Branson’s Silver Dollar City theme park, with its 1880’s craft village, takes visitors back in time to experience a simpler way of life. And the home of American craftsmanship welcomes even more exquisite arts and crafts during its annual National Harvest Festival, running now through Oct. 29, 2011.

The park welcomes hundreds of visiting craftsmen during the National Harvest Festival. Guests are invited to experience an all new Timberworks lumberjack show, delight to chalk street artists and watch as craftsmen turn wood into an art showcase.

You’ll also enjoy a 50-ton sand sculpture, chainsaw carvers, papermaking demonstrations, pumpkin carvers and much more including a Made in Missouri Juried art exhibit.

Another highlight of the Festival is the show, Headin’ West at the Opera House stage. The 45-minute live musical production tells a timeless tale of American expansion westward during the 1860s. The show includes colorful characters, harrowing adventures, a moving musical score, special effects and more. The theme park’s biggest production show ever is included with park admission.

For additional information on Silver Dollar City and discount theme park tickets, as well as discount Branson vacation packages, visit http://www.westgatereservations.com/.

Fall is in the air and it won’t be long before autumn’s spectacular colors burst out amidst the Ozarks foliage in and around Branson.

While Branson is known for its multitude of live shows and performances, the colorful foliage offers up one of nature’s greatest shows. Wherever you are in the greater Branson area, you’re sure to witness the show in its full magnificent glory.

One of the best ways to catch the autumn hues is by simply driving around the Branson area. One scenic drive that offers exceptional views is to take the Ozarks Mountain Highroad (State Hwy 465) from its junction with Hwy 65 to its end at Hwy. 76.  You’ll travel over Table Rock Dam and experience beautiful vistas and millions of leaves in virtually every stage of color, vibrancy and hue.

Another scenic panorama during fall color season is The Overlook on Hwy 165. From there, you can see Table Rock Lake, Lake Taneycomo, Table Rock Dam, along with all the surrounding foliage.

If you prefer, you can also experience one of Branson’s many tourist attractions while viewing the fall colors.  Hop aboard the Showboat Branson Belle riverboat on Table Rock Lake or the Lake Queen on Lake Taneycomo. Either boat ride offers up a 360-degree view of the spectacular colors.

Another option is the Branson Scenic Railway, a vintage train that offers railroad cars from the ‘40s and ‘50s. You’ll experience memories of a bygone era while viewing the colors during a special trip through the Ozarks.

If you prefer a little more excitement with your color tour, try out the Wildfire roller coaster at Silver Dollar City theme park. You’ll view the colors from above as your coaster car climbs high in the sky before dropping down 135 feet and looping upside down five times.

For more information on Branson attraction tickets and discount vacation packages, visit http://www.westgatereservations.com/.

Fall is in the air in Branson. As the calendar rolls over to September, it won’t be long before the Ozark Mountain leaves start their annual autumn transition from lush green to vibrant red, yellow and orange.

It’s also a great time to visit Branson’s most popular attraction - Silver Dollar City theme park. The internationally-awarded 1880’s-styled park has been thrilling guests for 50 years. Nestled in the heart of those same colorful Ozarks, Silver Dollar City features more than 30 rides and attractions, six world-class festivals, 12 delicious restaurants, 40 lives shows per day and 60 unique shops and boutiques.

Get your thrills on high speed coasters like the explosive launch coaster, PowderKeg. Experience the watery excitement of America’s Biggest Water Battle on RiverBlast. Or let the younger kids explore Half Dollar Holler, a million dollar play area for the little ones.

Of course, the entire family will also enjoy the exceptional American craftsmanship that can be found throughout the park. More than 100 craftsmen demonstrate the arts of woodcarving, glass blowing, pottery, blacksmithing and more.

For discount tickets to Silver Dollar City or for details on a discount Branson family vacation package, visit http://www.westgatereservations.com/.

Branson’s Ozark Mountains have long resonated with beautiful Southern gospel music. The vibrant music can be heard from county fairs and country churches to grand stages and family backyards. Yet the best is saved for the amazing Southern Gospel Picnic, a celebration of music and food at Silver Dollar City theme park.

The Southern Gospel Picnic runs from August 25 through Sept. 5, 2011. This year’s festival features hundreds of performances from the most famous names in southern gospel music.

Of course, as the name implies, the Picnic is also a delicious feast, with savory southern cooking at The House of Chicken & Fixin’s on the City’s square! You’ll find a variety of styles of chicken, all the extras. Choose from Apple-Glazed Chicken, Hickory-Smoked Chicken or Southern Fried Chicken.

