Make sure that you come out to the Taney County, MO. Airport on Saturday, May 10 to see the Welcome-2-Wings 2^nd Annual Fly-In. Over 100 vintage and modern aircraft will be on display. Enjoy games and prizes for the kids and watch some fun pilot competitions.

The sponsoring group, Wings of the Ozarks, was incorporated in 2005 to serve the aviation needs of College of the Ozarks’ students and the people of southwest Missouri & northern Arkansas. A locally owned business, they offer flight training, aircraft rental, charter work and scenic tours & rides.

Free Admission! Bring the whole family!

The Taney County Airport is located at 469 Blue Sky Lane in Hollister. For more information please call 417-332-1545.

The Butterfly Palace in Branson has brought the world-wide phenomenon of Stamp Collecting and the enchantment of Butterflies together in its amazing premier exhibit entitled ‘STAMPede of the Butterflies.’

On display in a ‘garden of glass’ will be more than 1,000 stamps, featuring 1,000 different specimens of butterflies from over 200 countries. Each stamp portrays an intriguing slice of history as they astonishingly capture nature’s delicate beauty.

“The Butterfly Palace is excited about hosting this unique exhibit of butterfly stamps. Each of these stamps is a miniature work of art,’ says Dianna Herschend, curator and owner of the Butterfly Palace. In undertaking this project Herschend shares, “I wasn’t expecting the incredible variety of stamps and the stories that many of them have to tell. They are really quite fascinating!”

While you are there, don’t forget that at the Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Adventure, guests can walk among over 1,000 LIVE tropical species of butterflies from around the world!

The stamps will be on display until June 15th, 2008.

Stone and Taney county residents will strike it rich in ivories as Lomascola’s Million Dollar Piano Show hosts its Area Appreciation during Branson-Fest,
April 8 through 20, 2008.

For a limited time, local residents can see the spectacular “MILLION DOLLAR PIANO SHOW” for only $5 plus tax. Lomascola’s Million Dollar Piano Show opened on February 29 to rave reviews and standing ovations. The star of the show, LOMASCOLA, has become an overnight sensation in Branson for his amazing piano showmanship, handsome smile, warm personality and musical talent.

Audiences all agree, Lomascola’s Million Dollar Piano Show is more than anyone could possibly imagine or expect. Lomascola wow’s audiences with his performances of Rhapsody in Blue, Malaguena, Somewhere in Time, Moonlight Sonata, Phantom of the Opera, Memory from “Cats”, Chariots of Fire, the music of Chopin, as well as country music, boogie woogie, pop, religious piano and all of America’s favorites. Lomascola’s Million Dollar Piano show features world famous piano music played on some of the worlds most expensive and exotic pianos with musical director Ron Burch and orchestra.

Lomascola’s hit piano show appears weekly at the Branson Star Theatre 3750 Hwy. 76 (near Olive Garden restaurant). Show times are 10 am and 8 PM Tuesday through Saturday, and 3 PM on Sunday. For tickets and reservations call 417-334-7131 or visit milliondollarpiano.com for more information.

He’s a blazed a trail in country music television and his weekly Branson TV show is offered to more than 45 million households nationwide. Now that trail has led him to a Branson theater home to be called The Gene Williams Theatre at the Branson Mall and home to a variety of live theater shows and the “Gene Williams Country Music Television Show.”

The Gene Williams Theatre opened officially March 16 with the taping of the “Gene Williams Country Music Television Show. His show will also be taped April 6, April 27, May 18, June 8, June 22, July 20, Aug. 10, Aug. 31, Sept. 21, Oct. 12 and Nov. 2. Admission for the studio audience is free and the doors open at 1 p.m. for the first taping at 2 p.m. Gene and his co-host Katie Lynn interview celebrity guest up close and personal. Katie Lynn and the weekly guests also perform with Williams’ band, the Country Junction Band.

Live theater shows will begin April 8 at 2 p.m. show with The Sweethearts of Branson Denny Yeary and Shelia Renee. Williams will be announcing a slate of celebrity guests for the 8 p.m. show with guest appearances by Johnny Lee – “Lookin’ for Love” on Sept. 2 and possibly Ed McMahon. A 10 a.m. and a 5 p.m. show are planned with celebrities to be announced.

The new box office phone number is 417-335-4400.

“I’ve taped my weekly Lucas Oil sponsored ‘Gene Williams Country Music Television Show’ in Branson for eight years at several different locations in Branson. It’s time to give it a permanent home in my own theater,” said Williams. “I’m looking forward to the entertainment we will be offering during the 2008 season and beyond.”

This is the second theater Williams has founded. In the 1970s and ‘80s, Williams started the Music Mountain Theater in Horseshoe Bend, Ark. There he featured headliners such as Roy Acuff, Mickey Gilley, Freddie Hart, Claude King, Brenda Lee, Dolly Parton, Johnny Paycheck, Carl Perkins, Del Reeves, Hank Thompson, Buck Trent, Porter Wagoner, Tom T. Hall and Ernest Tubb.

Williams is the star, producer and creator of his weekly television show that is seen across the nation and into Canada and Puerto Rico. It is the longest running weekly television show in Branson and was listed as the most popular TV show in national ratings on WNGS Buffalo/Rochester, N.Y., and as a favorite TV show in the national magazine “Maxim.”

Williams’ TV guests have included Doug Kershaw, Ed McMahon, Mickey Gilley, the Oak Ridge Boys, Roy Clark, Barbara Fairchild, Sons of the Pioneers, the Osmonds, Johnny Cash’s band The Tennessee Three, Helen Cornelius, Leona Williams, Fred Travalena, Charlie Louvin, Narvel Felts, Margo Smith, Mary Lou Turner, Cal Smith, Stonewall Jackson, Norma Jean, Little Jimmy Dickens, Ava Barber, Bill Anderson, Porter Wagoner, Jim Owen, Buck Trent, Johnny Lee, Gary P. Nunn, Todd Fritch, Ava Barber, Wanda Jackson and Razzy Bailey.

Williams’ career is filled with milestones. He has been presented the keys to his hometown, Dyess, Ark., and Horseshoe Bend, Ark. A historical marker in appreciation for his support to help preserve his hometown’s history was erected two years ago. A historical building there will be used for a museum recognizing the town’s significance and its former residents, Johnny Cash, Tommy Cash and Williams.

Recently he was recognized for his community commitment to the industry and presented an honorary doctorate degree in television and broadcast communications from St. Martins College. He has also been honored by the states of Arkansas and Missouri for his work in tourism, entertainment and community.

Nominated for induction into two halls of fame, the Branson Entertainment Hall of Fame Museum and the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame, Williams has worked with such greats as Johnny Cash, the Carter Family, the Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins, Charlie Walker, Charlie Louvin, Del Reeves, Merle Haggard, Ray Price, Minnie Pearl and Jack Greene.

Williams’ co-host Katie Lynn has received the Branson Entertainment Awards Best Support Vocalist twice for her work in the “Mickey Gilley Show.” She has worked with Gilley for more than seven years and also worked with Jim Owen for seven years. In addition to her singing career, she is a real estate agent. She and the guest stars perform with the Country Junction Band.