We are the most effective way to get your press release into the hands of reporters and news producers. Check out our client list.



More Than 100,000 Southern Gospel Fans Pack Silver Dollar City Theme Park in Branson

Contact: Martha Bohner, Silver Dollar City, 417-338-8207

BRANSON, MO, Sept. 9 /Christian Newswire/ -- Southern Gospel music packs a powerful punch, and Branson, Missouri theme park Silver Dollar City proves the genre can pack in the fans. Over 100,000 visitors attended the park's Southern Gospel Picnic festival that wrapped up on Labor Day, a 12-day event showcasing top Gospel artists throughout the day and in evening concerts in the park's 4,000 seat amphitheatre.

Southern Gospel music had been featured at the park for decades, and special Southern Gospel evening concerts were added as part of a spring music festival in 1998, but the park took the leap in 2006 to launch a full Southern Gospel festival. With attendance at or near 100,000 each year, it has become one of the nation's top Southern Gospel events.

"People are hungry for music that is uplifting, and whether it's the traditional quartet-based groups or the contemporary bluegrass style artists, the music is all positive, all praise, and it glorifies God," says event coordinator D.A. Callaway. This year's event included Dove Award winners The Kingsmen, Gold City, Brian Free & Assurance, The Booth Brothers, Jeff & Sheri Easter, Karen Peck and New River and The Isaacs.

Silver Dollar City offers Sunday services for staff and guests at its on-park church each Sunday throughout the season, but during Southern Gospel Picnic this year, the festival featured Sunday worship services led by noted humorist, author and pastor Dr. Dennis Swanberg, with music by the Lesters. The services held in a 1200-seat theater were packed, Callaway said.

Unusual features for a mainstream theme park? "Southern Gospel to us is from our hearts, the roots of our company," says Silver Dollar City General Manager Brad Thomas. "Our mission statement begins with the line 'We Create Memories Worth Repeating' and ends with a line, 'All in a Manner Consistent with Christian Values and Ethics.'"

The theme park near Branson, Missouri, is hosting its National Harvest Festival, September 12 -- October 31, followed by its An Old Time Christmas festival, November 7 -- December 30, profiled as one of the top holiday celebrations in the country by USA Today, CNN Travel, The Travel Channel and Good Morning America. For information, schedules and tickets, contact 800-831-4FUN or www.silverdollarcity.com.