You can also learn new recipes at Silver Dollar City’s Culinary & Craft School where a Master Craftsman of Culinary Arts demonstrates favorite recipes and cooking tips and tricks in a state-of-the-art kitchen. A small fee applies for all classes.

Each day, you can enjoy a special musical celebration filled with great gospel harmonies and soul-stirring melodies from a variety of artists:

HisSong - August 25

The Pfeifers - August 25

Blackwood Brothers Quartet - August 25 - 26

Chuck Wagon Gang - August 25 - 26

Soul’d Out Quartet - August 25 - 26

Tribute Quartet - August 25 - 27

The Harper Family - August 25 - 28

Booth Brothers - August 26

Albert E Brumley Jr. - August 26 - 27

The Browders - August 27

Legacy Five - August 27

The Freemans - August 27 - 28

Gold City - August 27 - 28

Hosea Bilyeu & Family - August 28

Brian Free & Assurance - August 28 - 29

Tim Lovelace - August 28 - 29

The Whisnants - August 28 - 29

Bowling Family - August 29 - 30

The Perrys - August 29 - 30

2nd Generation - August 29 - September 1

The Downing Family - August 29 - September 1

Dixie Echoes - August 29 - September 2

The Hoppers - August 30 - 31

New Horizons - August 31

The Lesters - August 30 - September 1

Mark Trammell Quartet - August 31 - September 1

Reggie & Bridgette Saddler - August 31 - September 1

Down East Boys - September 1 - 2

Karen Peck & New River - September 1 - 2

The Williamsons - September 1 - 3

The Collingsworth Family - September 2 - 3

The Morace Family - September 2 - 3

Cody Shuler & Pine Mountain RR - September 2 - 5

Spoken 4 Quartet - September 2 - 5

Dr. Dennis Swanberg - September 3 - 4

Triumphant Quartet - September 3 - 4

The Diplomats - September 3 - 5

Jeff & Sheri Easter - September 4

Ninth Hour - September 4 - 5

The Isaacs - September 5

The Petersen Family - September 5

Southern Sound - September 5

The Taylors - September 5

In addition to the daytime music, the Southern Gospel Picnic offers up a rousing evening of music, as well, with the Southern Gospel Nights concert series at park closing. Top artists perform at Silver Dollar City’s 4,000-seat Echo Hollow Amphitheater. Concerts begin at 6 pm each evening during the festival, 7 pm on September 4 & 5. Seating in Echo Hollow Amphitheatre begins two hours prior to show time, weather permitting. Southern Gospel Nights performers include:

Blackwood Brothers Quartet and Chuck Wagon Gang - August 25

Booth Brothers - August 26

Gold City - August 27

Brian Free & Assurance and The Whisnants - August 28

The Bowling Family and The Perrys - August 29

The Hoppers - August 30

Mark Trammell Quartet and Reggie & Bridgette Saddler - August 31

Down East Boys and Karen Peck & New River - September 1

The Collingsworth Family - September 2

Triumphant Quartet - September 3

Jeff & Sheri Easter - September 4

The Isaacs - September 5

Kids will feel right at home in Branson, Missouri.

Known for its family friendly hospitality, Branson has a wide variety of kid-friendly attractions the entire family will enjoy.

You can choose from theme parks and water parks to exceptional magic and variety shows. In fact, Branson has enough kid stuff to keep the little ones happily occupied for days. 

Branson offers two popular indoor water parks in Castle Rock and Grand Country’s Splash Country. Meanwhile, White Water, the area’s largest and only outdoor water park, provides a variety of water adventures that run from thrilling water slides to a relaxing, lazy river.

Branson’s most famous attraction, Silver Dollar City, is a theme park for kids of all ages. With an 1880’s Ozarks look and feel, Silver Dollar City offers over 30 thrill rides and attractions, 40 daily shows, and 60 quaint shops and restaurants. There are also six special festivals throughout the year including National KidsFest.

When it’s time to feed the kids, everyone will enjoy Dixie Stampede, a family dinner show featuring 32 magnificent horses, trick riders, hilarious racing pigs, a thundering stampede of longhorn steer and a delicious four course feast.

For a little slower pace, try one of Branson’s many miniature golf courses where kids can enjoy themes ranging from pirates to dinosaurs.

The live entertainment capital of the world, Branson is full of family shows, including many that will thrill the kids. Noah the Musical offers animatronics and live animals. Acrobats of China thrill with their amazing feats of grace. The Hamner Barber Show is filled with magic and ventriloquism.

