Silver Dollar City Soars with an All-New Southern Gospel Picnic Festival

A Glorious Gathering of Food, Friends and Great Harmonies
August 31 – September 10

Southern Gospel, known for its strong American roots, is said to be music that moves the soul. In recognition of a resurgence of the music’s popularity, Silver Dollar City is celebrating two great traditions in an all-new festival: Southern Gospel Picnic brings together the rich harmonies of America’s heartfelt music with the home-cooked spread of an old-fashioned gathering. More than 500 performances will resound throughout the park with Southern Gospel Picnic running August 31 – September 10.

Presenting gospel music 7 days a week for 11 straight days, performers range from the traditional to the contemporary including Grammy nominees and Dove Award winners The Crabb Family, Jeff & Sheri Easter, The McKameys, The Kingsmen and The Perrys.

Southern Gospel Nights literally envelop a star-studded stage with an outdoor presentation each evening in Echo Hollow Amphitheater. Performers include The Florida Boys of the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame, Grammy nominees Dixie Melody Boys and Dove Award winners Gold City.

In honor of another southern tradition, the festival presents The House of Chicken & Fixin’s featuring Applewood Smoked Chicken with all the picnic-style fixings such as fried green tomatoes, fried apples and au gratin potatoes. An array of desserts will complete the picnic with a variety of pies and cakes that are long-time favorites at church socials and family reunions.

“With this new festival Silver Dollar City is promising a glorious gathering of food, friends and great harmonies,” said SDC entertainment coordinator, D.A. Callaway. “We’ll host the top names in gospel music in a setting promising to be the largest ‘picnic on the grounds’ in our history.”

Silver Dollar City, an 1880s-style theme park located near Branson, Missouri, presents six world-class festivals from April through December . The park also features over 20 rides and attractions including the all-new Grand Exposition with 10 new family rides in an all-new area of the park.

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Branson Jubilee, taped in and around Branson, Missouri, is a new two-hour musical variety special hosted by Jimmy Osmond and begins airing August 1st across the country. More than 77% of the nation (more than one hundred television markets) will be able to find Branson Jubilee on their local public television stations (check your local listings).

This non-stop entertainment extravaganza features a star-studded cast of legendary and history-making greats, including many Branson favorites: Mickey Gilley, Ray Stevens, Jim Stafford, Tony Orlando, Debra Moreno Lowther, Doug Kershaw, Les Brown Jr., and Glen Campbell.

Branson Jubilee has universal appeal to audiences of all ages, covering the most popular genres from the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s – from country to pop to rock ‘n’ roll. The special also features nationally known guest stars ranging from Crystal Gayle to Restless Heart and Jake Simpson performing their all-time greatest hits.

Branson Jubilee, which underscores that good family entertainment is alive and well and has a place readied for television, is produced by Branson Entertainment (founders Jerry & Debra Lowther), Bel Air Productions of Los Angeles and WLIW in New York. Branson Jubilee has already won four awards including two Telly Awards for Entertainment and Editing, a Videographer Award for Entertainment, and an Aurora Award for Platinum Best of Show in the Musical-Variety category.

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Branson entertainers Dave & Denise Hamner and Jim Barber will each be honored as recipients of the “Merlin Award” by the International Magicians Society (IMS). The prestigious awards will be presented to the stars of The Hamner Barber Variety Show in person during their August
12th, 8pm show by the World President of the IMS, Mr. Tony Hassini.

The Hamners are being honored with their second Merlin Award as “Entertainers of the Year.” In 1999 they received the coveted award for “Best Manipulation.”

Making this year’s presentation even more special, Jim Barber is receiving his Merlin Award for “Ventriloquist of the Year,” being the first entertainer ever to receive this award for ventriloquism in the society’s 38 year history.

The International Magicians Society (IMS) is the world’s largest magic society as recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records. The IMS began in 1968 and now has over 37,000 members worldwide. It was created to help promote and preserve the art of magic and provide a format where magicians (and magic hobbyists) could share their secrets and ideas.

In the profession of magic, the Merlin statuette is the equivalent of the Oscar for film, the Emmy for television, and the Tony for theater. It is presented only to those entertainers who have achieved the highest level in their craft. The voting members begin with approximately one hundred names and narrow the list down to a select few. The criteria considered for a winner include talent, showmanship, originality, skills, and above all, the rare ability to entertain under
any conditions.

The Merlin Award statuette was commissioned to over 100 art students from various colleges across the country. The winning design was carved and created in 1968 by New York University art student Carol Michaud.

