Branson News
Thousand Hills Golf Resort Gains Recognition for Quality Lodging Options,
Amenities
MissouriLife magazine, which provides over 100,000 readers throughout the
Show-Me State with information on Travel, Leisure, and countless other topics
on a bi-monthly basis, recently featured the Branson area in a piece written
by John Robinson, MissouriLife’s self titled "King Of The Road". Robinson
has currently traveled 3409 of Missouri’s 3914 state roads, and recently
visited the Table Rock Lake area in search of Branson lodging options in
every shape and size.
Mentioned in the article were Rock Lane Lodge, where Robinson’s family
used to spend summer trips when his daughters were young, Skyview Lodge,
a picturesque fishing retreat, White River Lodge, a romantic getaway, Big
Cedar Lodge, and Chateau on the Lake. Some of these establishments are unknown
even to locals, being located off the beaten path. Robinson searched beyond
the glitz and lights of Branson during his visit, to find places that truly
embody the Ozark spirit.
Also featured in Robinson's article was Thousand Hills Golf Resort. Well
known by the author for its golf course and golf front condos, on this trip
the King of the Road found something that hundreds of satisfied guests of
Thousand Hills have already discovered. Hidden amongst the trees, in a wooded
area just a stones throw from Tanger Outlet Mall and Branson's most travelled
road are The Cabins At Grand Mountain. These Branson Missouri cabin rentals
make up some of the most highly sought-after units in the Thousand Hills
Family. Unseen to those passersby who do not know where to look, the Cabins
At Grand Mountain offer guests a truly unique lodging experience.
Nestled in their own secluded area, just minutes from the Hwy 76 strip, The
Cabins At Grand Mountain provide guests the seclusion of a cabin in the woods,
paired with the convenience of a center-city condo. Describing the cabin
interiors as "downright stunning" and "decorated to the nines with beautiful
appointments", Robinson highlights why the cabins have become an annual retreat
for many Thousand Hills guests and their families. With fully furnished kitchens,
dining rooms, living rooms with fireplaces, bedrooms with king sized beds
and bathrooms with rain showers, the Cabins At Grand Mountain offer guests
a luxury alternative to "roughing it".
For more information on booking your own family retreat at The Cabins At
Grand Mountain, or any of the Branson vacation rentals in the Thousand Hills
Golf Resort family, call 1-800-864-4145. Thousand Hills also offers golf
and lake condo rentals from suites to 4 bedrooms, making it the perfect place
for a romantic weekend or a vacation with the family. You can also learn
more by visiting www.thousandhills.com. Log on today and start making your
own family memories! (Source: Press Release, 08/06/08)
What’s New in Branson 2008
Sight & Sound Theatre opens in May; Silver Dollar City Launches Biggest
Festival Year Ever
Live Shows
Sight & Sound Theatre, opening May 24, presents NOAH - The Musical. This
"Christian Broadway" production is an amazing bible-based show with more
than 50 live animals and 50 animatronics animals and a 4-story reproduction
of the Ark.
Andy Williams and Ann-Margret perform together at the Moon River Theatre
June 6 through July 26. The new Andy Williams Variety Show opens September
5 through October 27. The variety show will be patterned after his Emmy-Award
winning television shows and will have up to 6 different specialty acts
performing with Andy.
There is a new morning show at Andy Williams Moon River Theatre. "The
Entertainers" perform everything from dueling banjos to Phantom of the Opera,
Motown to bluegrass, all by local musicians who are "stars" in their own
right, from other shows in Branson.
The Oak Ridge Boys will open in their new theatre on Shepherd of the Hills
Expressway. Country Tonite will move to the Oak Ridge Boys Theatre. Dalena
Ditto’s Country Variety Show will perform at the Oak Ridge Boys Theatre,
April through December.
Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theatre welcomes Larry Gatlin &
the Gatlin Brothers to their stage in a morning show. Dick Clark’s American
Bandstand complex opens up Area ’57 with special events, such as BransonFest
2008, April 8-12, and more planned throughout the year.
Justin Flom and the Imaginary Theatre will feature Branson Divas and the
Emmy award-winning comedian Bob Nelson.
Bobby Vinton will be performing at The Mansion this November and Tom Mullica
as Red Skelton is appearing at The Mansion.
