what, Monsterland was a pretty damn good place to go to be a zombie on a regular basis, to have a drink with friends, and to have some good food," he says. "So we figured, 'Why let this thing go away?' So we decided it was probably time to bring it back."
Regalado also asked the Collectors Marketplace crowd if reopening Monsterland "was a pretty good idea for everybody," which resulted in cheers.
Monsterland originally opened in the fall of 2011 purely as a haunted house but underwent a remodeling less than six months later and reopened as a bar, restaurant, and nightclub in April 2012. Its proprietors, including owner Kevin Wynn, later decided to close the establishment after the first of this year. A heretofore final blowout, a special edition of its Thriller Costume Ball, was held in late January and the property has remained dark and dormant ever since.
During his public announcement at the Collectors Marketplace on Saturday, Regalado stumped for support for Monsterland, which he believes will help "make it last a helluva lot longer than the first time around."
Jackalope Ranch spoke with Regalado briefly over Facebook chat yesterday in order to get additional details about the future of the venue. The Pop Culture Paradise proprietor, however, is keeping his cards close to the vest, at least for the moment. He provided a little more info, confirmed that Monsterland will reopen after the "Resurrection Party," and that its original owner owner Kevin Wynn will still be involved (the other parties involved with the production company are still a mystery).
Regalado also hinted that Monsterland will be available for other sorts of events and that, ultimately, the intent is to run Monsterland "as a venue, which is what it was initially meant to be."
"We're looking to 'sponsor' two events per month on top of other events sponsored by other parties," Regalado says. He promised that more details would be made public sometime in the next week.
Jackalope Ranch also spoke via telephone with Wynn, who says the goal of reopening Monsterland is to hold events at the venue and "keep its name out there" during the current construction process that will extend Valley Metro's light rail system into downtown Mesa by 2016.
"We're trying to keep the Monsterland out there and keep the venue as it is through all the light rail construction," Wynn says.
Monsterland's "Resurrection Party" will take place on Saturday, August 24.
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