Volume 1 Issue 10 Published monthly by the Arkansas River Valley Tri -Peaks Region Association April 2004 www.ArkansasStateParks.com   Arkansas Tourism Day will be observed on May 12 Again this year, the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism is encouraging organizations and communities to join the National Tourism Week Celebration. This is an excellent opportunity to host a hospitality appreciation event in your area. The Travel Industry of America's website www.tia.org/Tourism has great ideas specific to CVBs, chambers, restaurants, hotels, lodging operations, museums, historic sites, and much more! Just click on the National Tourism Week Tool Kit. The website also provides information to help you plan your celebrations as well as tips on generating publicity. Here are a few ideas to get you started: ·Encourage local merchants to display Tourism Week messages on their marquees. The message can welcome visitors or highlight the industry's contribution to your community. ·Have your mayor, or other local elected officials, declare a "City Tourism Day/Week" in a special ceremony. ·Invite elected officials and other local VIPs to work a shift at the nearest visitor center greeting tourists and/or serving refreshments. ·Suggest an article to local media about ways in which convention and conference facilities make your area a year-round destination. ·To kick off National Tourism Week, deliver a cake with the National Tourism Week logo on it, (or red, white, and blue cupcakes) along with a news release to newspaper, radio, and television personalities. ·Organize Familiarization Tours for local tourism industry volunteers and front line staff, hosted by members of the media. ·Pass out flyers encouraging people to wear red on Tourist Appreciation Day to show the size and strength of our tourism industry. ·Host local Hospitality Training seminars to get your local tourism employees on the right track for the tourism season. Your group may come up with some of their own great ideas, please share them! Let us know your organization or community plans for National Tourism Week and we will publish them in a statewide news release. To be included send your NTW schedules to Kristine Puckett (501) 682-5240 no later than April 9, 2004.     During 2003, travel consultants assisted 853,275 visitors at 14 Arkansas Tourist Information Centers. Reasons for travel assistance were passing through, vacation, business/student, and local traffic with percentages shown in the chart. The TIC's provide visitors with information on scenic, historic and recreations points of interest within the state.   Impact of travel on Arkansas Tri-Peaks Tourism Region by County 2003 Preliminary figures Total Travel Expenditures Travel Generated Payroll Travel Generated Employment Travel Generated State Tax Travel Generated Local Tax Visitors dollars dollars jobs dollars dollars person-trips Conway 16,863,079 3,657,806 266 1,101,349 420,606 94,705 Johnson 19,570,395 4,330,078 316 1,273,707 417,575 108,812 Logan (East) 3,616,615 744,787 52 243,642 114,698 17,363 Perry 10,551,761 1,722,198 117 671,197 381,232 48,798 Pope 95,842,233 16,906,662 1,233 4,459,306 1,474,738 495,561 Yell 9,142,795 1,418,447 102 584,913 268,536 41,350 TOTALS 155,586,878 28,799,977 2,805 8,334,112 3,077,384 806,590 Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism Annual Report Bassmaster Elite 50 Series Lake Dardanelle will host the first of a four-event, no-entry-fee circuit featuring a $1.6-million purse for the world's best anglers - the Bassmaster Elite 50 Series, being introduced by the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society this year. The Bassmaster Tour Elite 50 will take place April 11-17 at Lake Dardanelle State Park and is part of the Bassmaster Tournament Trail, which culminates with the Bassmaster Classic. Bassmaster, owned by ESPN, will host at the park a free outdoors expo throughout the event. The ESPN television show, "The CITGO Bassmasters," will provide complete coverage of the Bassmaster Tournament Trail, and episodes will air on ESPN2 one week after the completion of each trail event - usually Saturday mornings at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time. According to information posted at the Bassmaster Web site www.bassmaster.com, "The Elite 50 series will combine the top 20 anglers from the all-time BASS money list, the top 27 anglers in the Busch BASS Angler of the Year points standings over the previous three years, the current Busch BASS Angler of the Year, the current CITGO Rookie of the Year winner and the reigning CITGO Bassmaster Classic Champion." The top 10 anglers in the final Elite 50 points advance to the 2004 Classic. On the line for anglers is a total of $1.6 million in cash over four events. The next three dates and locations for the tournament are: May 16-22, Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, Columbus, Miss.; May 30-June 5, Alabama River, Prattville, Ala.; and June 13-19 Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee rivers, Paducah, Ky. The tournament at Lake Dardanelle will include and all rivers, creeks and canals connecting to Lake Dardanelle, a 34,300-acre reservoir on the Arkansas River. Anglers will not be allowed to pass through locks and may only fish water open for public fishing. Tournament waters will be off-limits for contestants March 12-April 10, and all of Illinois Bayou inside of Bunker Hill Point and Lake Dardanelle State Park will be off-limits to fishing April 11-15. Practice days for contestants will be April 11-13, with competition days April 14-17. Weigh-ins for the competition will take place at Lake Dardanelle State Park's $162,000, 1,860-square-foot weigh-in pavilion, which opened in July 2002. The pavilion serves as the staging area for numerous tournaments, hosting more than 8,000 anglers and providing a projected $10 million economic impact for the area each year. www.ArkansasStateParks.com The park also recently opened a $2.4-million, 10,527-square-foot visitor center that features a wireless weather station for monitoring developing weather patterns for anglers and park visitors. The wireless data also includes details on water quality, aquatic specimens and special events and programs at the park. Opened in 2003, the center houses state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment, a lab and interpretive exhibits including four large aquariums with species native to Lake Dardanelle and its tributaries. Lake Dardanelle State Park consists of two areas. The Russellville and Dardanelle locations both offer camping, marina services, launch ramps, pavilions, picnic sites, restrooms and bathhouses. Along with the visitor center, the Russellville area offers a