Some of the more famous winners of the Merlin Award for excellence in magic include: Harry Blackstone, Doug Henning, Siegfried & Roy and David Copperfield.

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The Hamner Barber Theater is pleased to announce that Jim Barber has been nominated as Branson’s “BEST COMEDIAN” of 2006 by BransonCritic.com, a volunteer organization of writers and researchers of Branson shows with over 2,000 reviews currently online.

In 2005 BransonCritic also honored The Hamner Barber Variety Show as it’s pick for Critic’s Choice as Branson’s “MUST SEE SHOW OF THE YEAR.”

Created by Doug Holland, the awards web site is a sophisticated method of ranking shows and entertainers by allowing fans of these shows to submit fair reviews to inform other potential Branson visitors of what there is to see and do in Branson, Missouri. It’s not a “push button” voting system, so awards are presented based on the quantity and quality of the reviews received on behalf of the nominated performers.

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All new in 2006, The Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Adventure is an innovative concept in immersive natural entertainment. Located across the street from Celebration City on Hwy 76 in Branson, the all new facility is complete with two 3-D theatres, a state-of-the-art live butterfly exhibit, Emerald Forest Mirror Maze, and incredible insect zoo.

The Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Adventure offers an educational, interactive, and exciting adventure perfect for kids of all ages. During the 2-hour, self-guided tour, visitors have the chance to view a 3-D movie about the life of a butterfly. They are then escorted into a climate-controlled, botanical garden filled with over 1,000 live tropical butterflies from around the world. Here, visitors will experience the adventure of a lifetime as they witness butterflies right before their very eyes sipping nectar and fluttering through beautiful flowering gardens.

After viewing the butterflies, guests at The Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Adventure also have the opportunity to try and make their way through the amazing Emerald Forest Mirror Maze. This is one adventure where there are twists and turns around every bend, for nothing in the maze is quite what it seems! At the end of the tour, those who are brave enough have the chance to explore the incredible insect zoo. Here, visitors can sneak a close-up look at some of nature’s most fascinating critters such as scorpions, tarantulas, poison dart frogs, geckos, red-eyed tree frogs, and more!

From the educational 3-D film and live butterfly exhibit to the amazing Emerald Forest Mirror Maze and Insect Zoo, The Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Adventure is the perfect all-in-one, interactive experience for explorers of any age.

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Starlite Entertainment, a leading provider of quality entertainment and first-class theatre management in Branson, Missouri, announced today the debut of a marvelous, all-new show for the Branson market – continuing it’s celebration of the the 1950’s – America’s most beloved musical era.

With over 100 shows presently in the competitive Branson market vying for theatre audiences, Starlite Entertainment management recognizes it must offer enhanced entertainment value to patrons each year to stay successful. Lost in the 50’s has been a successful Branson show for 8 consecutive years – and The Platters have performed here in Branson for even longer, first performing at Mutton Hollow in 1996. “The combination of these two incredible franchisees was staring us right in the face – this is a great idea whose time has come,” remarked Rob Patrick, Operations Manager at Starlite.

Just like the famous saying from the fifties, this new show really doubles your pleasure with a combination of the best sights, sounds and high energy production people have come to know and love from the Lost in the 50’s show, combined with the awe-inspiring vocal harmonies and hit songs of The World Famous Platters show. It’s a fantastic combination of music, memories and magical, top-notch performances and production. The combination production showcases singers, dancers, an incredible live band – and the World Famous Platters, all intricately woven together to provide a memorable and moving 1950’s experience.

From 1950-1955, The Platters were the most popular vocal group, recording just under 400 songs, selling over 89 million records, and receiving 230 awards that later helped them to be inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame.

“We’ve worked hard to combine the very best of these two shows, really bringing to life the wonderful nostalgia of the 50’s – including those incredible personalities and harmonies of The Platters – in one super production,” commented Ray Kennedy, the show’s producer. Kennedy’s long list of credits includes dozens of successful shows around the world. “We’ve really come up with something very exciting here.”

This exciting production begins on Friday, June 16 at 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., Monday-Saturday at the Starlite Theatre on Branson’s popular 76 strip, ushering in a whole new era of Branson entertainment.

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In one of the highest-priced domain sales of the year and one of the most expensive domain name transactions of all time, Branson.com has just been purchased for $1.6 million. For publicly reported domain name sales, Branson.com is the 3rd highest price paid for a domain in 2006, the 21st most expensive of all time and the highest price ever paid for a city site. The site is a portal for Branson, Missouri, the “Live Music Capital Of The World,” a city that attracts over 7 million visitors annually.

