For Immediate Release
April 1, 2008
Contact: Tessa Kerby (812) 936-3418
                 Amanda Vernon (812) 936-5810

As American as apple pie…
Vintage Base Ball coming to West Baden Springs

WEST BADEN SPRINGS, IND. – Tucked behind a tree line off S.R. 56, the baseball field at West Baden Springs Hotel has long been forgotten and goes little noticed. Not forgotten, however, is the fact the Chicago Cubs used this same field for spring training between 1906 and 1911, catching the World Series titles in both 1907 and 1908.

During the 1943-44 seasons, both the Cubs and the White Sox trained in the Valley. The White Sox usually worked out at French Lick, while the Cubs used the field at West Baden. There were a few times, however, when the teams had to share a field due to flooding.

Now 100 years later, the public can once again see the sport in its original form when the Vintage Base Ball Association brings exposition games back to the field at West Baden. On Saturday April 26, the Cincinnati Buckeyes will take on the Indianapolis Blue Jays.

Games will take place at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Admission will be free of charge with bleacher seating provided. Concessions will also be available.

“We’re all very excited about bringing a vintage base ball game to the Valley,” said Mark Stenger, a Buckeyes team member.

The Cincinnati Buckeyes and Indianapolis Blue Jays are recreations of original teams which existed as late as 1900. These teams play in the old style.

Baseball, at its conception, was a gentleman’s game.

Etiquette violations were taken just as seriously – if not more so – than procedural breaches. At the time the Cubs used the West Baden Springs field, the National League was coming out of its infancy. As a result, baseball was beginning to become a more competitive sport and a very exciting spectator event.

“…We try to faithfully recreate the dress, language and customs of that time. However, the games we play are real,” said Stenger.

For more information on Vintage Base Ball, visit the association’s website at www.vbba.org. Additional information about French Lick and West Baden can be obtained by calling 877-422-9925 or e-mail tessakerby@orangecountyin.com.

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The Circus is coming back to town!
West Baden-French Lick Circus Festival slated for June.

FRENCH LICK, IND. – French Lick Resort Casino and the Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau are proud to announce the French Lick Hall of Fame Circus, to take place June 16-22 just off S.R. 145 in French Lick.

Under the big top, performers from the International Circus Hall of Fame in Peru, Ind., will present family entertainment in such performances as David Zoppe’s Comedy Rhesus Monkeys, Susan Sheryll’s Royal Afghan Champions, the acrobatic Alvarez family and pony stunts performed by nine-year-old Mercedes Pages. As expected, there will be clowns, elephants, popcorn and more!

Show times will be 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. each weekday, 10 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. Each show will be two hours in length. Tickets will be $10 for weekday shows and $12 for Saturday and Sunday performances. Tickets go on sale April 7 and will be available at the Hoosier Sugar Company, located inside French Lick Springs Hotel, online at www.TicketForce.com or by calling Ticket Force at 1-877-840-0457.

“We, at French Lick Resort Casino, are excited to join in this venture because of this area’s storied circus history,” said Mark Bommarito, vice president of marketing for the resort.
Ed Ballard, during the time he owned West Baden Springs Hotel, also owned traveling circuses based in Peru. Among these was the the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, which was begun in the 1880s and was billed as the “high-class circus.” According to the International Circus Hall of Fame, Ballard and two other men purchased this circus in 1913.

Hagenbeck-Wallace performed at venues throughout the country, from Atlantic City to Havirland, Tex., and beyond, and often performed in West Baden Springs, both in the hotel and in the building on Beechwood Street still known to long-time locals as “the circus barn.” During the winter, the circus animals were also sometimes kept in the French Lick/West Baden area.

“I remember going to the circus at West Baden,” wrote Kathleen Horner, age 92, of Salem, Ind., in a letter to resort management. “It was really something in the atrium. Even the elephants looked small in such a large area.”

According to the September/October 1966 edition of Bandwagon, in 1924, this circus featured several animal acts, including 10 tigers, 20 monkeys, two hippopotamuses, eight bears, 12 elephants, boxing kangaroos and many more. Beyond the animal acts, which were said to have gone on at all times during the show, the large circus also included clowns, aerial acrobats, horseback exhibitionists and musicians, among others.

A snake enchantress and an albino girl were among the side show performers.

While it is not exactly known when the circus last performed in West Baden, Ringling Brothers purchased this circus in 1929.

