Tourism

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Kansas City, Missouri - November 12, 2009-

When her sons learned to swim while in grade school they had never heard of bareboating, Virgin Islands or catamarans. These words were not “household words” in their home or community. In fact, none of their acquaintances would put the three words together to describe a vacation of a lifetime. After all, their neighborhood landscape was not equipped with public swimming pools. Or private pools for that matter. Vacation was defined as a road trip to a relatives’ house. There it wasn’t a requirement to know how to swim, snorkel or even drive a dinghy.

TubaChristmas 2009 will be hosted by The Kansas City Symphony on Friday, December 4. This event will be one of 240 TubaChristmas concerts presented around the United States in tribute to the late artist/teacher William J. Bell, born on Christmas Day 1902. The TubaChristmas ensemble performs traditional Christmas carols and songs, many of which were arranged by noted American composer Alec Wilder, who ironically died on Christmas Eve, 1980. The memories of Bell and Wilder are celebrated in the annual performances of TubaChristmas groups around the nation.

(KANSAS CITY) – The Kansas City Symphony marks the beginning of the holiday season with Handel’s Messiah on Thanksgiving weekend. The Kansas City Symphony and Chorus join with the Independence Messiah Choir for this mosaic of the scriptures, which remains Handel’s most famous work. With over 400 musicians on stage, it is one of the most triumphant choral pieces ever written. Messiah is best known for its familiar “Hallelujah” chorus.

Overland Park, KS - Jerry Cook, president of the Overland Park Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), was honored during the 2009 Kansas Tourism Conference for achieving his Kansas Destination Specialist (KDS) certification.

“A séance for piano and orchestra" -- ghosts of music's past weave through the three movement concerto

(Kansas City) - The Kansas City Symphony will present the world premiere of Lost Souls - A Piano Concerto by Israeli composer Avner Dorman on November 20-22. Lost Souls tell the haunting story of a séance summoning ghosts of concertos past, ending in an exorcism. Praised by Gramophone Magazine as “a fresh, young voice, worth following,” Avner Dorman is a rising star composer whose orchestral works were recently performed by the New York Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

KANSAS CITY SYMPHONY HOSTS
KENNEDY CENTER PRESIDENT MICHAEL KAISER FOR FREE COMMUNITY ARTS CONVERSATION ON NOVEMBER 18

Kennedy Center President Michael M. Kaiser to Travel to all 50 States, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., to address the challenges facing non-profit performing arts organizations today

It All Starts Here... Downtown Lee's SummitPRESS RELEASE: October 28, 2009

Contact: Stacy Brandt, Events & Marketing Coordinator

Zona Rosa welcomes 10 new stores, services this fall

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Zona Rosa is opening a number of new stores in the development’s Phase II and a few stores in Phase I just in time for the busy holiday shopping season.

Shatto Milk Company is introducing a new product this holiday season straight from their local family dairy farm, Pumpkin Spice Egg Nog. This delicious treat will be the second seasonal items offered by Shatto Milk Company as they have been offering Kansas City’s only local premium egg nog for the past six years. “This product has been tested and received the best reviews of any product we have put on the shelves to date.” Said Leroy Shatto Dairy Farmer and owner of Shatto Milk Company. “Customers truly love the full body of this product and many are saying the only thing it needs is a bit of whipped cream on top.”

Amy Garton
Interactive Marketing Manager
Overland Park Convention & Visitors Bureau
913-433-3716
agarton@visitoverlandpark.com

Overland Park, KS – The 2009 Kansas Tourism Conference will be held October 18-20 in Overland Park at the Sheraton Overland Park Hotel at the Convention Center. The annual educational conference is a joint effort by the Travel Industry Association of Kansas (TIAK) and the Kansas Department of Travel & Tourism (KST&T) and is themed this year as “Together: Engineering Fresh Beginnings.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 24th, 2009. The Kansas City BBQ Society's Great American BBQ Tour will make a stop at Backyard Bash BBQ Headquarters in Parkville, Missouri on September 30th, 2009 from 4pm - 7pm. The tour, which travels to the nation's top BBQ competitions and food events, chooses several retail BBQ locations to stop at, as well. The event is free and open to the public.

KC Cafe RadioMusicians from Kansas City and West-Central Missouri will be the feature attraction at a unique presentation of fine music and fine wines, Sunday September 27, from 2 to 5 PM, at Montserrat Vineyards, just east of Warrensburg, MO. The free event is sponsored by KC Cafe Radio

Professional hoofers and novice shufflers alike will have the chance to show off their best moves and dance kicks this holiday season as Hilton Garden Inn celebrates the second year as official hotel sponsor of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, starring the Radio City Rockettes, by encouraging consumers to submit their high kicks and dance moves to the “Holiday Kick Start” video contest.