At the Welk Resort Theatre, The Rankin Brothers Classic Music Revue will
debut in March and run through December. Matt and Mark Rankin, along with
their cast of outstanding musicians and performers, will present timeless,
classic hits covering six decades of music. The Welk Stars Reunion is set
for Sept. 3-7 and The Tillis Family Reunion, starring Mel Tillis & Pam
Tillis, will return from Sept. 16 through October 25. Tony Orlando’s
annual Veterans Salute is Nov. 11 and he will join The Lennon Sisters for
an all-new Christmas Celebration, November 1 through December 6,
Yakov Smirnoff welcomes country star Joe Diffie to Yakov’s theatre in
September. Shows will feature his friends and family members, as well as
comedian Paul Harris.
Attractions
The internationally-awarded 1880s-style theme park Silver Dollar City launches
its biggest festival year ever, with new original stage productions, performing
groups, and festival showcases.
New to open the Spring season: an Irish Celebration with World-Fest’s
all new Irish production show, Feet of Fire, featuring authentic fire dancing.
Then it’s Bluegrass & BBQ, celebrating Americana at its best with
hundreds of award-winning bluegrass performances and fresh-off-the-grill
foods.
Summer brings family adventures at the park’s biggest Kids Fest ever,
presenting a nationally-recognized slate of entertainment with The Magic
of Peter Gossamer, a Kid Concoctions interactive world of play, a VeggieTales
live stage show produced exclusively for Silver Dollar City, and even an
Ice Circus with skating performers from around the world.
Fall’s Southern Gospel Picnic features the top traditional and contemporary
entertainers in the genre; and the National Harvest Festival brings the largest
gathering in America’s Heartland of demonstrating craftsmen, harvest-time
foods and musical performances, plus special events: A Salute to the American
Cowboy and an all-new Tribute to the American Farmer.
An Old Time Christmas, nationally recognized by media from USA Today to Good
Morning America and Southern Living as one of the best holiday light shows
in America, dazzles with the 5-story, Special Effects Christmas tree and
all-encompassing sound and light show on the Square and the all-new Frosty,
an interactive show for kids.
Debuting in September, Silver Dollar City, long known as "Home of American
Craftsmanship," celebrates its roots with a very special project to highlight
the theme park’s most authentic focus: the interactive art of demonstration.
The new Silver Dollar City Culinary & Craft School is designed to pass
along knowledge of America’s heritage through fine crafts, handiwork
and culinary arts. Interactive classes will be held within the stylishly
decorated and themed timberframe structure, set on a hillside within the
City, with experts from top chefs to renowned craftsmen teaching culinary
classes and craft seminars. Along with the seminars from national experts,
Silver Dollar City Master Craftsmen will feature heirloom displays, multiple
demonstrations and hands-on activities for take-home skills.
The Branson Entertainment Hall of Fame & Museum, located in the Branson
Mall, honors those instrumental in Branson’s entertainment success and
showcases historical items for public viewing daily.
Butterflies at Branson is a community-wide art exhibit that will be decorating
the Branson area from March 29 until October 10. Area artists, including
Yakov Smirnoff, will turn a huge fiberglass butterfly into a work of art
to benefit a local charity.
Celebration City, Branson’s Biggest Nighttime Attraction, presents the
biggest park expansion to date, and the largest new ride in the Ozarks for
2008. Roaring Falls, a $2 million water adventure ride, takes riders on a
water-filled journey through fast-moving rapids and features a 5-story, 55-degree
angle drop for an enormous splash finale. Celebration City is a 20th-century
themed family amusement park featuring more than 30 rides and attractions
including Ozark WildCat, a wooden roller coaster eight stories high. Celebration
City hosts "Ignite the Night" a spectacular multi-million dollar nighttime
special effects show presenting a stunning finale to the day’s fun along
with a boardwalk full of games, uniquely themed shopping and family-style
dining.
There is new fun on the water at Gage’s Branson Landing Marina &
Shoppes. Branson Landing Cruises offers daily excursions aboard the luxurious
100-foot yacht Landing Princess or the authentic paddlewheel riverboat Lake
Queen in the midst of spectacular Branson Landing and Lake Taneycomo waterfront.
Tall Timber lumberjack show is moving to Hwy 76 West in 2008, located two
blocks west of Silver Dollar City, across the street from Uncle Ike’s
trail rides.
White River Fish House at Bass Pro Shops in Branson Landing sits on Lake
Taneycomo. You can feast on local favorites like catfish and trout or enjoy
a delicious hand-cut juicy steak, grilled to perfection. Come hungry for
your next adventure at White River Fish House.
Developments
The new Branson Convention Center offers convention and conference goers
220,000 square feet of flexible space in a stunning, state-of-the-art setting.