barrier-free fishing pier, a miniature golf course and year-round interpretive programs. For more information about the Elite 50, contact the Russellville Tourism and Visitors Center at (479) 967-1762. For more information about the state park, phone (479) 967-5516 or visit ArkansasStateParks.com April Art Exhibition at ARV The 17th annual Small Works on Paper exhibition continues its yearlong statewide tour at the Arkansas River Valley Arts Center. The exhibition will be on view from April 4 to April 27, 2004. The Juried exhibition will feature 38 works by 27 Arkansas artists. Small Works on Paper is open only to members of the Arkansas Artists Registry. There is a diversity of media and technique represented in the exhibit. Rosemary Meza, artist and art instructor from El Centro College in Dallas, Texas, judged the show. According to Meza she selected several pieces, which had a sense of humor, as well as showing the skill of the artist. "I think quite often art takes itself so seriously that we forget it is perfectly valid to make a viewer laugh, too. There were also some pieces whose imagery intrigued me. They literally hooked me into going back to them time after time. If a work can sustain your attention and keep you coming back for more then it has done its job," she said. The Arkansas River Valley Arts Center is one of only eleven locations in Arkansas where the exhibit will be on display. The exhibition will continue its tour of the state in May at the Arts Center of the Ozarks in Springdale. The Arkansas Arts Council, which is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, sponsors the Small Works on Paper annual competition and tour. The Arts Center will not have an opening reception for April. People are invited and encouraged to visit the galleries during regular business hours to view these exciting works of art.The exhibits are free and open to the public.   Wildflower Weekend at Petit Jean State Park Spring will officially arrive this weekend. Signs of spring are popping up all around us. The trees are starting to leaf out and the first wildflowers of the season are beginning to bloom. Petit Jean State Park is preparing to celebrate these colorful signs of spring by hosting our annual Wildflower Weekend. The weekend of April 2nd to 4th will be devoted to celebrating these blossoming beauties. The highlight of the weekend will be a slide presentation and guided walk conducted by Carl G. Hunter. Mr. Hunter is author of three popular field guides, Tree, Shrubs and Vines; Autumn Leaves and Winter Berries, and Wildflowers of Arkansas. Originally published in 1984, Wildflowers of Arkansas has become a must-have for all flower enthusiasts in the state. With this publication Mr. Hunter won the first Dwight M Moore Award for Excellence with a botanical publication. The book has also received citations from the Arkansas Audubon Society and the Arkansas Conservation Coalition. Mr. Hunter's presentation will begin with a slide show in the Rec Hall at 3 pm, followed immediately by a guided hike along the Rim Trail section of the Boy Scout Trail. Other events for the weekend include several wildflower walks, an edible plants program, and a wildflower folklore program. All activities this weekend are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the park at (501) 727-5441 or by email at petitjean@arkansas.com         Great Escape Easter Weekend Petit Jean State Park is preparing for the arrival of the Easter bunny. Reports are that 2000 eggs will be found in the ball field next to the swimming pool on Easter Sunday. At 2:00 pm on April 11, kids will be divided into age-specific groups and the hunt will begin. Everyone is encouraged to come and cheer the kids on as they hunt for candy filled eggs. The kids will want to remember to bring their own basket for the hunt. The Easter egg hunt is only one of the many events that will be held that weekend. A nondenominational sunrise service will be held Sunday morning at 6:30 am. Pastor Bill Brown will conduct this service at Petit Jean's Gravesite and Overlook. Other activities for the weekend will be focusing on the must-see places in the park that everyone should experience. Guided hikes, demonstrations and slide shows will be held Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon. A complete schedule of events is available by stopping by the visitor center, Mather Lodge, or by contacting the park at (501) 727-5441 or by email at petitjean@arkansas.com   Twin Falls Wins Grand Prize   A striking picture of Twin Falls on Richland Creek in the Ozark National Forest submitted by Bret Taylor of Fayetteville was selected as the overall winning image for the "Picture Yourself in Arkansas" photo contest. The contest began in January 2003, and the winning and second-place images in each of the six categories were posted to www.arkansastravel.com, an online travel magazine maintained by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. Visitors at arkansastravel.com will be able to view Taylor's winning photograph, as well as the winning entries from the other categories, through April. The contest's first runner up is Fort Smith ophthalmologist Gary Felker who's shot of a great blue heron had been a winner in the "Wildlife Category." "Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism"   Restoration Planned for Bathhouses Hot Springs National Park has received nearly $5 million from President Bush's fiscal year 2005 budget proposal. Three bathhouses - the Hale, Ozark and Quapaw - will receive repairs to the structural, electrical, plumbing and air handling systems. Bathhouse Row has eight historic bathhouses, and the Fordyce serves as the park's visitor center. A request has also been made in the president's proposal for Pea Ridge National Military Park for repairs and maintenance to the park's facilities.     Cowie International Amateur Wine Competition An ounce of gold and bragging rights are the top prizes at the 20th annual Cowie International Amateur Wine Competition, set for April 24 at Cowie Wine Cellars, three miles west of Paris at Carbon City. Last year the competition, which is open to non-professional winemakers, drew 193 entries from 19 states and Canada, as well as spectators who came to sample the wines. "We've had people drive here from Kentucky, Florida, Texas, California and Wisconsin," said Cowie Wine Cellars Vintner Robert Cowie, who expects about 250 entries this year. General admission for the day's events is $15, which includes a glass for tasting the wines. And, according to Cowie, there is no limit on wine tasting, so long as attendees remain sober. The competition also provides a time to learn and share information about the art of winemaking, and each year a speaker addresses