Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers 6th Annual Food Drive for Southwest Missouri is set for December 3rd through 7th at the Welk Resort Theatre in Branson. This year's goal is to collect over 6 tons of food for the Christian Action Ministries food pantry in Branson.

With each Food Drive donation, the Gatlin Brothers are offering discounts on adult admission to performances of Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers and The Lennon Sisters Celebrating Christmas from Monday, Dec. 3rd through Friday, Dec. 7th. The Lowe Family is also participating in this year's Food Drive with discounted adult admission to their 10 a.m. Christmas show from Dec. 3 — 7.

A discount of $2.50 will be given for each canned food/non-perishable food item donation. Discounts will be allowed for up to four Food Drive donations on each adult admission for a maximum savings of up to $10 per adult admission. Food Drive discounts are available only at the Welk Resort Theatre Box Office and do not apply to previously purchased tickets or internet ticket purchases; no other discounts apply.

Special "Area Appreciation" discounts for people who live (permanent, year-round residents) or work in Stone or Taney county will also be offered for the Gatlins-Lennons and Lowe Family shows from Dec. 3 — 7.

For more information and tickets, call the Welk Resort Theatre at 417-337-7469. The Welk Resort is located three miles south of Highway 76 on State Highway 165 in Branson.

Christian Action Ministries: each year Christian Action Ministries (CAM) food pantry distributes hundreds of pounds of food and grocery products to hungry and needy people in Taney County. CAM is a non-denominational local organization dedicated to providing emergency assistance with food, clothing, prescriptions, rent and utilities to people in crises. In 2006, a total of 4350 families received assistance from CAM.

December at The Welk Resort Theatre:
"¢ Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers and The Lennon Sisters — final week, thru Dec. 7
"¢ Lowe Family — final week, thru Dec. 7
"¢ Mel Tillis & Connie Smith — final week, thru Dec. 8
"¢ Special Event: A Night To Remember"¦Christmas With The Standards — Dec. 11 — 14, 16 & 17 (Tuesday thru Friday plus Sunday and Monday) at 8 p.m.

Actor Gary Conway"™s Dramatic Film Woman"™s Story Set For November in Missouri.

Premiere In Unique Springfield and Branson Special Events, Combining Film, Artisan Wine Events, and Celebrity Receptions

Paso Robles, CA — From November 9-11, Branson and Springfield, MO will hold a series of Celebrations of the Arts when actor Gary Conway"™s visually arresting dramatic film WOMAN"™S STORY (with Erin Gray and Kent McCord, who star with Conway) premieres at local cinemas, preceded or followed by Missouri-California wine pairing-tastings, filmmaker & artist receptions, artisan wine events, and silent auctions to benefit local educational and cultural institutions, all of which will include personal appearances by filmmakers, artists, winemakers and special guests.

The first event will be an 8:30 p.m. "Celebration of the Arts" at Clary’s restaurant in Springfield, on Friday, November 9, following the 7:00 p.m. Missouri premiere of the new film WOMAN’S STORY at the Wehrenberg Campbell 16 Cine.

There will be a wine tasting and pairing event at Clary’s restaurant in Springfield on Saturday, November 10 at 4:30 p.m., preceding the evening screening at 7:00 p.m.

In Branson on Saturday, November 10 at 7:00 p.m., the film premieres at the Branson Meadows Cinemas, followed at 8:30 p.m. by "Palette to Palate — Taste of the Arts" at Liberty Tavern Branson located in the Hilton Promenade Hotel.

On Sunday, November 11 at 8:30 p.m. "Palette to Palate, Part 2 — Feast for the Senses" is set for Liberty Tavern Branson, following the 7:00 p.m. screening in Branson.

The Branson events are organized in conjunction with Palate of Branson where reservations can be made for the Branson events by calling (417) 335-2675. Reservations for the Springfield events can be made with Clary"™s at (417) 886-6200. The top wineries and winemakers in Missouri will be on hand with their finest artisan wines, including stellar wineries Stone Hill, Mt. Pleasant, St. James, Adam Puchta, Branson Ridge, Meramec, White Rose, Hermannhof, and OOVVDA. One of the highlights will be a special Missouri-California pairing and terroir colloquy which will include the estate wines of California’s Carmody McKnight.

The University of Missouri-Columbia"™s Missouri Regional Cuisines project will be a participant. Funds generated from ticket sales and silent auctions of special wines and art will benefit the Miss America/Miss Missouri Scholarship Organization, providing scholarships for young women, and Fighting for the Arts, which seeks to restore art and music education in our schools.

