Branson doesn’t forget- Veterans Homecoming Week

October 29th, 2009 by Gary J. Groman

Branson is entering one of the most exciting parts of its season, with its first major event, “Veterans Homecoming Week” starting on November 5 and running through November 11. Branson’s Veterans Homecoming” is one of the largest “Veterans Day” celebrations in the world and involves numerous events honoring America’s Veterans, active duty Armed Forces personnel and their families. The theme for this year’s event is “Branson Doesn’t Forget Our Military and their Families.”

The seven day event is filled with special events of all kinds most of which are free to Veterans. The free Opening Ceremony at the Mansion Theatre on November 5; many mini reunions such as the “WW II Mini Reunion on November 6, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the College of The Ozarks; the “Fallen Heroes Memorial Ceremony,” sponsored by the Department of Missouri Military Order of the Purple Heart at the Starlite Theatre November 8; the “Traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall” at the Welk Theater; the 76th Annual Veterans Day Parade through historic downtown Branson on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month and the celebration of the “The Few, The Proud, The United States 234th Marine Corps Birthday Ball”  at the Branson Convention Center on November 10 are examples of the many events to be held throughout the week.

The most complete list of events and their scheduled times will be found on the Veterans Homecoming page of the Branson Veterans Task Force website and should be consulted for the most current information.

A central focal point for Veterans during the week will be the “Veteran’s Village” which will be in a new location this year, the Cobblestone Inn, Suites & Conference Center conveniently located at 276 Tanger Blvd, between Crispy Crème Donuts on Highway 76 and the Tanger Mall. The Veterans Village hosts the Veterans Registry, the free lunch that will be served to Veterans between 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. from November 6 through November 10, has the latest information about the week’s events, Veteran discounts, displays and information from vendors and provides a convenient place to just relax and fellowship with old friends and new acquaintances.

Paul Miller, the General Manager for the Branson Tourism Center (BTC), one of Branson’s largest and most respected vacation planning services and sellers of Branson show and attraction tickets and lodging said, “In addition to the full slate of Veterans Homecoming Activities, Ozark Mouthose attending will also be able to share in the excitement of the first week of Branson’s “Ozark Mountain Christmas.” Paul said all the major drive through Christmas lighting displays will be lit and the first ever Christmas parade on the historic Branson Strip, “The Holiday Promenade of Stars Parade” featuring “Mr. Christmas,” Branson’s Andy Williams, as its Grand Marshall are just two of the additional activities that will be available as part of Ozark Mountain Christmas.

Paul also extended a warm welcome to all the veterans, active duty Military personnel and their families that will be coming to Branson and simply said, “Thank you for your service.” He also offered the services of Branson Tourism Center to answer any questions anyone may have about Veterans Homecoming Week activities, Ozark Mountain Christmas, or Branson shows, attractions or lodging and said BTC can be reached by calling 800-785-1550, through its website www.BransonTourismCenter.com or through a personal visit to its office located at 220 Branson Hills Parkway Ste K in Branson just west of the Bee Creek Highway 65 exit.

Posted in Branson Entertainment, Branson News, Featured Articles, Veterans/Active Duty Military |

Branson’s aglow with Veterans Homecoming & Ozark Mountain Christmas

October 13th, 2009 by Gary J. Groman
Celebration of 234th Birthday of U.S. Marine Corps just one of many events during Branson's Veterans Homecomeing.

Celebration of 234th Birthday of U.S. Marine Corps is just one of many events during Branson's Veterans Homecomeing.

As Branson comes to the end of its celebration of 50 years of live music shows it has saved the best for last, the honoring of America’s Veterans, active duty Armed Forces personnel and their families and the celebration of Ozark Mountain Christmas. Traditionally the celebration of “Branson’s Veterans Homecoming Week” and the start of “Ozark Mountain Christmas “ overlap during the first week of November and this year is no exception with Ozark Mountain Christmas running from November 1 to December 31 and Veterans Home Coming Week from November 5 to November 11.

Billed as the nation’s largest “Veteran’s Day” celebration, Branson’s Veterans Homecoming Week is a seven day event. From the opening ceremonies on November 5th for the “Traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall” at the Welk Theater through the 76th Annual Veterans Day Parade and closing ceremonies on November 11th, Veterans Homecoming week is filled with special events and activities to honor America’s veterans, active duty Armed Forces personnel and their families.