Piccadilly Gala

PRESS RELEASE

September 16, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Stacy Brandt, Events & Marketing Coordinator | Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street, Inc.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Local Girl Scout Learns Life Lessons in “Happiest Nation on Earth”

(SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – August 17, 2009): Caitlin Campbell, a 17-year-old Girl Scout from Shawnee, KS pushed herself to new heights to experience firsthand the culture of Costa Rica, a country named the “happiest” place in the world by the New Economics Foundation’s “Happy Planet Index.” Campbell recently returned from a 15-day Girl Scout trip trekking through cloud and rainforests, tree climbing, waterfall rappelling, rafting down class III rapids, and surfing warm water breaks in Costa Rica.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Museum to Unveil New Addition
to Permanent Exhibit

John Baker Film Collection Exhibit Set to Open This Fall at 18th & Vine

Contact: Greg Carroll >> 816-474-8463, x207 / gcarroll@kcjazz.org

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 3:30pm....Latteland Briar Cliff, 4115 North Mulberry, KCMO (just north of the Riverside exit on HWY 9).
Larry Garrett will be hosting "My Old Neighborhood." Local singer/songwriters will perform their original songs about life, personal experiences, family. This is a Family-Friendly event. The music is free and Latteland is a great place to get out of the heat on a hot afternoon.

Fine Art and Beer--It's a Lifestyle

Saturday, September 26th from 5-8pm the Carnegie Arts Center of Leavenworth, Kansas is hosting its first annual Beer Tasting event. Earlier in the Spring the Center hosted a wine tasting event that met with great success.

Summer is winding down. Days are getting shorter and back to school shopping has begun. Unfortunately, that means school is just around the corner.
Mom and Dad before you start talking about alarm clocks and homework let’s enjoy the month of August.

It All Starts Here... Downtown Lee's SummitPRESS RELEASE
Contact: Stacy Brandt, Events Coordinator, events@downtownls.org | 816-246-6598

Overland Park, KS – Kelly Peetoom, director of sales for the Overland Park Convention & Visitors Bureau and Sports Alliance, has completed the Certified Sports Event Executive (CSEE) program.

“We believe that it is important for our team to be well-educated and up-to-date with the industry,” said Dr. Gerald L. Cook, OPCVB president. “This leads to good leadership and will provide vision for the OPCVB to progress in the future.”

Date: Friday, July 17, 2009
Contact: Chris Lester, (816) 374-5452; email lester@kcchamber.com
Pam Whiting, (816) 374-5481; e-mail pamw@kcchamber.com

A HINT OF OPTIMISM ABOUT THE ECONOMY FROM AREA BUSINESSES

For more information contact:
Adam MacDonald
(913) 371-3674
amacdonald@unitedway-wyco.org

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 14, 2009

United Way advocators flash their support
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – On Saturday, July 18 at 5:30 p.m., join the movement making lasting change in health, income and education. Together, United Way of Wyandotte County and supporters will stage the first-ever LIVE UNITED Kansas City Flash Mob in front of The Legends14 Theatre at The Legends at Village West.

The 25th Annual Chautauqua in the Park will be held September 12-13, 2009 at Simpson Park in Chillicothe, Missouri. This annual event, sponsored by the Chillicothe Area Chamber of Commerce and the Chillicothe Area Arts Council, has a wide variety of entertainment, activities, artists, crafts and food.

Selfstoragefinders.com is an online self storage directory which launched in April of 2008. The site offers a unique way to connect prospective renters and owners. Prior to Selfstoragefinders.com a prospective renter would have to search for storage units in the phone book, leaving them looking at outdated data and high prices. Selfstoragefinders.com eliminates these problems by offering renters the ability to find multiple storage facilities quickly and easily. The displayed results benefit both prospective tenants and owners.

James J. MaiohoFor Immediate Release:

July 2, 2009

Madko Group of Prairie Village Kansas announces its new minority outreach program. The principals of Madko Group Consulting have been mentoring and working with small business for over twenty years, in a variety of Industries.

BIGSHOT to Debut Web Site for New Missouri Hockey Team and Their Home Arena

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: Monday, June 29, 2009
EVENT: New Business Announcement
CONTACT: Liz Gilbert
pr@thinkbigshot.com

Kenneth W. Bernard Community Park will officially be opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, July 2, 2009 at 9 a.m. The new facility is named after Lansing Mayor Kenneth Bernard, who has served as mayor for more than 25 years. Phase One of the Park was completed earlier this year. Future phases include work on athletic fields and other infrastructure.

Easier Access to Information for All 19 YMCA Locations
in Kansas City Area

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: Wednesday, June 22, 2009
EVENT: kansascityymca.com Web Site Launch
CONTACT: Liz Gilbert

The Carnegie Arts Center presents a photography exhibit by Jessica Simorte in the Stacks Gallery. The show opens, Friday, July 17th with an opening reception from 6:00-8:00PM. The artist will be available for discussion and comments.