And for the ultimate kid adventure, you can Ride the Ducks! The Branson sightseeing tour provides a land and water trip around town in one amazing vehicle. You’ll tour through the heart of Branson and the Ozarks before splashing into Table Rock Lake for a tranquil cruise.

For additional Branson activities, discount tickets and discount resort accommodations at Westgate Branson Woods Resort, you can visit http://www.westgatereservations.com/.

Branson’s most popular theme park offers an exceptional opportunity to experience a fun-filled journey back in time, with traditional 1880’s-style Ozarks food, festivals, music, costumes and atmosphere.

You’ll enjoy modern day thrills thanks to more than 30 state-of-the-art rides and attractions, including the Wildfire roller coaster, the explosive PowderKeg, and RiverBlast - America’s biggest water battle.

The park also presents four seasonal festivals throughout the year, including World-Fest, America’s largest international festival, plus KidsFest, the Southern Gospel Picnic and an Old Time Christmas.

Silver Dollar City’s summer KidsFest celebration continues through July 24, 2011. The park’s kid-friendly fun includes the new Half Dollar Holler, a woodland wonderland with treetop fun houses, climbing nets, sand play and a hand-carved carousel. The single-access attraction offers kid-friendly structures for ages 3-7.

KidsFest also offers the little ones an opportunity to meet favorite cartoon characters such as Scooby Doo and Shaggy, Fred Flintstone and Dino, SpongeBob and Patrick, as well as Tom and Jerry and the Backyardigans.

Of course, regardless of the seasonal festivals, there’s plenty of excitement on the rides and attractions. At RiverBlast, guests experience a real Tom & Huck river adventure as both passengers and spectators are armed with super soaker water guns, creating the perfect storm for an all-out water war.

There are other thrills with attractions like WildFire, a high-flying, multi-looping coaster that hits speeds of 66 mph; PowerKeg, an explosive roller coaster that launches riders from 0 to 53 mph in just 2.8 seconds; Fire-in-the-Hole, an indoor coaster with high speed drops and thrilling surprises; Thunderation, an 80-foot tall, high speed coaster with spectacular views of the Ozarks; and American Plunge, a wet and wild log flume ride climbing five stories in the air with splash down speeds reaching 35 mph.

Beyond the rides, Silver Dollar City offers up a wide range of music and scores of talented singers, dancers and musicians. The park includes more than 40 shows daily that are regularly rated among the best in the theme park industry.

For more information on Branson’s theme parks, attractions, live shows, lodging and more, visit http://www.westgatereservations.com/.

Silver Dollar City is known as one of the most popular destinations in the Missouri Ozarks. It’s also known for its festivals. And with festival season about to begin, get ready for the fun.

With a total of six world-class festivals throughout the year, Silver Dollar City offers fun for everyone. You can take a trip around the world without ever leaving the Ozarks during World-Fest.

You can celebrate BBQ, Bluegrass and Gospel music. You can experience America’s largest Kidsfest. You can see hundreds of America’s finest craftsmen create amazing works of art. Or you can be dazzled by the Christmas spirit during an Old Time Christmas celebration. It’s all part of Silver Dollar City’s annual run of exceptional festivals.

Of course, every day is a fun-filled adventure at the 1880’s style, award-winning theme park. Silver Dollar City offers 30 rides and attractions for adventure seekers of all ages. You can hop aboard the thrilling “Wildfire,” a multi-looping roller coaster that reaches speeds up to 66 miles per hour. Or check out the new “Half Dollar Holler” ride specially designed for kids through age 7.

Silver Dollar City also offers some of the best live shows and entertainment available in an area best known for its abundant and exceptional live entertainment.

Festival season kicks off with World-Fest, April 7 to May 8. 2011. This international event is a colorful and musical celebration of entertainment, food, culture, music and fun that has become a must-see tradition every spring in the Ozarks.

World-Fest features world-class performers and musical artists from around the globe including folk singers, an Irish tenor, steel drum corps from Trinidad and Tobago, stilt dancers, champion fiddlers from Canada, amazing acrobats and more.

World-Fest also features the “Tastes of the World,” a delicious food pavilion providing a taste-tempting selection of international food specialties such as Irish Stew, Chicken Fajitas and Italian Calzone and desserts like Baklava, Tiramisu Torte and Apple Dumplings served with Cinnamon Ice Cream.

For additional information or tickets to Silver Dollar City or any of Branson’s other shows and attractions or for lodging arrangements, visit http://www.westgatereservations.com/ or http://www.ticket2branson.com/.

