Tradition and Honor Reign at Indian Summer Festival
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tradition and Honor Reign at Indian Summer Festival
24th Annual Celebration of Native American Culture hits Milwaukee’s Lakefront
Milwaukee – Aug. 23, 2010 Native Americans named Milwaukee a gathering place by the water - “Milliocki” - many years ago. Indian Summer Festival offers a chance to once again gather by the water and celebrate Native American culture. From September 10 through 12, travel back in time with traditional arts and foods, a marketplace with Native American inspired gifts, a traditional weekend-long Pow Wow, the Indian Summer Music Awards and more.
“Milwaukee celebrates its heritage with major ethnic festivals almost every weekend in summer,” said VISIT Milwaukee President and CEO, Paul Upchurch. “It’s an easy weekend trip to sample the cultures of the world with traditional food, music, dances, art and celebrations.”
This year’s Indian Summer Festival theme is “honoring our warriors.” Veterans, enlisted military personnel and first responders will be honored with free admission all weekend, a Veteran’s Parade on Saturday at 3 p.m.; a Wall of Honor displaying pictures and memories of American Indians who have served, or continue to serve, our country; and a special emphasis on honoring warriors in the Traditional Pow Wow.
On Saturday at 6:30 p.m., the Indian Summer Music Awards will be a main feature of the festival. The show, hosted by Irene Bedard, the voice and physical model for Disney’s Pocahontas, will honor Native American talent in all genres.
The Indian Summer marketplace boasts more than 100 vendors from across North America. The Gathering Place hosts community service organizations and educational institutions. On Sunday, a traditional Native American Prayer Ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Native Spritual Leaders and Christian Native Church Leaders will honor the Direction of the North - the Direction of Patience and Wisdom.
The festival runs Friday, September 10 through Sunday, September 12 at Henry Maier Festival Park. For details regarding admission, hours and attractions, visit the Indian Summer website at http://www.indiansummer.org
VISIT Milwaukee markets Greater Milwaukee to tourists, convention and meeting planners nationally and internationally and is dedicated to ensuring our guests are warmly welcomed and enjoy an enriching experience in this jewel of the Great Lakes. VISIT Milwaukee has more than 600 members, including hotels/motels, restaurants, attractions, services and area businesses. Tourism generated $2.3 billion in spending in Greater Milwaukee in 2009 and supported about 58,000 local jobs. The City of Wauwatosa, Frontier Airlines, Potawatomi Bingo Casino and the Wisconsin Center District are strategic partners with VISIT Milwaukee, providing funding support for conventions and tourism programs. For more information call 1-800-554-1448 or visit www.visitmilwaukee.org.
Dave Fantle, VP of Public Relations
414.287.4253
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or
Jeannine Sherman, Public Relations Manager
414.287.6230
Friday, August 20, 2010
Mexican Fiesta Heats Up Milwaukee Summer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mexican Fiesta Heats Up Milwaukee Summer
Enjoy Food, Drinks, Dances and Games celebrating Mexican Culture
MILWAUKEE - Aug. 19, 2010 - Celebrate Mexican culture with salsa dancing, jalapeños, Pok-Ta-Pok and more at Mexican Fiesta in Milwaukee. Since 1977, Mexican Fiesta has added south of the border flavor to Milwaukee's lakefront.
"Milwaukee celebrates its heritage with major ethnic festivals almost every weekend in summer," said VISIT Milwaukee President and CEO, Paul Upchurch. "It's an easy weekend trip to sample the cultures of the world with traditional food, music, dances, art and celebrations."
New for this year's festival is the Mayan game, Pok-Ta-Pok. The ancient ball game is performed by tribes throughout Mexico as a ceremonial gathering or to settle a dispute. Players use their hips, knees and arms to keep the ball in the air and, in some forms of the game, get it through a circular goal.
Mexican Fiesta offers contests that everyone can enjoy. A salsarengue contest is held on Friday for dancers to show off their best merengue and salsa rhythms. Saturday features Mexican Fiesta's annual dance contest, with the opportunity to experience traditional dances from around the country. Also on Saturday is the grito competition, where contestants get a chance to roar a shout heard throughout the world. Festivities continue Sunday with a traditional costume contest and the Omega Jalapeño Eating Contest.
Festival-goers also get a chance to discover the unique blue agave in the tequila expo. The exhibit is open all weekend to display the rich history and legends behind the drink that made Mexico famous.