These include dozens of additional special events taking place throughout the week for Veterans and their families. The free Opening Ceremony at the Mansion Theatre on November 5; free lunch at the Cobblestone Inn and Suites November 6 through 10; the “Fallen Heroes Memorial Ceremony, sponsored by the Department of Missouri Military Order of the Purple Heart at the Starlite Theatre, November 8; a Special Forces A Team Demonstration at the Keeter Center and the celebration of the “The Few, The Proud, The United States 234th Marine Corps Birthday Ball” at the Branson Convention Center on November 10 are examples of the many events that will be available throughout Veterans Home Coming Week. Click here to see a complete list of all the official events and activities that will be available.

The Andy Williams Show is a Christmas icon.

The Andy Williams Show is a Christmas icon.

Ozark Mountain Christmas starts November 1 and runs through December 31. Branson is aglow with millions of Christmas lights, shows, and, of course, its famous shopping. From Branson Landing on the shores of Lake Taneycomo to Silver Dollar City, the Branson area is brightly lit with millions of Christmas lights and displays. There are major drive through displays such as the Branson Area Festival of Lights, Shepherd of the Hills Trail of Lights and Indian Point’s Enchanted Forest Light Display, best viewed in conjunction with a visit to Silver Dollar City’s “Old Time Christmas,” also on Indian Point.

The vast majority of Branson’s shows start their Christmas Shows  with their first show in November. Although there are some variations, in a lot of cases these special Christmas shows contain the best of both worlds, the first half of the show presenting the highlights of this year’s regular show and the second half containing the Christmas segment.

In addition there are a number of special Christmas Shows such as the beautiful high spirited presentation of the “Spirit of Christmas,”  Dixie Stampede’s bright new musical Christmas fantasy, “The Magic of Toys”  the magic and humor of Hamner and Barber’s “Wings of Christmas” Show, ” the spectacular “Miracle of Christmas” presented by the producers of “Noah the Musical,”  “Dino’s Kartsonakis Christmas,”  Tony Orlando and the Lennon Sisters Christmas Celebration,”  and, among many more, the venerable “Andy William Christmas Show.”

Click on the appropriate link for a more complete list of Christmas Shows and activities available during the Christmas Season and Thanksgiving provided by the Branson Tourism Center, one of Branson’s largest and most respected vacation planning services and sellers of Branson show and attraction tickets and lodging. BTC can be reached by calling 800-785-1550 or through its website www.BransonTourismCenter.com.

Posted in Branson Entertainment, Featured Articles, Veterans/Active Duty Military |

36th Annual Autumn Daze Arts and Crafts Festival in Historic Downtown Branson

September 17th, 2009 by Press Release

The streets of Historic Downtown Branson will be filled with crafters, artists, and food vendors September 17-20 for the 36th Annual Autumn Daze Arts and Crafts Festival.

Applicants are screened by a committee to ensure that products are hand-made and exhibited by the person who made them and to guarantee a wide array of original arts and crafts. Unique crafts and gifts range from pottery, quilts, paintings, jewelry, wood carvings, ironwork, toys, and candles to organic lotions, bath products, and floral arrangements.  In many cases, the crafters will be on hand to demonstrate their work and techniques.

Food vendors on site will offer carnival style snacks.  There are also family-style restaurants and ethnic food choices in downtown serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Craft booths will be under tents at the Awbery Parking Lot on the corner of Commercial and Atlantic Street, as well as down Commercial Street. The show is open from 9 am to 6 pm Thursday through Saturday and 9 am to 4 pm Sunday.   Admission is free. In addition, live entertainment is also planned from rock to country to gospel,  and the Taney County Animal Shelter will offer adoptable pets September 19  from   9 am to 2 pm. The downtown merchants will be offering sidewalk sales.