Two days is all that’s left.

Dec. 29 and 30 are the final operating days of the season at Branson’s most popular tourist attraction - Silver Dollar City theme park. It’s your last two days to enjoy the fun and entertainment at SDC until the park re-opens on March 17, 2011.

Don’t miss your chance to come home for the holidays to An Old Time Christmas at Silver Dollar City, considered one of the top 5 holiday events in the nation by Good Morning America.

It’s a celebration for the entire family with more than 4 million dazzling lights, and a 5-story high Christmas tree, that twinkles with a million dancing lights and other special effects. There’s also shows like a living nativity and Frosty!, plus the delicious tastes of the season are in abundance all around the park.

Weather permitting, you can experience more than 30 rides and attractions ranging from the Frisco sing-along steam train, to the thrilling Powderkeg roller coaster and the intriguing grounds of The Grand Exposition.

For more information on the theme park as well as its 2011 season, go to http://www.bransonsilverdollarcity.com/. Or for information on discount Branson lodging and resorts including Westgate Branson Woods Resort, go to http://www.westgatereservations.com/.

Branson, Missouri is family friendly, family focused and full of family fun.

A high energy town in the middle of Missouri’s beautiful Ozark Mountains, Branson offers plenty of excitement for kids of all ages. From water parks to fun family shows, keeping the kids entertained in Branson is never a problem.

There is always plenty of outdoor recreation in Branson, from fishing and swimming in the spectacular Branson lakes to cooling off in one of the area’s outdoor or indoor water parks.

The biggest and only outdoor water park is White Water where you’ll find a variety of rides to please everybody from thrill seekers to those who want to relax in the Lazy River. For year round water park fun, Branson offers two indoor options: Castle Rock and Grand Country’s Splash Country.

Silver Dollar City theme park remains Branson’s biggest attraction for kids and adults alike. Sporting an 1880’s Ozarks look and feel, the park is home to more than 30 thrilling rides and attractions. There are also more than 40 daily shows, and 60 shops and restaurants in the park.

Another popular attraction for kids is Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede. The delicious dinner show features 32 magnificent horses, trick riders, racing pigs, a stampede of Longhorn steer and tasty four-course feast.

Of course, live shows are plentiful throughout Branson. While each and every show in Branson is family friendly, there are a number that are particularly attractive to kids. Noah the musical offers a wide variety of animatronics and live animals. The Acrobats of China shows includes extraordinary acrobatic feats that are sure to amaze the entire family. There are also many comedy and magic shows that will delight kids of all ages.

Perhaps the best kid attraction in Branson is simply taking a look around Branson on the back of a DUCK. Ride the Ducks is a fun-filled Branson sightseeing tour aboard a vehicle that can travel over land and water! Tour the heart of the Ozarks by land prior to splashing into Table Rock Lake for a view from the tranquil waters.

Branson also offers plenty of kid-friendly shopping, dining and attractions such as miniature golf. So pack up the family and start planning a trip to the Ozarks. For information on Branson resorts and accommodations, go to http://www.ticket2branson.com/ or http://www.westgatereservations.com/.

As part of its annual National Harvest Festival celebration, Silver Dollar City theme park in Branson, MO is hosting a special new exhibit - PBS Craft in America.The exhibit, developed exclusively for the park, is taken directly from the Peabody-award winning PBS documentary series featuring unique American artists. A total of 50 of America’s top artists will choose their most stunning and unique works of art to be displayed at Silver Dollar City.

Another exciting exhibit is the new Caricature Carvers of America Showcase featuring Silver Dollar City artisans like Peter Engler, Ted Blaylock, Peter Kramer, Lee Robertson, Tom Crain, Gary Dierking and Jesse Barnes. You’ll also find hundreds of visiting Craftsmen demonstrating throughout the park, including Best of Missouri Hands juried artists.

Winner of the “Big-E” award for Best Overall Production in 2009 by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, Headin’ West returns to the Silver Dollar City Opera House stage. Headin’ West is a special 45-minute live musical production that tells the timeless tale of American westward expansion during the 1860s.

Complete with colorful characters, harrowing adventures, a moving musical score, surprising special effects, vivid scenery and talented performers - Headin’ West is Silver Dollar City’s biggest production show ever.  The show, which is free with park admission, runs September 11 - October 24, 2010.

For information about Silver Dollar City tickets and discount Branson vacation packages, visit http://www.ticket2branson.com/ or http://www.westgatereservations.com/.