Virginia Tourism News Releases
2005 Releases
December
16, 2005
From Enslavement,
Emancipation and Education Virginia's African American Experience
- Black History Month Events 2006 -
Virginia native Carter
G. Woodson started "Negro History Week" nearly 80 years
ago, in 1926 - the origin of February's Black History Month. This
commemoration continues to serve as the impetus for embracing black
history on a national scale - and visitors find much of that significant
heritage in Virginia. Discover churches whose walls, if they could
speak, would offer tales of clandestine meetings that organized
sit-ins, ceremonies that honored fallen soldiers and soulful stories
told through gospel hymns that carried many to freedom along the
Underground Railroad.
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December 15, 2005
Free Virginia
Group Tour Planner for 2006-07 Now Available
Group travel planners
will find complete Virginia information in the newly published 2006-07
Virginia Group Tour Planner. Produced by the Virginia Tourism Corporation,
the 232-page publication presents in glossy color a user-friendly
guide to planning and experiencing group travel in the Commonwealth.
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full release as a PDF.
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November 29, 2005
Governor Warner
Announces Captain John Smith James River Trail
~ Water trail
and driving tour will coincide with the 400th anniversary of Jamestown
~
Governor Mark R. Warner
today announced the Captain John Smith James River Trail, a newly
developed boating and driving trail along the James River that chronicles
Smith's explorations of the waterway between 1607 and 1609. The
trail was created as part of statewide preparations for the 400th
anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. The Governor made the
announcement at the annual executive council meeting of the Chesapeake
Bay Program in Washington, D.C.
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November 22, 2005
Walk the Line
- Drive the Road: June Carter Cash Along the Crooked Road
While the already legendary
status of American music icon Johnny Cash receives a huge boost
from the new movie, Walk the Line, the movie also raises
to new prominence the contributions of his wife, Virginia native
June Carter Cash. As a member of the Carter Family, the "First
Family of Country Music," June Carter was part of the musical
legacy that paved the way for Cash and all other country music performers.
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November 10, 2005
Archeologists
Discover Missing Corner of 1607 James Fort And Possibly John Smith's
Well Beneath First Governor's House
Archaeologists at Historic
Jamestowne in Jamestown, Virginia, discovered the remains of the
north corner of James Fort, the final undiscovered piece of the
original 1607 fort walls, next to what appears to be a 1609 well,
hidden beneath the brick ruins of a fireplace from the first Virginia
Governor's house, built in 1611.
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November 1, 2005
VIRGINIA GETS
READY FOR IMPACT OF THE NEW WORLD MOVIE
Virginia tourism officials
are eagerly awaiting the release of The New World,
an epic film written and directed by Terrence Malick, starring Colin
Farrell as John Smith, in anticipation that it will attract a surge
of visitors, not only to Jamestown, but to other Virginia destinations
as well.
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October 20, 2005
GOVERNOR WARNER ANNOUNCES TOURISM INCREASE RESULTS IN 35.9 MILLION
VISITS AND $15.3 BILLION FOR VIRGINIA’S ECONOMY
~ Tourist spending in Virginia increased 8.6 percent in
2004 including a significant increase in international travelers
~ Governor Mark R. Warner announced today that travelers’
spending in the Commonwealth increased by 8.6 percent last year
from 2003. In 2004, Virginia was the destination of nearly
36 million tourist visits, representing a $15.3 billion investment
in the economy and signaling a positive economic outlook for Virginia’s
tourism industry.
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October 14, 2005
Jamestown Mystery Artifact Contest -
winners to receive family vacation
Students in kindergarten through 12th-grade who offer the best explanations about how early colonists used a mystery artifact unearthed at Historic Jamestowne will win a two-night family vacation to Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in America and the birthplace of the United States.
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July 8, 2005
Sip, Savor, Sit Back and Relax: Enter to Spoil Yourself Rotten
Relax, relate, release and spoil yourself rotten as the Virginia Tourism Corporation offers travelers the opportunity to enter the “Spoiled Rotten” contest where they can register to win a three-day, two-night VIP vacation for six. The getaway is complete with a wine tasting and tour of the Oasis Winery in the rolling hills of Virginia’s wine and horse country, pampering at the Westfields Marriott, a chauffeured limousine ride and much more.
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June 21, 2005
Virginia Tourism Corporation Launches New Jamestown Magazine
Virginia Tourism Corporation announces a new publication, Jamestown Secrets, promoting America’s 400th Anniversary: Jamestown 2007. The consumer fulfillment piece will be released in October, just prior to release of the major motion picture, "The New World."
