Branson, Missouri will once again play host to the acclaimed professional cycling event, Tour of Missouri, slated for September 8-14, 2008. One hundred twenty of the world’s premier cyclists will compete in 7 stages of this challenging 600+ mile trek.

Following a wildly successful inaugural Tour of Missouri in 2007, this year’s race will take riders, representing 15 teams and more than 20 countries, from St. Joseph, the historic site of the Pony Express, through the Ozarks, over the Katy Trail and the Mark Twain National Forrest, along the celebrated Route 66 and the winding Missouri River, with a brilliant finish at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

The Tour of Missouri, sanctioned internationally by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and nationally by USA Cycling, is ranked only behind the Tour de Georgia and Amgen Tour of California for North American cycling events.

The Branson Stage

Daily races range from 75 miles to 125 miles, but Branson will host the 18 mile Stage 3 Time Trials which many teams believe to be all-important towards an overall win. Starting at The Branson Landing, the new commercial waterfront development on Lake Taneycomo in the downtown district of Branson, cyclists face what 2007 Tour of Missouri champion George Hincapie describes as “the hardest time trial course” he’d ever ridden.

In reverse order of their ranking, cyclists start in intervals of one minute each until the final 10 riders, who set out in two minute intervals. The course features a relentless grind through the hilly terrain around Branson, one of America’s favorite vacation hotspots.

To see an interactive map of the Branson leg of the Tour of Missouri please visit:

www.branson.com/tour-of-missouri.html

And for more information from the official Tour of Missouri website visit:

www.tourofmissouri.com

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This just in! On Monday, November 10, 2008 at Branson’s Chateau on the Lake, Lt. Col. Oliver North (USMC- ret) will be featured as the keynote speaker at the 233rd Anniversary of the Founding of the United States Marine Corps.

Tickets to the event, which is open to the public, are $45 per person and include Dinner, the Marine Corp Birthday Celebration, Col. North’s keynote address and the Marine Corps Ball featuring a live dance band.

The time honored tradition of the Marine Corps Birthday Cake Cutting Ceremony is not often witnessed by those outside the Corps. The Corps was founded on November 10, 1775 and from that day forward, the tenth of November has been the climax of the Marine Corps year.

The birthday of the Marine Corps is celebrated officially and socially wherever one or more Marines are stationed; aboard ship, at posts of other services, even in the field. November tenth is honored by the cutting and sharing of a birthday cake. A sword is used to cut the cake as a reminder that the Marine Corps are “a band of warriors, committed to carrying the sword so that our nation may live in peace.”

About Col. North

From his bio: “Oliver L. North is a combat decorated Marine, a #1 bestselling author, the founder of a small business, an inventor with three U.S. patents, a syndicated columnist, and the host of ‘War Stories’ on the FOX News Channel. He claims, however, that his most important accomplishment is being “the husband of one and the father of four.”

He is also the founder of Freedom Alliance, a foundation which provides scholarships for the sons and daughters of service members killed in action.

Seating is limited. For tickets contact www.BransonTourismCenter.com or call (800) 619-5708.

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The good news for today, Monday, August 25th, is that Missouri has the lowest gas prices in the nation as reported by AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report. Regular gasoline is $3.438 per gallon with the national average being $3.681 per gallon.

When you are in Branson, look for the gas savings programs available through companies such as BransonTourismCenter.com and the Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce.

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BootsnAll.com, a popular website for independent world travelers, has added Branson, Missouri’s own Titanic Museum, to its list of ‘World’s Largest’ things.

Quoting the website:

“This half-scale ship has only been open since 2006, and already more than 1 million guests have walked an elegant replica of the Titanic’s Grand Staircase, and stood on the mighty ship’s bridge. Your visit begins when they hand you the boarding pass of an actual Titanic passenger, and you check out the Memorial Wall to see if they lived or died.”