The festival runs Friday, August 27 through Sunday, August 29 at Henry W. Maier Festival Park. For details regarding admission, hours and attractions, visit the Mexican Fiesta website at http://www.mexicanfiesta.org
VISIT Milwaukee markets Greater Milwaukee to tourists, convention and meeting planners nationally and internationally and is dedicated to ensuring our guests are warmly welcomed and enjoy an enriching experience in this jewel of the Great Lakes. VISIT Milwaukee has more than 600 members, including hotels/motels, restaurants, attractions, services and area businesses. Tourism generated $2.3 billion in spending in Greater Milwaukee in 2009 and supported about 58,000 local jobs. The City of Wauwatosa, Frontier Airlines, Potawatomi Bingo Casino and the Wisconsin Center District are strategic partners with VISIT Milwaukee, providing funding support for conventions and tourism programs. For more information call 1-800-554-1448 or visit http://www.visitmilwaukee.org
.Dave Fantle, VP of Public Relations
414.287.4253
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
or
Jeannine Sherman, Public Relations Manager
414.287.6230
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
“Build a Bike” campaign at ASAE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information contact:
David Fantle,
VISIT Milwaukee
414.287.4253
E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
"Build a Bike" campaign at ASAE
Milwaukee/Portland/Pittsburgh Coalition shows heart
Milwaukee, August 10, 2010 - VISIT Milwaukee invites ASAE members to stop by its booth #1908 to help "Build a Bike" during the ASAE Annual Meeting in Los Angeles. Milwaukee teams up with its partners Travel Portland and Visit Pittsburgh in sponsoring this collaborative and fun project, which gives back to the community by donating the finished bikes to the Midnight Mission of Los Angeles.
Members are asked to join in the bike assembly throughout the show and sign the card on behalf of the entire ASAE family. The children from the mission will be on hand when the bikes and card are presented at the Community Connection event on Tuesday, August 24th from 2:00-5:45 p.m. Registration for this event is required at http://www.asaeannualmeeting.org .
The 3-city coalition - VISIT Milwaukee, Travel Portland and Visit Pittsburgh - looks forward to making a difference, and hopes for enthusiastic participants with a lot of heart at ASAE.
VISIT Milwaukee markets Greater Milwaukee to tourists, convention and meeting planners nationally and internationally. VISIT Milwaukee has more than 600 members, including hotels/motels, restaurants, attractions, services and area businesses. Tourism generated $2.3 billion in spending in Greater Milwaukee in 2009 and supported more than 57,000 local jobs. For more information call 1-800-554-1448 or visit http://www.visitmilwaukee.org
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Friday, August 06, 2010
Airfares down, passengers up at Milwaukee Airport
Average fares now $98 less than Chicago's O'Hare
MILWAUKEE - Aug. 5, 2010 - The good news for flight passengers continues to get better at Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport. The cost of flying in and out of Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport is now $98 less when compared to nearby Chicago O'Hare. This represents the biggest quarter-over-quarter drop in the nation at 16.6 percent. Newly released U.S. Department of Transportation data for first quarter 2010 show that the average airfare out of Milwaukee dropped lower than at 93 other U.S. airports.
Passenger growth also continues to take-off with a June passenger count of 922,984, and increase of almost 30 percent over June 2009. In the first six months of 2010, the airport served 1,225,221 or 34% more passengers than the same six-month period last year.
Market Growth
With 55 markets, Mitchell International has moved up to 28th among U.S. airports in number of markets served nonstop, according to data recently published by the Brookings Institute. Mitchell's rank in a similar 2004 study was 34th. The new ranking means that more nonstop markets are served out of Milwaukee than out of other Midwestern cities, such as Kansas City, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Columbus, and out of medium-sized cities elsewhere in the U.S., including Portland, OR, Austin, New Orleans, San Diego; Raleigh/Durham, Albuquerque, San Antonio and Hartford, CT.
Mitchell Airport's growth in the first quarter of 2010, according to the Airports Council International, was exceeded worldwide only by airports in Istanbul, Turkey and Phuket, Thailand, and was the only U.S. airport among the top 30 fastest growing in the world.
"The real message for anyone considering holding a meeting or convention in Milwaukee is that we're centrally located, have an abundance of carriers offering non-stop flights and we're affordable," said Paul Upchurch, president & CEO of VISIT Milwaukee. "The growth of our airport and air service coupled with our world-class tourism amenities to accommodate meetings and conventions should put Milwaukee on any destination selection short list."
VISIT Milwaukee markets Greater Milwaukee to tourists, convention and meeting planners nationally and internationally. VISIT Milwaukee has more than 600 members, including hotels/motels, restaurants, attractions, services and area businesses. Tourism generated $2.3 billion in spending in Greater Milwaukee in 2009 and supported more than 57,000 local jobs. For more information call 1-800-554-1448 or visit http://www.visitmilwaukee.org
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