For More Information: 417-334-1548

Posted in Branson Entertainment, Branson Outdoors, Featured Articles, Hollister, Press Release, Veterans/Active Duty Military |

Dedication of Vietnam POW/MIAs Memorial Wall in Branson announced

June 28th, 2009 by Branson.Com News Editor

The Vietnam POW/MIAs Memorial Wall of the United States will be dedicated in a ceremony on July 4 at 10 a.m. at the Branson Mall in the Veterans Walk of Fame. The wall’s creator, Leo Voss, will be attending.

Sponsored by Branson’s Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) Chapter 913, the Vietnam POW/MIAs Memorial Wall of the United States counts those who have never been found from the Vietnam War and the secret wars in Laos.  From Minnesota, Voss built the wall in 2000. A Marine who served in Vietnam, his commitment and dedication to build the wall developed through his experiences as a leader of the Southwest Minnesota POW/MIA Color Guard and through giving speeches, talking about the thousands of Americans left behind at the end of the wars waged in Vietnam and Korea.

In speaking, the numbers “go right over peoples’ heads. When you see the names - that touches peoples’ hearts,” Voss said.

Etched with some 2,560 names, it is a stark reminder of those who have not returned. Some of the names are marked with white, green and/or red stars. White stars mark the POW/MIAs whose remains have been returned – only 17 percent of those listed. Green stars are beside 11 percent of the names - POW/MIAs who might have survived captivity. Red stars, almost 10 percent, denote the soldiers who fought in the secret wars in Laos.

“What better day could we choose to dedicate this wall than the very day we celebrate our Independence? Let us not forget those who may have lost theirs,” said President of VVA Chapter 913 Bill Groninger, who served in the Air Force. “There are significances in all of those names. Each name deserves an accounting. Our group is helping update the list of names on the wall to keep it current.

Groninger said the chapter has also planned a book in memory of those on the wall and will attempt to locate information on all listed. We plan to enlist the assistance of students from Hollister (Mo.) High School with the book project. As the Memorial Wall’s creator, Leo Voss has completed the research on those from his home state of Minnesota. We want to help him with the rest. Another way the public can be involved is by supporting this project. The Branson VVA may be contacted at 417-230-6446.

Posted in Branson News, Press Release, Veterans/Active Duty Military |

Agent Orange, We Live It Every Day

June 7th, 2009 by Branson.Com News Editor

(Washington, D.C.) – The Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc., (AVVA) applauds the National Organization of Disabilities and Ford Foundation for the release today of U.S. Vietnam Veterans and Agent Orange: Understanding the Impact 40 Years Later.

Said Elaine Simmons, National President of AVVA, “As the families, friends, and supporters of our nation’s Vietnam veterans, we know, only too well, the long-lasting, debilitating effects of Agent Orange/dioxin, because we face them in our daily lives, as we attend to our sick and disabled.”

“We find it ironic, however, that this brutally honest assessment–which concludes that, forty years after the war, “It is still not too late to correct lapses in the nation’s treatment of veterans who were exposed to dioxin during the Vietnam War”–is the byproduct of the U.S.-Vietnam Dialogue Group on Agent Orange/Dioxin, a group whose primary missions are to raise awareness and mobilize resources .for the Dioxin damage to Vietnam, the country, and its people.

“Unfortunately, it is ‘way too late’ for so many our veterans–we remember them at the In Memory Plaque, when we visit The Wall, in Washington D.C. As families, we stand together, way too often, at the funerals of our beloved veterans, who are dying at a rate, from Agent Orange related diseases, that breaks our hearts on a daily basis.

“Lovingly, we scrutinize our new grandbabies, praying that we won’t see evidence of  birth defects, learning disabilities, and cancers, which seem to strike us at a rate that is so much higher than our non-veteran families—Agent Orange, we say.”  And if Agent Orange rears its ugly head, we pray we can help our children learn to live with these disabilities and diseases.

“We will continue to hope. If it takes addressing the effects of Agent Orange/dioxin in Vietnam to focus on addressing the lapses in care in America, then we will demand that our nation, when providing aid to our former enemy will, finally, address the needs of our veterans and their families at home.

The Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America is a national, nonprofit membership and service organization dedicated to advancing the full range of issues affecting all veterans, their families, and their communities. Our more than 6,000 members are families, friends, and supporters of Vietnam veterans, as well as Vietnam veterans and veterans of other eras.

Posted in Press Release, Veterans/Active Duty Military |

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