A curving, exposed timber pedestrian concourse gives visitors a pleasant
view of the Lake Taneycomo waterfront as they travel between the center’s
meeting and exhibit facilities and the adjacent Hilton Branson Convention
Center Hotel.
The Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel is located within walking distance
of Historic Downtown Branson and the sprawling new Branson Landing shopping,
dining and entertainment district. The new Hilton offers guests a chance
to experience the pampered luxury of a metropolitan hotel in the heart of
small town America. The 12-story hotel has 293 rooms, including 194 traditional
rooms and suites, and 99 condotel units that will also be available for nightly
rental.
There are two more championship golf courses in Branson - the Murder Rock
course at Branson Creek and the Payne Stewart Tribute course at Branson Hills.
The Branson/Lakes Area community is looking forward to the first flight landing
at the new Branson Regional Airport in May of 2009.
For more information or to order a free Branson Vacation Guide, call the
Branson/Lakes Area Convention & Visitors Bureau at 800-214-3661 or visit
www.explorebranson.com. (Source: Press Release, 02/04/08)
Hottest ticket in Branson: Hot Winter Fun Big Show
Hot Winter Fun Big Show
417-335-8080
3440 W 76
Branson, MO 65616
The hottest ticket in Branson and a highlight of Hot Winter Fun is the 14th
annual Hot Winter Fun Big Show on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Jim Stafford Theatre.
The show is a virtual sampler of the wide variety of Branson shows and performers
on one stage in one exciting evening. It features segments of several shows
that are open during January and February and throughout the entire year
in Branson.
Shows and entertainers scheduled to appear in the Big Show are 14 Karat Country,
50’s At The Hop, A Tribute to John Denver, Bob Nelson Comedy Show, Branson
Brothers, Branson Divas, Branson Hot Hits Experience, Circle B Chuckwagon,
Clay Cooper’s Country Music Express, Comedy Jamboree, From Patsy To
Present, Grand Jubilee, Grand Old Gospel Hour, Island Fire, Isle of Dreams,
Jim Stafford, Legends in Concert, Magic Up Close and Personal, Magnificent
7 Show, New’s Country, Penny Gilley, Red, Hot and Blue and Tony Roi’s
Elvis Experience.
For tickets the Big Show call 417-335-8080.
Branson became an "overnight sensation" with the national tourism industry
in the 1990s and, then, it happened again after a group of local tourism
leaders created a wintertime seasonal promotion known as Hot Winter Fun.
It was marketed in 1994 to close the brief seasonal gap between Christmas
and spring and it provides year-round activities for Branson visitors.
"The fame might have come overnight, but the success of Branson as a tourism
destination certainly was not," said Ross Summers, President/CEO of the
Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau.
"Branson’s tourism industry was built up over many decades of hard work
by local townspeople who were imaginative and practical and completely believed
in this town. January and February were somewhat risky because Branson does
have a winter season, but there are far more nice days in winter than ice
days.
"People were coming here year-round to fish in local lakes. They were coming
year-round to shop in Branson. They were coming year-round to play golf.
And some folks that were coming to Branson were unaware that many of the
attractions were closed for the season in the winter months.
"Every year since 1994, more businesses have opted to stay open to accommodate
visitors during January and February. There are always plenty of fun things
to do in Branson."
Tourists will find a calendar full of things to do such as taking in Branson
shows, shopping after-Christmas sales, golfing, visiting indoor attractions
and museums and fishing on the area’s three lakes.
In a national comparison, Branson is one of America’s most affordable
vacation destinations and because many locations offer discounts during the
winter months, Hot Winter Fun is a good time to visit and very economical.
"Escaping to Branson after the holidays is both relaxing and entertaining.
The easy pace, combined with so many choices for fun, makes a visit to Branson
during Hot Winter Fun the perfect escape," said Lynn Berry, public relations
director for the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and
Convention & Visitors Bureau.
"Hot Winter Fun has proven to be very successful. Over the past 14 years,
visitor numbers have increased during these winter months. Many folks have
discovered that they can find a great vacation here any time of the year,"
said Summers.
Evie Mohrfeld, travel writer for the Post-Dispatch of Rochester, Minn., echoed
this sentiment. She wrote, "Visiting Branson" We realized how the area has
become a year-round tourist attraction. It’s totally family-friendly
with many new shows and attractions always popping up. It’s a safe haven,
which is the reason so many choose to live in this Midwest area... Re-visits
to Branson are a new experience any season and every year."
