100 Places To See In 2007
American Bus Association Announces
Top 100 Events in North America for 2007
American Bus Association Announces Top 100 Events in North America for 2007
| Washington, DC � September
2006 � It�s the year to celebrate motorcoach and group travel, with the
release of the American Bus Association�s
(ABA) 25th Anniversary of the Top Events in the U.S. and Canada. In its
2007 edition, the annual guide to professional travel planners and the
general public highlights the top fairs, festivals, parades, exhibits,
theater and shows across the U.S. and Canada. ABA, the leading trade organization
for the motorcoach and group travel industry, compiles the list, which
is chosen from among hundreds of events nominated by state and provincial
tourism officials, and convention and visitors associations from across
North America. A panel of U.S. and Canadian travel professionals bases
its selections on the events� broad appeal, their accessibility to large
groups arriving by motorcoach, and a variety of other criteria.
| �The Top 100 list began 25 years ago as a way to help tour planners to find new destinations for their customers. Over time, the list has grown to a must-have for travel planners, travel writers and travel bureaus, to help encourage motorcoach and group travel to destinations, and a coveted honor for events to help increase motorcoach and group attendance,� said Peter J. Pantuso, president and CEO, American Bus Association (www.buses.org). While the 100 Top Events are not ranked, ABA does highlight the Top 100 U.S. Event for 2007 and Top 100 Canadian Event for 2007. This year, the Top U.S. Event is the Oklahoma Centennial (oklahomacentennial.com), which takes place thoughout the year and throughout the state. To celebate the centennial, the Sooner State has 14 months of more than 400 special events, historic reenactments and heritage experiences planned. In preparation of the event, communities and organizations across the state are restoring historical sites and creating monuments, fountains, parks, and cultural facilties that reflect local or state history. The Top Canadian Event is The Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, July 1-8 (www.nstattoo.ca). Striking a unique balance between history lesson and fun entertainment, this tattoo stands out as one of the world�s best. Even the Queen has raved about it; on Her Majesty�s 80th birthday, she decreed it a �Royal� event. The show, in fact, was created for Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother�s 1979 visit to Halifax. Today, more than 2,000 military and non-military performers join together for this fast-paced, two hour, family-oriented show featuring pipes and drums, military and civilian bands, historic reenactments, dancers, acrobats, comedians, choirs, military displays and competitions, and a host of innovative acts. Among the hundred events, this year�s list highlights many events celebrating their own anniversaries, including events like Bellingrath Gardens and Home 75th Anniversary, Theodore, Alabama (www.bellingrath.org), beginning in January, which celebrates Walter and Bessie Bellingrath�s home and garden. In April, Wilmington, North Carolina celebrates the 60th Annual North Carolina Azalea Festival (www.ncazaleafestival.org) that highlights as much about Southern culture and hospitality as it is about flowers. Jamestown, Virginia celebrates history in 2007 in May, with America�s 400th Anniversary Weekend (www.gowilliamsburg.com) that commemorates the founding of Jamestown in 1607, America�s first permanent English settlement. The event includes major events, exhibits, educational programs and the opening of new attractions in Jamestown, Williamsburg, Yorktown, and throughout Virginia. Also in Virginia, as well as Maryland and Delaware is the 400th anniversary of Capt. John Smith voyage in May with a 28-foot reproduction of Smith�s shallop and a major traveling exhibit thoughout the states. Capt. John Smith 2007 Reenactment Voyage (www.johnsmith400.org) will travel to more than 20 stops along the Chesapeake Bay. Further North is the French
and Indian War 250th Celebration in New York and Pennsylvania (https://fiw250.iloveny.com/welcome)
where in May, where clorfully costumed, well-armed British, French, Colonial
soldiers and their Indian allies recreate French and Indian War (1754-1763)
battles with canon blasts and muskets on the original Fort sites as Britain
and France fought for control of the North American colonies.
For balloon lovers, the 25th anniversary of the Freedom Weekend Aloft in Anderson, South Carolina, (www.freedomweekend.org), May 25-28, has all eyes looking upward when hot air balloons from around the United States take to the skies, competing daily for various prizes. The King lives on in Tupelo, Mississippi, in June, with the Tupelo Elvis Presley Festival�s 50th Anniversary of Elvis� 1957 Tupelo Concert (www.tupeloelvisfestival.com), where the city celebrates the return to the Tupelo fairgrounds for a second homecoming performance just one year after his debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. To mark this event and celebrate the king of rock �n� roll, this honorary festival boasts re-creations of Elvis� homecoming parade and his performance. In August, the 25th anniversary Festival at Sandpoint, Sandpoint, Idaho (www.festivalatsandpoint.com), celebrates classical music, as well as blues, country, pop, rock �n� roll, and jazz concerts under the stars. Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Yukon International Storytelling Festival (www.storytelling.yk.net), in August, featuring storytellers of every description from across Canada and around the circumpolar world spinning yarns for three days outdoors. And later that month, Charlestown, Rhode Island features the 10th Annual Rhythm and Roots Festival (www.rhythmandroots.com), where New England�s hottest festival of roots music and dance boasts a main stage with a dance tent, a workshop stage, a dance pavilion with dancers from around the world, and even a family stage. It also presents ethnic and regional foods; clothing, crafts and music vendors; and more. �With so many anniversary
events and other new and exciting destinations and events on the list,
now is a great time to travel and explore and enjoy cities and events around
North America,� Pantuso said.
 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| The American Bus Association is the trade organization of the intercity bus industry with about 1000 motorcoach owner and tour company members in the United States and Canada. Its members operate charter, tour, regular route, airport express, special operations and contract services. Another 2,300 members are travel and tourism organizations and suppliers of bus products and services who work in partnership with the North American motorcoach industry. | The full 2007 list can be found at www.buses.org. | Lori Harrison American Bus Association 610-400-1823 | 
700 13th Street, NW, Suite 575 � Washington, DC 20005-5923 (202) 842-1645, (800) 283-2877, Fax (202) 842-0850 | The American Bus Marketplace January 27 � February 1, 2007 / Grapevine, TX February 1�6, 2008 / Virginia Beach, VA January 7�12, 2009 / Charlotte, NC |
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