By LARRY VAUGHT
the Kentucky Advocate
www.amnews.com
Editor’s note: This is the second in a two-part journal by Sports Editor Larry Vaught offering a glance at what there is to see and do in Branson, Mo. In the first segment, the traveler wrote about Silver Dollar City, the six Knudsen brothers, the Branson Ducks, a few restaurants and cafés, the Branson Belle showboat, the Branson Scenic Railway and the Branson Whitehouse
Theatre.
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Day 4
Butterfly Palace
This climate-controlled botanical garden has more than 1,000 live butterflies — and more than 200 species — from around the world and it’s not unusual to have one of the butterflies come to rest on you. While there are butterflies you might recognize, most are not your standard backyard butterflies as they have been imported from tropical locations around the world.
The Emerald Forest Mirror Maze lets you get lost — again and again — as you try to figure out how to navigate your way through the maze.
You’ll also get a close look at other rain forest inhabitants in the Rain Forest Critter Center.
Information: Call (417) 332-2231 or go to TheButterflyPalace.com.
Titanic
This interactive ship-shaped attraction gives you a chance to actually touch what an iceberg feel like as you enter and are assigned the name of an actual passenger on the 1912 voyage. You wander through rooms designed to give you a feel for what the ship was like and have a chance to read an abundance of information about the ship that sunk on its maiden voyage.
There’s also one room devoted to memorabilia from the movie as well as an informational film about how the movie was made. There are more than 400 artifacts from letters to pictures to dishes to lifejackets to take one back in time.
BransonFest
This 16th annual five-day festival is rated one of the top 100 events in North America by the American Bus Association. There are daily shows in Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater as well as free shows, a hospitality and business expo, and a “Taste of Branson” showcasing local foods in a tent complex outside. The daily “big shows” feature numerous entertainers and give the audience a chance to see a variety of acts in a 2 1/2-hour show. Anyone attending all the “big shows” would see entertainers from at least 50 shows — and have a way to decide which shows to come back and enjoy.
This show had eight entertainers, including Roy Rogers Jr. His songs naturally included “Happy Trails.” The Lennon Sisters were back for their 15th BransonFest and Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers closed the show to a standing ovation.
Information: Call 1-877-588-1957 or go to BransonFest.org.
Day 5
Branson Landing
This relatively new 95-acre development along the waterfront in the historic downtown area has more than 100 specialty stores and restaurants. It even has its own trolley system — as well as free parking. There also is a $7.5 million Las Vegas-style water fountain show that uses fire, light and music in the town square. The first show is at noon and there are hourly shows starting at 7 p.m. with a grand finale at 10 p.m.
Information: Go to www.bransonlanding.com.
Stone Hill Winery
Missouri’s most awarded winery offers a spot where you can spend a free hour touring the wine-making process
before the tour ends in the wine tasting room where you can taste the complete line of Stone Hill’s wine and juices (children are served grape juice). If you want to purchase wine or wine-related accessories there is a gift shop to take care of your needs.
Information: Call 1-417-334-1897 or go to www.stonehillwinery.com.
Inspiration Tower
The highest point in southwest Missouri is Inspiration Tower atop Inspiration Point. You go up 230 feet via a glass elevator to two observation decks. One gets a delightful view from either the enclosed deck or open air deck. The tower can withstand a wind of 172 miles per hour and gusts to 224 miles per hour — which can be useful to know considering the windy weather the area sometimes experiences.
Information: Call 1-800-653-6288 or go to www.thesheperdofthehills.com.
Day 6
BransonFest
This show was a hand-clapping, foot-stomping spectacle that offered a little bit of everything from Kentucky native Jim Owens entertaining with his country charm and wit to the golden sounds of The Platters.
The Liverpool Legends did a lively impersonation of the Beatles that included “Twist and Shout” that had everyone standing and dancing. The Platters had almost everyone singing along with “The Great Pretender” as they reminded everyone of “what music used to be” when they were at their peak from 1955-67.
The Duttons, a family group of singers and musicians, recently made the top 10 in NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” and they were thoroughly entertaining with bluegrass and gospel music. They also showcased their musical ability by basically trading instruments during the show and never missing a beat.
Island Fire was a group of Samoan dancers who brought the fire dancing ritual to center stage. The show ended with The Haygoods, a group of seven brothers and one sister who have one of Branson’s most demanded shows. They have been Branson regulars for 17 years and offer a non-stop, high energy act that includes dancing and foot-tapping music and songs. They started their show with a medley of pop tunes that you didn’t want to end.
Paul Revere & The Raiders
This group took us — and most in the audience — back to the 1960s with chart-topping hits like Indian Reservation, Kicks and Hungry. Paul has not lost his sense of humor and likes to clown around as much on stage now as he did 35 years ago. It was a fun trip back down memory lane and a nice way to end my non-sports week.
Mythbusting
Common misconceptions about Branson, according to the Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce:
Branson is only about country music.
Fewer than half of the 100-plus shows feature country music. Variety is the key word now for the shows in Branson.
Branson is all about traffic.
Highway 76 through the center of town can be a traffic stop at times, but alternate routes around Branson are abundant using the city’s color-coded route system.
Branson is only for senior citizens.
About 40 percent of the annual visitors to Branson are families, as the average age of a vacationer in Branson is 43.4 years old.
Branson is mostly filled with visitors on motorcoaches.
Branson is one of the top three destinations for motorcoach travel in the United States, but only five percent of the city’s total visitors come on buses. The dominant mode of travel is the family car — 82 percent.
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