For tickets the Big Show call 417-335-8080. For more information check out
the website at www.HotWinterFun.org. (Source: Press Release, 02/01/08
"After hearing rumors for many years about a commercial airport right
here in Branson, the airport has now become a reality. Branson Airport, LLC
held the formal groundbreaking for the start of construction at the airport
site, which is near the southern end of the Branson Creek development, only
8 miles south of the center of Branson." (Source:
ExploreBranson.Com Newsletter,
August, 2007)
"From the longest word in any song to two dozen Duttons cavorting over the
rooftops of London, the 2007 Dutton Family Show is their biggest extravaganza
to date. In a tribute to an umbrella-wielding Mary Poppins, the rooftop
stage is filled with song, dance, chimney sweeps and a surprise stage exit
for the children in this heartwarming segment from their show." (Source:
ExploreBranson.Com Newsletter,
August, 2007)
"The beat of the island drums seems to drive audiences of Island Fire
into a frenzy of vocal enthusiasm, while the breathtaking Fire Knife
Dancing hushes them into awed silence. Welcome to Branson’s newest show
- Island Fire at the Dutton Theater!" (Source:
ExploreBranson.Com Newsletter,
July, 2007)
"Sometime in the next few months, one lucky family will receive a free
vacation to Branson... the customer who purchases the millionth ticket
will win a refund of his or her entire vacation arranged through Branson
Tourism Center." (Source: smartbrief.com, 07/05/07)
"A fishing vacation to Branson has everything fishermen and women
want. There are secluded places to fish, but you are close to all the other
things you like when you are away from home: a comfortable place to stay,
good food, fun, shopping and entertainment." (Source: smartbrief.com, 06/27/07)
"BODIES ... The Exhibition [opened] June 16th at 9 Treasure Lake Drive,
adjacent to the IMAX Entertainment Complex in Branson, Missouri. Visitors
will have a one-of-a-kind opportunity to come face-to-face with real, full
human bodies and partial body specimens in a way never seen before..." (Source:
Press Release, June, 2007)
Bransonfest 2007 Boasts Hundreds Of Entertainers
One of the top 100 events in North America, BransonFest 2007 kicks off the
spring season April 10-14 at the Welk Resort Theatre with world-class performers,
genuine Ozarks cuisine, and a host of local artisans and craftsmen. This
15th annual event will truly give visitors a taste of what Branson is all
about.
The Welk Resort Theatre hosts daily concerts, featuring some of the best
entertainment in Branson, including Yakov Smirnoff, The Gatlin Brothers,
Jim Stafford, Mickey Gilley, The Lennon Sisters, Darren Romeo, The Baldknobbers,
Acrobats of China, Best of Motown and many more. Each showcase concert will
feature 10 Branson shows and the lineup of stars is added to daily.
The talent overflows into the outside tents where the stage at the Real American
Entertainment tent offers a variety of free performances by local and regional
entertainers. For kids of all ages, there’s lots of fun with costumed
characters and an array of street performers.
The Expo Area displays 50 booths featuring show information, contests and
giveaways, and autograph sessions with Branson’s most popular stars
and performers. The Taste of Branson food tent gives guests a sample of
traditional Ozarks’ cuisine and food from Branson’s finest restaurants.
The Arts, Culture and Heritage tent provides visitors the opportunity to
observe the work of nationally recognized Branson personalities, and features
artists, authors and musicians.
BransonFest 2007 runs daily, April 10-14. Free outdoor tent activities are
noon to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 10; and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday - Friday,
April 11-13 and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 14. Daily concerts in
the Welk Resort Theatre are at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 10; and at 2 p.m. Wednesday
- Saturday, April 11-14. The Welk Resort Theatre is located on State Hwy
165 in Branson. For tickets and schedule information call 417-337-7469 or
800-734-5515 or log on at www.sullivanshows.com. Tickets are $34 each, or
a five-show package is available for $150 per person.
BransonFest 2007 is sponsored by the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce/CVB.
As one of the country’s leading tourism destinations, Branson offers
visitors of all ages a wide variety of entertainment throughout the year.
Someone you love is always playing in Branson. For more information about
the Branson/Lakes area, contact the Chamber of Commerce at 800-214-3661 or
visit the website, www.explorebranson.com. (Source: Press Release, 03/01/07)
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Free Accommodations for the military! This luxury Branson golf resort
community is offering two FREE nights - no strings attached - to active-duty
U.S. military personnel on leave from the Middle East. Located just off the
Branson Strip, it is conveniently situated between international award-winning
theme park, Silver Dollar City, and Branson’s 49 live music theaters.
Reservations will be accepted until January 1, 2008 for stays occurring before
February 1, 2008.