“Because we have such a connection to the circus, we will be offering special packages to guests wishing to see the show,” said Bommarito.

For package information, visit www.FrenchLick.com or call 1-888-MyHideaway in the coming months. Additional information can be obtained by calling the Convention and Visitors Bureau at 877-422-9925 or e-mail tessakerby@orangecountyin.com

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The International Circus Hall of Fame is located in the old winter headquarters of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus and affiliated traveling circuses. It houses a museum of circus greats, and Ringling Brothers alumni are among the circus performers who entertain crowds there each summer. For more information on the International Circus Hall of Fame, go online to CircusHoF.com or call 1-800-771-0241.

2008 Indiana Cultural Tourism Conference
French Lick Resort and Casino, French Lick, Indiana
Monday, May 5, 2008

This conference will bring together around 200 cultural tourism and hospitality specialists, members of the arts community, political decision makers, travel professionals, academics, and expert consultants to provide a forum for exchange of ideas, to build networks, and to discuss trends and future development in Indiana cultural tourism.

The purpose of the conference is to discuss issues related to public relations, integrated marketing strategies, development and planning of cultural tourism. For those interested in the advancement of cultural tourism in Indiana, how should our state market to national and international markets? What challenges surround our advancement in this market? Who do we measure our progress and evaluate our programs regarding the cultural tourism initiative?

For the 2008 conference, IUPUI’s Department of Tourism, Conventions and Event Management is partnering with the Indiana Coalition for the Arts, Indiana Coalition for the Arts Foundation, and the Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau to produce and support this year’s event. Additionally, information and applications for the 2008 Efroymson Award for Excellence in Cultural Tourism Development are now available on the website – www.culturaltourismconference.com. This $25,000 awards provides a forum for recipients to share exceptional performance practices with Indiana leaders in cultural tourism development.

Who Should Attend?
Any cultural or heritage tourism professional to include any of the following:

Visit our website, www.culturaltourismconference.com, for additional conference information and event updates. Don’t forget to register before April 18th to receive the “Early Bird” registration discount! Please contact Linda Brothers, lbrothe@iupui.edu, with conference questions.

French Lick Resort Casino wins 2008 Gold Tee Award

FRENCH LICK, IND. – French Lick Resort Casino has been awarded the prestigious Meetings & Conventions 2008 Gold Tee Award by the magazine’s readers.

The highly-respected award is given annually to outstanding golf and meeting properties worldwide. Winners of the Gold Tee Award were nominated by the readers of M&C based upon their overall excellence.

“M&C’s core readership, of over 70,000 corporate, incentive and association meeting planners, know quality when they experience it and again have made their votes count, selecting the golf properties they believe to be outstanding,” said Bernard W. Schraer, M&C Group publisher.

74 domestic and 10 international golf properties earned enough votes to win the Gold Tee Award in 2008.

FLRC recently added a 109,000-square-foot meetings and convention center to French Lick Springs Hotel and space for more intimate meetings at West Baden Springs Hotel, as well as renovated 45 golf holes, through a $500 million renovation and restoration project.

For more information on planning meetings, conventions, special events or golf outings at French Lick Resort Casino, call 1-888-MyHideaway or go online to www.FrenchLick.com.

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French Lick Resort Casino is a $500 million historic restoration and casino development project that includes the French Lick Springs Hotel, the new French Lick Casino and the West Baden Springs Hotel. This premier resort and casino destination features 689 guest rooms and suites; a 42,000-square-foot, single-level casino; 45 holes of golf, including the fully restored 1917-designed Donald Ross Course at French Lick and the new, 18-hole Pete Dye Course at French Lick (opening 2009); two full-service spas with a combined 36 treatment rooms totaling 41,000 square feet; and an array of dining and entertainment options. For more information, please visit www.frenchlick.com or call 1-888-MyHideaway (888-694-4332).

New acts added to Legends of Music Lineup
Michael Bolton, John Michael Montgomery, other acts scheduled

FRENCH LICK, Ind. – The “Legends of Music Concert Series” at French Lick Resort Casino continues this summer as more famous acts lend their talent to the schedule.

Held in the 1,600-seat Windsor Ballroom at French Lick Springs Hotel, each performance gives concert goers the rare chance for a more-intimate evening with one of music’s greatest.

Rodney Carrington
May 24, 2008, 7 p.m. & 9:30

Known as the “king of middle class comedy,” Rodney Carrington makes light of every day life in song and stand-up comedy.