At all events, WOMAN"™S STORY director, writer and star Gary Conway and producer/former Miss America Marian McKnight Conway, proprietors of Carmody McKnight Estate Wines in Paso Robles, CA, will pair and discuss terroir wines of Missouri and California in conjunction with the top Missouri winemakers in an exchange of ideas on the culture of wine and art making.

WOMAN"™S STORY stars former super-model and award-winning actress Erin Gray (Silver Spoons, Buck Rogers in the 20thCentury, Baywatch, Six Pack), award-winning actor Kent McCord (Adam-12, Farscape, Predator 2, Airplane II, The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet) and Gary Conway (Burke"™s Law, Land of the Giants, The Farmer, Once is Not Enough, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein).

Filmed in Memphis, in a lovely lake region in Arkansas and in the Central Coast of California, the film dramatizes the breakup of a long and seemingly successful marriage and focuses on what leading thinkers predict will be the major issue of the 21st Century: the disintegration of the family in a material-obsessed world.

The music in WOMAN"™S STORY by Bach, Vivaldi, Liszt and Locatelli was performed by Philharmonia Virtuosi, under the direction of Richard Kapp, featuring pianist Jerome Rose and violinist Mela Tenenbaum. A prominent critic recently called the soundtrack the best-ever recording of Bach.

Former Los Angeles Times and Variety critic Dale C. Olsen declared, "I found myself engrossed in the human quality of the story. The look of WOMAN"™S STORY is much like a great painting. I don"™t know when in 40 years of being involved with film that I"™ve seen one with such a vivid sense of color and shadings. The classical music score sets exactly the right tone for the profound passion the story delivers. The performance of leading actress Erin Gray was stunning in its honesty and believability."

Renee Sanpei wrote in Women"™s Press: "The overall effect of the film was one of feeling elevated by its reverence for life. Hearing the thoughtful dialogue, the pensiveness of the characters and the humor coming of the angst and pain gave me time to digest it all. It was cathartic watching a woman handle herself with such poise, while she is met with dishonest, heartbreaking and challenging events of her life, not to be further degraded but to gather her strength, retain her warmth and rise above it. The music of Vivaldi complements so well this celebration of the invincible spirit."

The San Luis Obispo Tribune"™s Katy Budge called WOMAN"™S STORY "a beautiful and mature film that tells the truth about personal relationships, the family and social threats to the human condition. Gary Conway relied heavily on his talents as a painter. Scenes are shaped with rich color, elegant baroque music, dramatic rural and urban landscapes, and understated, honest performances."

And Kathryn Riddle wrote in Cleveland Currents: "WOMAN"™S STORY is a stunning, provocative, intelligent film dignifying themes of renewal and strength through creativity."

Gary Conway explains: "With WOMAN"™S STORY I was committed to move the film form to a more visual place. As a painter all my life, I believe that film, at its best, is closer to painting than, let"™s say, the novel or a play. Almost every shot, from the very first scene when Laurel, the heroine, is driving to town, relies on visual composition to convey the essential story, while underscoring the layered themes with mood and emotion. I wanted the close-ups to be portraits and the long shots — landscapes as well as the architecture — to be like paintings. I also wanted to celebrate all the arts in this film: painting, photography, drawing, sculpture, architecture, music, theater, dance, food and wine."

WOMAN"™S STORY deals with the central social and cultural themes of our time: how our "consumer-based" society is destroying the family structure, and with it a sense of woman"™s innate value. Today 70% of parents and 79% of children end up in single-parent families. "People have been forced into economic and social decisions that make the family secondary," Conway laments.

As part of a slow, deliberate, platform-release strategy, WOMAN"™S STORY has already been shown in pre-release screenings at highly successful wine-food-art-movie premiere events in eight Ohio, Virginia and California cities. These community events have raised scholarship funds for major museums, schools and universities. In some cases, after the event, the towns set up special education programs and/or community art centers. To date, more than 200 scholarships have been created from the proceeds.

"I see true independent winemaking and filmmaking as very similar processes," Conway concludes. "They both are the definitions of patience. On average it takes at least eight years to make and distribute an independent film. It takes the same from planting the vine to the barrel to the bottle. When you can put music, film, art, food and wine together, it creates a truly memorable event and gives us a chance to show the divine commonality between these art forms."

About Gary Conway

Gary Conway has painted since age four and was the youngest artist to win a major prize at the Los Angeles County Art Exhibition. Before age 16, he was awarded full scholarships at the three most prestigious art schools in the U.S., and he later earned a Bachelor"™s Degree in Art History at UCLA.