Branson.com has not changed hands since its initial registration in 1995. Larry and Lianne Milton of Branson, Missouri, purchased the site in February 2006. After undergoing several months of creation and redesign, the new Branson.com offers information for both tourists and locals.

New owner Larry Milton said, “With a destination site like Branson.com, we thought it only fair and right that it be a website that represented Branson and a source of information about our city. Our focus from the very beginning was to make this a community and tourist-driven site that would benefit everyone.”

Residents of the area can find real estate, movie schedules, upcoming events and weather amongst many more areas that help with finding local information pertinent to the Branson area. Tourists are able to find lodging with maps, show schedules, and vacation packages and information. With an emphasis on being the most-up-to-date, concise and information-rich website about Branson, Branson.com’s new design caters to both residents of the surrounding area as well as tourists wanting to visit the vacation hot-spot. “We believe now and in the future, Branson.com will be the first stop and the ultimate resource for anything and everything dealing with Branson, Missouri,” continued Milton.

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Legendary magician David Copperfield paid a surprise visit to Branson, MO last Friday, May 12, 2006, and attended the hit show, Siegfried & Roy present Darren Romeo, the Voice of Magic. Copperfield, a friend and colleague of Darren Romeo (better known to his fans as simply “Romeo”) enthusiastically offered a standing ovation. Copperfield was in Springfield, MO this weekend for the performance of his live show, David Copperfield’s An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion, to a sold-out theater.

Romeo, sole protégé of another set of legendary illusionists, Siegfried & Roy, was thrilled to have such an esteemed guest among his audience. This is Copperfield’s second viewing of Romeo’s show and was ever more supportive of the work that Romeo is producing in the world of magic.

“I was truly honored to have Mr. David Copperfield in the audience today,” said Romeo after the show. “It is not often that one gets such a pat on the back from someone who has changed the face of magic during our lifetime. In my life, David Copperfield and Siegfried & Roy are the biggest names in magic and to have their support is unbelievable.”

Romeo is no stranger to endorsements from celebrated individuals. In February of 2006, Romeo, being a big fan of cars and racing, entered into a partnership with NASCAR and Jeff Gordon whereby the famous #24 car appears nightly in front of a live audience on Siegfried & Roy Present Darren Romeo, the Voice of Magic at the Welk Resort Theater. This partnership is a first between NASCAR and an illusionist of any sort on a nightly live show.

Romeo will also be appearing in “Branson Landing” on June 16, 2006, where he will be the official spokesperson for the launch of this $450 million mega-complex complete with residences, retail shops, dining, recreation, entertainment and relaxation that come together by the waterside.

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Silver Dollar City Rings the BBQ Bell in a Toe-Tapping Way!
Announcing the Return of Popular Bluegrass & BBQ Festival

The ringing of the BBQ bell will soon resound through the Ozark hills with the return of what is becoming one of the most popular of all the Silver Dollar City festivals: Bluegrass & BBQ! Now in its second season, the 2006 festival, which matches up America’s favorite pastimes of mountain music and outdoor cooking, offers an expanded lineup while adding an extra week to the event. This year’s festival kicks off May 13 and runs through June 4.

“When we set out to build this event, our guests were very clear they wanted a spring music festival, and research showed barbecue ranks just as high. Based upon our history of listening to our guests, we decided to put the two together,” said D.A. Callaway of Silver Dollar City Entertainment. Callaway added that after last year’s popularity, the quality and quantity bar was set even higher with expansions including more music, more barbecue and more days.

“With every instrument tuning up, there will be a grill firing up,” Callaway said. Although the statement isn’t a literal count, the House of BBQ has been moved to the largest presentation hall on the park, The Red Gold Heritage Hall. Barbecue choices will feature smoky Texas-style, sweet Kansas City favorites, Memphis dry rubs and Carolina vinegar-based sauces. Tasting begins on the Square with demonstration of pit-style cooking and hundreds of barbecue sauces from around the country to sample.

The expanded festival also features a who’s who of American Bluegrass, with 50 bands and more than 1,000 performances from award-winning artists to rising stars, at a time when bluegrass music is exploding in popularity.

“We are in a Golden Age in bluegrass where pioneers of the music are still out there headlining and a new generation of talent is expanding the boundaries.” said Dan Hays, the executive director of the Nashville-based International Bluegrass Music Association. With the quality and quantity of bluegrass bands featured, “Silver Dollar City is one of the most significant and vital presenters of live bluegrass music anywhere in the world,” Hays said.