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June 8, 2005
START OF DNA DIG FOR AMERICA’S FOUNDING FATHER
The first ever excavation to retrieve DNA from remains in a UK church for a scientific project begins next week (Monday 13th June). Archaeologists from Suffolk and the United States will begin a careful operation to recover a small fragment of the skeleton of Elizabeth Gosnold Tilney, the sister of Captain Bartholomew Gosnold, the Suffolk entrepreneur who led the expedition to establish the first English-speaking colony in the New World and the birthplace of the United States of America. More
April 18, 2005
VIRGINIA 511 TRAVEL SERVICE PROGRAM
Virginia Logos is introducing the state wide expansion
of the travel service telephone program called VIRGINIA 511 that
provides a traveler with real time updates, traffic, weather, construction
and travel services to assist the motorist with making their travels
safer and more efficient.
More
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April
20, 2005
Virginia
Tourism Industry Award-Winners Honored
Eight employees
of the tourism industry from across Virginia will be honored
at the Awards Dinner Gala during the Virginia Governor's Conference
on Tourism at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, April
25.
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April 15,
2005
Willard
Scott to Rally Virginians at Opening Of Governor's Conference
on Tourism,
April 24-26
NBC Today's ebullient
Willard Scott will deliver the keynote address at the Virginia
Governor's Conference on Tourism at 9:15 a.m., Mon., April
25, at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. A native Virginian
who gardens regularly and lists Virginia's seafood, grits
and wine among his favorite foods, Scott has traveled the
world for NBC and hosts the Home and Garden Network's "Willard's
Almanac."
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April 07,
2005
Virginia
Interactive Web Experience Engages Visitors in Jamestown 2007
Imagine yourself as a
voyager sent on a mission to an uncharted alien environment. Your
transport vessel deposits you in a place where provisions are scarce
and elements severe. Neither you nor anyone in your party expected
this, and no one is prepared or properly trained for what you have
encountered. Soon food becomes scarce. Shelter is inadequate. Disease
takes over. People begin to die. Hope fades.
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March 14,
2005
Virginia
Welcomes Travelers with Free Jamestown Coloring Sheets and
Post Cards
More
and more kids say they need a vacation - in fact, 71 percent
of American children expressed a desire to hit the road with
their families, according to a recent poll. When kids and
their families come to Virginia , they'll find a reward waiting
for them courtesy of the Virginia Tourism Corporation: free
Jamestown post cards, coloring sheets and crayons. The items
are available at any of VTC's 10 Virginia Welcome Centers.
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March
1, 2005
Prepare
for Jamestown 2007: Come to April 2005 Governor's Conference
on Tourism
With
a special focus on Jamestown 2007, the 2005 Virginia Governor's
Conference on Tourism will help launch the Virginia tourism
industry into the massive statewide event planned to commemorate
the 400th anniversary of America's first permanent English
settlement. The conference, April 24-26 in Richmond , will
bring together tourism professionals from throughout the Commonwealth
for special workshops, seminars and networking opportunities.
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March
1, 2005
Re-birth
of a Nation Relived: Virginia Celebrates 140th Anniversary
of Civil War's End
Travelers
to Virginia can experience the birth and rebirth of America
at Jamestown and Appomattox . While the United States
prepares for the 400th anniversary of America at Jamestown
in 2007, Virginia will commemorate the 140th anniversary of
the end of the Civil War - an ending that signaled the beginning
of reconciliation for the nation. In the months ahead, look
for reenactments, living history demonstrations, tours and
lectures at Civil War sites from Richmond to Appomattox.
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March
1, 2005
Virginia
Is for Golfers: 2005 Virginia Golf Guide Touts New Courses,
Makeovers and Legendary Favorites
Golf
in Virginia has never been better. More than 200 resort and
daily fee courses throughout the Commonwealth range from historic
and stately to new and innovative. Signature courses by the
finest golf course architects wait to be tested by the discriminating
golfer while less challenging facilities welcome those who
are still developing their games.
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February
14, 2005
Whale Watching to Wine Tasting:
Finding Winter Fun in Virginia No Fluke
Ski season is in full swing high
atop Virginia's mountains, but there is also plenty of winter
fun going on down below. From Atlantic shores to the western
highlands, Virginia's winter activity options are nearly endless
- and a bargain to boot.
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