While an art major moonlighting as an actor in the UCLA drama department, Conway was spotted by a scout and landed a contract with Warner Brothers. Over his career, he has performed in over 200 films and TV episodes, including starring roles in the TV series Burke"™s Law and Land of the Giants and the films The Farmer, Black Gunn and Once is Not Enough. He wrote the script of the movie Over the Top and screenplays for the American Ninja films, also originating screenplays for stars Laurence Harvey, Catherine Deneuve and Eddie Murphy.
The multi-talented Conway is also an accomplished violinist (performing at the Hollywood Bowl), architect (with his residential work featured in Design West), author (Art of the Vineyard), and painter (whose art is widely exhibited in one-man shows and in galleries on both coasts).

During a helicopter crash, Conway instantly fell in love with a 320-acre Central California coastal ranch that became his family"™s vineyard. In the past two decades, the vineyard"™s rare super-soils and its highly productive microclimates have made Carmody McKnight Estate Wines widely famed and beloved.

About Woman"™s Story

Writer-Director: Gary Conway
Producers: Marian McKnight and Gary Conway
Major Cast: Erin Gray, Kent McCord, Gary Conway, Marshall Borden, Ann Marie Hall, Megan McCord
Cinematography: Charles Rose
Running Time: 99 minutes
Web site: www.womansstory.com

# # # #
October 2007
Media Contact:
Charlie Barrett, The Barrett Company Communications, Los Angeles, CA
310-471-5764; Email: [email protected]
Or Mr. Gary Conway 800-282-0730 ext. 4# 805-226-9248

The Lennon Sisters and Gatlin Brothers will participate in the Opening Ceremony for the Traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall on Tuesday, November 6 at 10:30 a.m. at the Welk Resort in Branson. The 30-minute ceremony will include:

• Posting of the Colors and Wreath Laying Ceremony by the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 913, Branson
• Invocation and Closing Prayer by Senior Pastor Neil Franks, First Baptist Church, Branson
• National Anthem by The Lennon Sisters (Kathy, Janet, Mimi)
• Remarks by Tom Goldsworthy, Branson Veterans Task Force chairman
• Guest speaker Vietnam Veteran Eddie Beasley
• Patriotic song by The Gatlin Brothers (Steve, Rudy)

A POW/MIA Service of Tribute and Remembrance will be held at the Wall at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 7.

The Welk Resort's annual gift to veterans, visitors and the community has become a popular part of the week-long, community-wide Branson Veterans Homecoming since the mid-1990s. The scale-replica display of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is open daily for viewing from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. through Sunday, Nov. 11. During the seven-day display period, community volunteers are reading aloud continuously the names inscribed on the Memorial. The exhibit is located on the lawn (north side) of the Welk Resort complex. Visitors may access the "Traveling Wall" exhibit by going through either the Welk Hotel lobby or the Welk Theatre lobby. The week-long display, Opening Ceremony and POW/MIA Service are free and open to the public.

Additional events during Veterans Homecoming at the Welk Resort Theatre include:

• Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers and The Lennon Sisters — Celebrating Christmas, Monday thru Friday.
• The Lowe Family Morning Show — Monday thru Friday.
• Mel Tillis & Connie Smith — Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday.
• Tony Orlando's Yellow Ribbon Salute to Veterans — Sunday, Nov. 11 at 2:00 p.m. — free to veterans and one guest.
• Tony Orlando Show — special concerts on Monday, Nov. 12 at 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.

The Welk Resort is located three miles south of Highway 76 on State Highway 165 in Branson. For more information and tickets, call the Welk Resort Theatre at 417-337-7469.

In 1950 in the early days of the Korean War, the American military knew that about 250 Americans had been loaded on a North Korean train to be transported to prison camps near the Yalu River.

Samuel Clark, a paratrooper with the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team, would be dropped, with the rest of his unit, in front of the train to rescue the prisoners.

The weather interfered and delayed the drop. When it finally occurred, it was too late. The North Koreans had pulled the train in a tunnel to hide from American aircraft. They systematically took the prisoners out in small groups, under the pretext of feeding them.

They executed them by firing squad.

Six of the survivors will launch their book, Sunchon Tunnel Massacre Survivors, on Tuesday, November 6, at 9:00 am at the Celebration City Theater behind Vendor Village.

Samuel Clark will finally share his story with them. He will tell about their mission and why it failed. He will share the sorrow he's lived with for 57 years.