Bluegrass legend and 11-time Grammy winner Ricky Skaggs performs in a special concert May 28, headlining a lineup of featured bluegrass performers including Entertainer of the Year* and Entertaining Group of the Year** Cherryholmes; Emerging Artists of the Year* and Instrumental Group of the Year** The Grascals, and 2006 Bluegrass Band Champions** Billie Renee and Cumberland Gap. National touring bluegrass favorites include NewFound Road, Pine Mountain Railroad, the Lewis Family and the Chapmans.

Young bluegrass artists from around the country compete for honors and cash prizes as the park hosts its annual Youth in Bluegrass Band Contest, May 27-28. “Many of our past Youth in Bluegrass winners are now national touring bands, so the contest is a great place to see the freshest new talent in bluegrass.” Callaway said.

“One of the things people like best about this festival is a chance to get barbecue pointers from the experts – ‘how to’ tips on smoking and grilling methods, and sauce recipes,” said Mark Momany, culinary expert for Silver Dollar City. To kick off the festival, nationally recognized barbecue experts and authors Karen Adler and Judith Fertig, who have co-authored 9 cookbooks as the BBQ Queens, will share grilling tips and recipes at Silver Dollar City on Saturday, May 13. “Everyone likes to put their own signature in their barbecue and we like to introduce people to new flavors, such as smoking meats using ground pecan shells, corncobs or fruitwoods such as apple or pear,” Adler said. “At Silver Dollar City, we’re saluting two traditions with deep America roots – bluegrass and barbecue.”

Each evening, the show Classic Country Nights is featured in Echo Hollow Amphitheatre, with a special guest bluegrass group each night. Silver Dollar City also features rides and attractions including the Grand Exposition, an all-new development with 10 family rides showcased in an expanded, two-acre area of the theme park; six festivals; a dozen restaurants and over 100 demonstrating craftsmen.

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Silver Dollar City’s World-Fest Presents World-Renowned Moscow Circus, A Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience

New for 2006, Silver Dollar City’s World-Fest presents a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the world-renowned Moscow Circus, with stunning acrobatics showcased in a show custom designed for Silver Dollar City, and the Zunyi Acrobats of China for their first U.S. performance. These shows premiere along with the Grand Opening of the all-new Grand Exposition with 10 new family rides on April 6 at the Branson, Missouri theme park.

The Moscow Circus, with a 200-year tradition, produces the most talented acrobats and aerialist in the world. Supported by Russian Empress Catherine the Great in the late 1700s, the Moscow Circus is the world’s longest running and most prestigious circus organization, and has been a prized part of Russia’s cultural heritage for centuries. “Bringing this tradition of quality and excellence spanning generations of performers to World-Fest gives our guests a rate opportunity to see some of the very best in the world in acrobatics, trapeze, gymnastics and clowning,” said Rex Burdette, Silver Dollar City’s World-Fest Coordinator. The Moscow Circus performs through the entire festival, April 6 – 7.

In the tradition of the late 19th Century expositions that brought exotic performers from other lands and technological wonders to towns across the U.S., Silver Dollar City opens its all-new $8 million development for 2006 – the Grand Exposition, with 10 new family rides, the theme park’s biggest expansion ever for kids. The Grand Exposition, opening with World-Fest, nearly doubles the number of tides at the park and increases ride capacity more than 50 percent. From the five-story Magnificent Wave Carousel to the interactive twirling tea cups of the Royal Tea Party, the rides are designed for families to enjoy together in the historically themed setting.

Also new this year, World-Fest presents the Zunyi Acrobats of China performing for the first time in the U.S., musicians from the Czech Republic, a mariachi band from Mexico and a new Irish show with dancers, musicians and story tellers. Some of the returning performers from countries around the world are the colorful German stiltwalkers of Zebra Stilzentheater, a troupe of Swiss alpenhorn musicians, a steel drum band from Trinidad and pan flute musician from Ecuador.

Food and craftsmanship take on an international flavor too, as the park offers a pavilion of specialties such as Jamaican jerk chicken and Caribbean snapper, Mexican fajitas, oriental platters, Greek pies and salads, and desserts including Italian tiramisu and a Swiss chocolate fountain. The unique craftsmanship of talented artisans from 32 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, including handcrafted baskets, jewelry, textiles, musical instruments and home decor, is featured in a showcase from Ten Thousand Villages, new this year for World-Fest.

Each evening, the show Classic Country Nights is featured in Echo Hollow Amphitheatre, with guest performances during World-Fest by a bluegrass band from the Czech Republic.

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