In 1975, retired Army Lt. Col. Robert Renninger Bauman donned Bavarian leather pants, suspenders and a green Lechtaler hat and sang some songs in German for an audition at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The East Greenville, Pa., native was hired to portray the character he created in his audition, “Der Burgermeister,“ or mayor of the resort’s German town.

Robert Bauman, Busch Gardens’ original burgermeister, has died.

The Virginia War Memorial has organized a 10-day trip to England and France to honor the “greatest generation” of World War II. The trip will run from March 30 to April 8 and will start in London at Winston Churchill’s War Cabinet Rooms, proceed to Portsmouth, then Normandy, and conclude in Paris. For more details and an itinerary, go to www. vawarmemorial.org.

Anheuser-Busch InBev said yesterday that it will sell its 10 theme parks, including Busch Gardens near Williamsburg and three SeaWorlds, to private equity firm Blackstone Group for at least $2.3 billion. The world’s largest brewer, based in Belgium, has been shedding assets to help pay for the $52 billion takeover of St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch that formed the company last year.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, the world’s largest brewer, said today that it will raise $2.7 billion from selling its U.S. theme parks to the Blackstone Group.

Virginia’s two theme parks will be hiring about 650 part-time workers for this fall’s Halloween attractions. Kings Dominion will hold a job fair at the amusement park in Doswell tomorrow to hire more than 400 part-time employees. Busch Gardens near Williamsburg has openings for 250 people “looking to offset the effects of the economy while having fun this fall,“ the park said.

Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens amusement parks are hiring part-time workers for the fall season.
  Kings Dominion: Job fair 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow at Kings Dominion’s Human Resource Office in the park at Doswell
Applications should be filled out online at KingsDominion.com before job-fair interviews.
For details, call (804) 876-5145.

Big Bad Wolf ride closing at Busch Gardens after 29 years

Beginning in late November, Busch Gardens will transform into a holiday wonderland, featuring more than 1 million twinkling lights and a 45-foot, light-animated Christmas tree.

At Kings Dominion, the 161-foot-tall Dominator will shoot you down a 148-foot drop, accelerate you to 65 mph, turn you upside down five times, and sling you through the world’s tallest vertical roller-coaster loop. All in 2 minutes and 6 seconds. So, of course, “it was a lot of fun,“ said 14-year-old Rebecca McDevitt, fresh off the swooping, thundering thrill ride.

Crystal Spaulding’s toddlers live for “Sesame Street.“ And now the children’s show will come alive at Busch Gardens. The James City County theme park will open its newest attraction, a children’s play area called the Sesame Street Forest of Fun at Busch Gardens, on April 3.