This event is open to the public. You are invited to attend and meet the people who lived this incredible story fifty-seven years ago.

“The day that will live in infamy”. Commemorated by a laying of the wreath into Lake Taneycomo, Branson Veterans Task Force will be remembering Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 2007 at 11 a.m. Taps will be played during the ceremony. Location on the lake is to be announced.

For more information please contact the Branson Veterans Task Force at (417) 337-8387

BRANSON, MO. — The Branson-based, non-profit children's talent organization, American Kids Inc. is seeking young performers for area shows to be performed in 2008.

"Before American Idol"¦before Star Search, there was American Kids Inc., America’s only "˜little league' of entertainers. In its 25-year history it has become the connection to the world of entertainment for children," said the group's founder, Dr. Dale Smith, or Dr. Dale as he is fondly called by the thousands of children with whom he has worked. Dr. Dale is a retired high school principal and music educator who holds a doctorate in administration-education and masters in music education. Dr. Dale has dedicated his life to character development in children through the American Kids program.

"We are preparing to cast our 2008 Branson area shows and auditions will be held Nov. 3 on stage at Playtime Pizza in Branson. I am looking for kids who like to perform and are looking for an outlet," said Dr. Dale. "There are talented kids everywhere who have no opportunity to express themselves and desire a safe environment in which to perform."

American Kids Inc. has produced shows for a decade at Silver Dollar City and at the Starlite, Majestic and Wild West theaters. Currently American Kids Inc., has children or alumni cast in Branson shows such as "Red, Hot and Blue," "Clay Cooper's Country Music Express," "The Promise," "Celebrate America," "The Hamner Barber Variety Show," "The Presleys Country Jubilee" and "Pierce Arrow." Celebrity performers who started with American Kids, to name a few, are Kristin Chenowith, Bryan White and Blake Shelton.

The American Kids, a 501c3 non-profit child development program, has child members in over 20 states. As a whole the organization produces nearly 400 shows annually at fairs, festivals, reunions, nursing homes, schools, hospitals, bank Christmas parties and various other venues. Its purpose is to assist parents in developing character in their children, provide a positive peer experience and to help young people get past there fears of expressing oneself in the presence of an audience.

"We promote drug-free lifestyles, patriotism and community service using entertainment as the means. We promise exposure, growth, character development and opportunity. Because of the experience gained from being on stage, our members are better prepared for whatever they choose to do in life. Fame and fortune are not promised, but personal development is," Dr Dale said.

"The Christian-based organization works through its trained volunteers. For this reason we seek families willing to help us in these efforts. The program utilizes parents as directors as they are willing to serve. Our Missouri Kids state directors are Darla and Jeff Hicks of Springfield and Deanna and Carter Blackerby of Forsyth. Debbie Wentler of Springfield serves as a regional director. Our affiliations with these parents and others such as Ed McMahon, Barbara Fairchild, Randy Earhart and the Taco Mayo Corporation and Steve Weyher and Golden Corral, to just name a few, are a blessing."

Auditions are open to ages 3 to high school seniors and will be held at Playtime Pizza, 3101 N. Gretna Road, in Branson on Nov. 3. Registration begins at 10 a.m. Auditions are 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. The registration fee of $20 is a tax-deductible donation and should be made payable to American Kids Inc.

For more information call the national office manager Brenda Hoffstatter at 1-800-377-8117 OR 417-337-8964 or go to the website at www.americankids.com.

-30-

November 6, 2007
10:30 am
Rose Petal Ceremony
To honor women veterans who have died for their country

Women Veteran’s
Candle Service, Two Bell Ceremony and Lunch
Following the Rose Petal Ceremony

Special Guest Speaker
Lt. Col. Vicki Merryman, US Army Retired

$20.00 per person for lunch

College of the Ozarks
Keeter Center

For information on this event and otherVeteran events in Branson contact The Branson Veterans Task Force at:
[email protected] *Bransonveterans.com*
bransonwomenveterans.com

Everyone Welcome

Plans are finalized for the 15th Billboard World Song Contest Awards Presentation Show & Performance on March 29, 2008 at Mansion America Theatre in Branson, MO.

First Place Winners, All Categories, will be invited to receive their award and perform their winning song onstage in front of music industry professionals, theatre owners and talent buyers.

EXTRA!!! In addition to the Billboard prizes, for the first time, from the live performance, a $5,000 Grand Prize winner, Runner-up ($1,500), and a second runner-up ($1,000), will be selected by industry jury. It furthers your chance to be seen, heard and discovered.