If you haven’t toured Titanic: The World’s Largest Museum Attraction, then you should fit it into your next Branson visit. This attraction, interesting for all ages, offers several unique activities including opportunities to:

• Walk an elegant replica of the Titanic’s Grand Staircase
• Touch the frozen surface of an ‘iceberg’
• Feel the chill of that fateful “Starry Night”
• See the world’s largest Titanic ship’s model on display
• Stand on the mighty ship’s bridge and hear the Captain’s commands
• View life onboard, see a First Class Stateroom & Third Class cabin
• Explore world-class gallery rooms with rare historical artifacts
• Try to send an SOS signal from the ship’s wireless room
• View an exclusive exhibit of the only known interior & exterior Titanic photos

Some of the other ‘World’s Largest” notables include:
World’s largest hotel – First World Hotel, Pahang, Malaysia (6,118 rooms)
World’s largest youth hostel – Danhostel, Copenhagen, Denmark (1020 beds)
World’s largest swimming pool – San Alfonso Del Mar, Chile It covers 20 acres, is 115 feet deep at one end, and holds 66 million gallons of water.
World’s longest beach – Praia do Cassino, Brazil It stretches 152 miles.
World’s largest airport – King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Saudi, sits on a 300 sq. mile property.
World’s largest shopping mall – South China Mall. Though it is largely unoccupied, the mall has 6.5 million square feet of retail space.

Anyway, for a BIG time, visit the Titanic Museum in Branson.

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The respected travel planning website VacationFun.com, reports that Missouri is the No. 3 ranked state for requests for tourist information during the first 6 months of 2008. In their rankings for individual destinations, Branson ranked No. 1 in the nation for the same period.

Missouri Division of Tourism figures show that, to date, traffic at the state’s numerous Missouri Welcome Centers matches the 2007 figures. They also cite that the flooding conditions have not had a significant impact on travel.

The Travel Industry Association (TIA) Survey released in May 2008 shows that in response to higher gas prices, the greatest percentage of travelers plan to drive shorter distances to vacation destinations. Missouri draws heavily from its adjacent states- Illinois, Kansas, Iowa, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Strategic Marketing and Research, Inc., of Carmel, Indiana, states that that Missouri’s “Close to Home. Far From Ordinary.” advertising campaign hits home with likely travelers. They say that 27+ % of survey respondents state that they are “very likely” to travel to Missouri, up from the nearly 21% for the same time period in 2007.

When you look at the arithmetic, it all adds up that travel and tourism in Branson and the State of Missouri are faring well in these tough times.

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Dale Warren, the ‘Trail Boss’ for the legendary Sons of the Pioneers passed away on August 9, 2008 in Branson. He joined the group in 1952 replacing lead singer Ken Curtis, who went on to play Festus in the long-running television show, Gunsmoke.

Dale, who sang lead, baritone and played bass, was called upon to serve as the Pioneers’ leader in 1977 when Lloyd Perryman passed away. For over thirty years, Dale led the group known for its tight, rich cowboy harmonies featured in such songs as ‘Tumbling Tumbleweeds’ and ‘Cool Water.’

The Sons of the Pioneers were created by the ‘King of the Cowboys’ Roy Rogers in 1933 and have been in continuous performance ever since. The Smithsonian Institute dubbed them a ‘National Treasure.’ Having been inducted into the Singing Cowboy, National Cowboy and Western Music Association’s Halls of Fame, the Pioneers arguably set the standard for all western singing groups. They have appeared in close to 100 films with stars such as Gene Autry, Bing Crosby, John Wayne and, of course, Roy Rogers.

This promotional photograph shows Dale Warren in the upper left with the Sons of the Pioneers in 1967.

Dale, thanks for all that you have done. You’ve left quite a legacy. And as Roy would say, ‘Happy Trails, until we meet again!’

Note: You can still see the Sons of the Pioneers in performance at Shepherd of the Hills’ Pavillion Theatre, 5586 West Highway 76 in Branson. I highly recommend it. And take your appetite- there’s a Chuckwagon Dinner waiting for you that you are really going to enjoy!

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The gang at the Branson Tourism Center recently completed shooting segments for a new short-piece video promoting live shows in Branson.

As you can see in the picture, legends such as Paul Revere of Paul Revere and the Raiders, long-time Branson favorite Andy Williams and Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers joined in the fun. Shoji Tabuchi, Jim Stafford, Kirby van Burch, The New Shanghai Circus, the cast of Spirit of the Dance, Twelve Irish Tenors, just to name a few, also breezed in to say hello and support the project.

Branson Tourism Center will stream the video on its website and distribute thousands of the DVDs at one of the country’s largest travel and trade shows in Orlando, Florida in early September.

There are many compelling reasons to visit Branson- from the stunning natural beauty, to the family-friendly atmosphere, incredible attractions, to more restaurants and shopping than you can describe, but we should all remember that Branson is certainly heralded as one of the main centers for Live Entertainment in America.

