December
18

Most eventful cities of 2008

Posted In: City News by BroadcastBranson.com


San Diego, December 17, 2008 – Eventful – the leading source for local events – today released its second annual ‘Most Eventful Cities’ report, which ranks U.S. cities according to the number and diversity of local events for residents and visitors. Eventful derives the rankings from its database of local events, which contains the world’s largest selection of information on what’s happening in cities throughout the world. The report provides a unique insight into the character of U.S. cities and the interests and activities of their residents, with some interesting and unexpected results.

For the second year in a row, Eventful analyzed data for all U.S. cities with a population exceeding 100,000, as well as select cities with smaller populations, examining the quantity and nature of the local events in each market. As one would expect, major markets like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago held several of the top spots. At the same time, many smaller cities made surprise appearances in the rankings due to unexpectedly large number of events for their size. Seattle jumped from thirteenth place to fifth overall this year thanks to its vibrant music scene and its wealth of outdoor activities. San Francisco, meanwhile, held steady in third place due to its abundance of diverse cultural offerings, strong options for singles and proximity to thousands of acres of open space.

Other cities’ top rankings reinforced their already existing reputations. Branson, Missouri, which bills itself as the “live music capital of the world,” took second place in the music category, beating out Los Angeles and Chicago. The entertainment attractions of Las Vegas (pop. 560,000), from nightlife to performing arts, vaulted the city from nineteenth to ninth in the overall rankings.

Meanwhile, Pasadena (pop. 145,000), north of Los Angeles, headed up the new ‘Small but Eventful’ category, besting several college towns with thriving concert venues, including Berkeley (pop. 100,000), Ann Arbor and Gainesville (both pop. 115,000).

“The quantity and selection of local events provide a fascinating window into the soul of a city,” said Jordan Glazier, CEO, Eventful. “You learn a lot about the nature and rhythm of a place by seeing how its residents use their free time, entertain themselves and engage with their community.”

With approximately eight million events to choose from, Eventful helps active people throughout the world discover, share and create events ranging from concerts to singles events to kids’ activities to community happenings. Eventful users can promote their events on Eventful for free and choose from an assortment of tools to advertise their events on other Web sites and social networks. The 8 million members of Eventful’s user community now have the opportunity to connect both on and offline by sharing their common interests through local events.

Methodology for 2008 ‘Most Eventful Cities’ rankings Eventful has the largest aggregation of local events in the world, with approximately eight million upcoming events on the site at any time. The 2008 ‘Most Eventful Cities’ rankings are based on the total number of events listed on Eventful that took place in each U.S. city between December 1, 2007 and November 18, 2008. For the new ‘Small but Eventful’ category, Eventful looked at cities with populations smaller than 150,000 that had the highest number of events per capita.

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December
18

Ozarks Technical Community College’s Branson center will be able to offer about 50 percent more classes by the time the spring semester begins in January.

A 5,000-square-foot expansion on the 11,000 square-foot facility will be completed at the end of this week to help the college keep up with local demand. Branson Center Coordinator Rob Griffith said he estimates about a 30-percent increase in enrollment over the spring; most of those students are taking general education classes that will transfer to a four-year college.

“Most of the need is for more of what we’ve been doing,” Griffith said.

The expansion includes more classrooms and office space.

“We are growing and want to offer facilities that meet the demands of students,” Griffith said.

The center now has a community room, and Griffith said he hopes OTC will be able to host more community events in Branson.

More than 360 students took fall classes at the center and early enrollment projections show that the number of students taking classes will be up significantly.

Griffith said he estimates 425 students will enroll for the spring semester.

The center, located in The Shoppes at Branson Meadows on Gretna Road, offers a variety of general education, non-credit and work force development courses, as well as the GED and the English as a Second Language program.

Students may earn an Associate of Arts degree or work toward fulfilling requirements for a four-year degree.

“Branson’s enrollment and growth over the last two years has been double digit. We cannot offer more classes without more space,” said Hal Higdon, president of OTC.

Griffith said students needing to enroll for the spring semester should act fast. He said there is quite a bit of paperwork that needs to be completed before classes begin in January.

The center will host a welcome day Jan. 14, 2009, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. when the public is invited to see the renovated center.

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Disclaimer: BroadcastBranson.com is a service for the distribution of press releases, news and events. BroadcastBranson.com does not verify the validity or accuracy of the contents of the news that it distributes. Users are responsible for the contents of the press releases they submit to BroadcastBranson.com and the distribution via our service does not imply endorsement. BroadcastBranson.com takes no responsibility and holds no liabilities for information distributed.