The Billboard World Song Contest opens 15th Annual Contest. Winners receive over $30,000 in prizes of equipment, merchandise and promotion.

The top three winners in each of the eleven categories will have their song featured on a CD that is distributed exclusively to music industry decision makers — record company heads, producers, A&R executives, music publishers, important artists and celebrities, agents, managers and others in the music industry. They listen!

This contest offers unparalleled exposure for up-and-coming songwriters. It's the songwriter's springboard to success.
Last year's Country song winners, Stephen Desjardins, Lisa Firestone and Charles Harn landed a publishing deal for their song "When He Comes Home to Her". First place Pop winners Peter Roberts and Ron Boustead's song, "Fearless", has been placed in the soon-to-be-released motion picture "Bratz".

Song categories are: Rock/Alt Rock, Pop, Country, Latin, Folk/Americana, Jazz, Contemporary Christian/Gospel, R&B/Blues, Dance, Rap/HipHop and World. New category Electronica/Soundtrack seeks entries to this growing niche.

Besides Billboard Magazine, sponsors include: CASIO, D'Addario Strings, TAXI-The Independent A&R Vehicle, Indie Band Manager, Discmakers, BluBlocker Sunglasses, GoGirlsMusic.com, The Halsey Institute and online song submission partner Sonicbids at www.sonicbids.com.

Further details and entry forms can be found at www.billboardsongcontest.com. Write us at Billboard Song Contest, P.O. Box 470306, Tulsa, OK, 74147. Call 918-624-2100 or 918-827-6529, or email [email protected].

Saturday, October 13 at 6:30 PM

Keith, Diana Lynn and “Bobby” will be performing a variety of music, from Country and Pop to Gospel.

Keith has performed in LasVegas, New York, and all across the United States, doing many tribute shows to such great artists as Elvis, Neil Diamond, Conway Twitty, Julio Iglesias, and many more. Diana has the pure “Olivia Newton John” sound you’re going to love, and little “Bobby Darin”, (his real name, by the way), recognized as the world’s youngest Elvis, will steal your hearts.

Don’t miss this fun-filled family show!
Admission is just the cost of our Buffet.

Branson, Missouri — Kids who think they can cut the mustard are invited to audition at the Oscar Mayer/American Idol "Sing the Jingle, Be a Star" Nationwide Talent Contest at the World's Largest TITANIC Museum Attraction in Branson Oct. 6-9, 2007. The Grand Prize winner will have an opportunity to star in a national Oscar Mayer TV commercial, attend the 2008 American Idol Finale Performance Show in Los Angeles, and take home $5,000 in cash!

"With all the talent here, we thought what better place to host a nationwide talent search than Branson," said Mary Kellogg Joslyn, museum attraction co-owner. "We'd love to see this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity go to someone from our area," she said.

The famous yellow and orange 27-foot hotdog on wheels, the Oscar Mayer WienerMobileâ„¢, will be on location Oct. 6-9 at the TITANIC Museum Attraction, the official audition headquarters for the Branson area. Guests of all ages are invited to hop on board the 14,000-lb. traveling icon to explore its condiment-splattered carpet, ketchup walkway, hotdog-shaped dashboard, and computerized control panel with a sound system to relish, during this free outdoor event.

Kids aged 6 and older who wish to audition should come prepared to impress the judges with their best version of one of the Oscar Mayer Jingles: the Oscar Mayer Wiener Jingle© (“I Wish I were an Oscar Mayer Wiener”), the Bologna Song© (“My bologna has a first name”), the Oscar Mayer Spanish Wiener Jingle© (“Cuando quiero algo bueno y sabroso”) or the Oscar Mayer Spanish Ham Jingle (“Yo le canto a mi jamon Oscar Mayer”). Visit www.singthejingle.com for complete jingle lyrics and contest rules.

Audition Dates & Times

• 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 6 & Sunday, Oct. 7
• Noon to 5 p.m., Monday, Oct. 8 & Tuesday, Oct. 9

For more information on this and other interactive special events coming to the World's Largest TITANIC Museum Attraction, call (417) 334-9500 or visit www.titanicbranson.com.

The World's Largest TITANIC Museum Attraction is Branson's new landmark tourist destination. The 17,000 square foot, ship-shaped structure – built half scale to Titanic's original size – towers more than 100 feet above its anchored position on Highway 76. A 90-minute, self-guided tour covers 20 galleries on two decks where more than 400 priceless artifacts that once belonged to Titanic's passengers or crew are on display. None of the artifacts were retrieved from the ocean's floor.