Click Here to See the Branson Vacation Video

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Congratulations to our good friends at Branson.com for receiving the prestigious Best U.S. Destination GeoDomain Award at the 2008 GeoDomain Expo held in July at Chicago’s W Hotel City Center. The GeoDomain Expo, sponsored by Associated Geos and The Kelsey Group, is the largest and most important annual gathering of owners of the most successful U.S. and international ‘major city’, ‘country’ and ‘destination’ focused websites.

Attendees of the 2008 Expo were given an opportunity to meet principals from more than 85 high-profile member websites and to participate in information rich industry seminars and social events.

Branson.com’s Jeremia Froyland led a spirited discussion on Technology for GeoDomains. He covered areas including developmental strategies, in-house and user generated content production, syndication, social media, metrics in the mobile markets, partnership development and widget/gadget technology features, inter-active maps, and online video.

Some of the other 2008 GeoDomain award winners were:

Best GeoDomain Technology – NewYorkCity.com
Best U.S. City GeoDomain – Vegas.com
Best International City GeoDomain – Acapulco.com
Best U.S. State GeoDomain – Hawaii.com

On hand to accept the Best U.S. Destination GeoDomain Award for Branson.com were Projects Director Josh Stauffer, Owner and Founder Larry Milton, and Marketing Director Jeremia Froyland.

Branson.com is the most comprehensive web source for information about Branson, Missouri, one of America’s most popular vacation and leisure destination locations.

Way to go Branson.com!

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Like millions of people across the world, my eyes were riveted to the television during the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. To describe it as spellbinding would be a gross understatement. History, grace, art and culture all infused into what many are calling the benchmark Olympic Opening Ceremony of all-time.

Aside from the astounding athletic pursuit displayed, these Games offer us a glimpse into the vast mysteries of the Orient. A couple of years ago my family and I were fortunate to travel around China on a three week trip to adopt my youngest daughter.

I know well the pictures emanating from Beijing. Chairman Mao’s portrait overlooking the concrete expanse of Tiananmen Square. The Forbidden City. The Temple of Heaven and the ancient, back alley areas known as the Hutong. We witnessed the massive infrastructure changes as the new Olympic arenas, dormitories and hotels were being built. At the now famous Bird’s Nest Stadium, our bus was stuck in an enormous traffic jam as structural steel was delivered to the construction site. Curiously, we saw road and business signs erected that featured both the complex pictograph characters of the Chinese language and English.

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The other day I found myself navigating on Branson’s famous Highway 76, the main drag filled with theatres, restaurants, shopping and attractions. While driving down ‘The Strip’ I witnessed a unique seasonal ritual that takes place in Branson every year.

You never know exactly when it’s going to happen, you just know that it will happen sooner or later. It’s known by various sundry names, but I’ve come to call it- The Branson Car Dance. It goes something like this:

You’re driving down the street, usually minding your own business, when the car in front of you suddenly, without any apparent reason, STOPS! The driver’s hand snakes out of his window and, if executed properly, he sends a distinct signal to the world. It’s normally a little wave or a sweeping motion or a gentle point. Often times it is accompanied by a smile.

Now I’ve lived many places and visited many cities and when a driver expends the energy to make a gesture out of a window, it’s usually not a good thing. But in this case, everything is fine and dandy.

This is what happens next. The driver in front of you waves, and lo and behold, another driver from the left or the right, pulls out onto the road and joins you in the winding conga-line of traffic. Maybe two of them sneak in. As this new driver accepts the invitation to The Branson Car Dance, he offers his own salute to consummate the deal. Again, it normally involves all five fingers and is usually accompanied by a smile and a silently mouthed ‘Thank You!’

This choreographed exchange of stop and enter, stop and enter, takes place countless times throughout the day in Branson. I must admit that I wasn’t really prepared for it on Highway 65 when I was going 65 miles per hour- but it happened anyway.

The Car Dance is not on any schedule and the participants are entirely random. The maneuvers get particularly complex when pedestrians join in.

I’ve seen reluctant drivers from far-away lands such as New Jersey and Ontario partake in this ritual. Not sure if you’ll see them being so neighborly back in Toronto or Jersey City, but you never know. Branson and its friendly people have a way of bringing out the best in everyone who visits here.

Happy Car Dancin’ in Branson!

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