Branson News Guide

BRANSON, MISSOURI- The Baldknobbers Country Music Jamboree is deeply saddened to announce the sudden passing of Dennis Mabe, 20-year veteran of the show and son of the show’s co-founder, the late Bill Mabe.

Stricken with a heart attack in the early morning hours of Friday, April 21, Mabe passed away at Cox South Hospital in Springfield, Missouri the morning of Wednesday, April 26, at the age of 48. He is survived by his wife, Renee, and children Tifini, Garrett and Denton Mabe.

Funeral services are pending, with details to be announced. The Mabe family and the Baldknobbers cast and crew sincerely appreciate your prayers of support.

More than 100 people are at work on the site of the Branson Convention Center and the adjacent Hilton Convention Center Hotel in downtown Branson next to the Branson Landing retail district that opened in May.

The 12-story hotel will be the tallest hotel in Branson. And to assist in the construction of the hotel, a 220-foot tower crane has been brought in to lift the pallets of lumber and steel supports to the floors that are rising from the ground. According to officials from HCW Development Co, which also developed Branson Landing, the convention center and hotel project continues on schedule with opening date set for September 2007.

Concrete has been poured for the third floor of the hotel and some steel is already erected on the convention center site. The entire infrastructure, including underground utilities and drainage, has been in place for two years in conjunction with the construction of Branson Landing. Architects are now working on the interior design for both projects. The 275-room Hilton Convention Center Hotel includes a restaurant, swimming pool, atrium patio and landscaping.

The 220,000-square–foot convention center will feature glass all along the east side facing Lake Taneycomo. It will have a 50,000 square foot exhibition hall, a 23,000 square foot ballroom and 15,000 square feet of meeting space. The spaces can be joined for large events or the convention center can accommodate multiple users at the same time.

Bill Tirone, marketing director for the convention center and Hilton Hotel, said “a fair amount” of conventions have already been booked for corporations, state associations and public events including the Log Cabin Timber Frame Home Expo. Tirone said he gets two to three leads a day from groups ranging in size from 200 to about 4,000 attendees.

Branson Mayor Lou Schaefer believes Branson will be a unique convention destination. “Because of Branson’s entertainment that includes 47 theaters and other major attractions like Branson Landing, attendees will have a variety of fun things to do. I see them bringing families and either coming a few days early to their meetings or staying longer to enjoy the amenities of Branson,” he said.

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn.—Legendary entertainer Dolly Parton will treat one lucky fan to a “backyard barbeque and bluegrass festival” to celebrate the launch of Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s, her new cookbook to benefit the entertainer’s Imagination Library. The cookbook is sold exclusively through Dollywood and Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede Dinner & Show.

“Since I don’t have plans to tour this year, it would be difficult for me to perform at Dollywood to benefit my Imagination Library,” Parton said. “I have been working on this cookbook for a while, so I thought now would be the perfect time to release it and devote all the proceeds to the Dollywood Foundation.”

Advance sales have begun for the limited edition cookbook, which will ship in September. The cost is $27.50, which includes shipping and handling. Each advance purchase of Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s provides the buyer an entry into an exclusive contest where the grand prize is a “backyard barbeque and bluegrass festival” for the winner and their closest 100 friends and family featuring Dolly as the special guest. As the special guest, Parton will help cook and serve food, take photographs with guests and perform a few songs for the grand prizewinner’s own “backyard barbeque and bluegrass festival.”

Dolly will announce the grand prizewinner on Sept. 15 at the opening of Dollywood’s new Bluegrass & BBQ Festival. The deadline to purchase books to qualify for the grand prize is Sept. 1, 2006 at midnight.

Trade secret “Creamy Vegetable Soup” recipe finally unveiled

Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s features more than 125 recipes, including many from Parton’s personal collection of southern specialties like her popular banana pudding. Many of the recipes were passed down to Parton from her late mother, Avie Lee Parton, as well as several from her mother-in-law, “Mama (Ginny) Dean.” Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s also includes recipes from Parton’s Dollywood Companies, highlighted by Dixie Stampede Dinner & Show’s sought after Creamy Vegetable Soup. She also shares recipes for dishes inspired by her favorite restaurants discovered during more than 40 years of touring.

“I thought the best way to sweeten the pot was to throw in a big ‘dollyup’ of Dolly Parton,” said Parton. “This should be a whole lot of fun!”

The cookbook will be sold exclusively at Dollywood, Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede Dinner & Show locations in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, Branson, Missouri, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Published by Penguin Group (USA), 100-percent of proceeds from sales of Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s will benefit Parton’s Dollywood Foundation, which sponsors the Imagination Library. Founded in 1996, the Imagination Library provides a free book each month from birth until age five to children in participating communities. Currently, the Imagination Library works with local partners in 600 communities in 42 states. The Imagination Library mails books to more than a quarter million children each month and will provide approximately four million free books in 2006.

Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede Dinner & Show originated in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee in 1988, as Dolly’s premier dinner and show experience featuring horses, equestrian thrills and audience participation on a grand scale. The company has since opened locations in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Branson, Missouri and Orlando, Florida.