Since his first album, “Hangin’ with Rodney,” debuted in 1998, Carrington has had four top 10 comedy albums and has starred in his own television show, Rodney. Still, he characterizes himself as a “regular guy.”

Tickets are available for $45. Due to mature subject matter, it is recommended ticket holders be at least 18 years of age.

George Jones
May 30, 2008, 8 p.m.

George Jones is an American country music artist known for his distinctive voice and phrasing that frequently evoke the raw emotions caused by grief, unhappy love and emotional hardship. He has had had the most Top 40 Hits – 143 – more than any other singer on the country charts. – over the past twenty years, Jones has frequently been referred to as "the greatest living country singer.

Jones’ signature hits include: “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” “White Lightning,” “Window Up Above,” “She Thinks I Still Care,” “The Grand Tour,” “Why, Baby, Why,“ “A Picture of Me Without You,” “Good Year For The Roses,” “The Race Is On,” “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes,” and “Choices.”

Tickets are available at $50 for French Lick Rewards members and $55 for non-members.

Michael Bolton
June 26, 2008, 8 p.m.

Michael Bolton first made it onto the soft-rock scene in the 1980s as a blue-eyed ballad singer. Since that time, he has released a variety of top 40 singles and top 10 hits and has taken home two Grammy Awards for Top Male Vocal Performance.

Bolton made his name in popular music history with hits such as “That’s What Love is All About,” “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You,” “How Can We Be Lovers” and with successful covers of songs such as “When a Man Loves a Woman” and “(Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay.”

Ticket prices range from $60 to $100, depending on seating.

John Michael Montgomery
July 5, 2008, 7 p.m.

With a Grammy nomination and several honors under his belt, including 1995 Billboard Top Country Artist, John Michael Montgomery is easily one of the best male country vocalists of the past two decades. Since the 1992 release of Life’s a Dance, the brother of Montgomery Gentry’s Eddie Montgomery has released 11 more albums and a greatest hits package. In the lasts few months, he has released a new single, “Mad Cow Disease.”

Among his other contributions to country music are “I Swear,” “Be My Baby Tonight,” I Can Love You Like That,” “Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident,)” “Rope the Moon” and the 2004 hit “Letters from Home.”

Tickets are $30 for French Lick Rewards members, $35 for non-members.

Charley Pride
Oct. 11, 2008, 7 p.m.

Over the past thirty years, Pride has remained one of the Top 20 best-selling country artists of all-time. His incredible legacy includes 36 number one hit singles, over 70 million albums sold, 31 gold and four platinum albums - including one quadruple platinum.

Dozens of Pride's chart toppers now stand as modern classics. "Kiss an Angel Good Morning" went on to be a million-selling crossover single and helped Pride land Country Music Association Awards as Entertainer of the Year and Top Male Vocalist.

Memorable Pride standards include “Kiss an Angel Good Morning, "Is Anybody Goin' To San Antone?" "I'm So Afraid of Losing You Again," "Mississippi Cotton Picking Delta Town," "Someone Loves You Honey," "When I Stop Leaving I'll be gone," "Burgers and Fries," and "You're So Good When You're Bad," to name but a few.

Tickets are $50 for players’ club members, $55 for non-members.

Crosby & Nash
Oct. 25, 2008, 8 p.m.

David Crosby and Graham Nash have been making music together since 1972. Of course, they later collaborating with Stephen Stills, but Nash began his hit career as a member of 1960s band The Hollies. During his time with this group, he penned and performed the hit “Bus Stop,” among others. It was during this stint he met Crosby, who had begun to gain attention in the 1960s traveling with The Byrds and producing artists like Joni Mitchell.

Together, the two are known for a variety of songs, including “Immigration Man” and “Southbound Train.” As Crosby, Stills & Nash (and, later, Young,) they released “Teach Your Children,” “Our House,”

Tickets for an evening with Crosby & Nash are $55 for French Lick Rewards members. All others are $60.

To purchase tickets…

Tickets for all shows are available at Hoosier Sugar Company inside French Lick Springs Hotel, as well as online at www.TicketForce.com or by phone at 1-877-840-0457. French Lick Rewards members may take advantage of special discounts, when available, by calling the aforementioned toll-free number, only.

For room reservations, packages or more information, those interested may visit www.frenchlick.com or call
1-888-MyHideaway.

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French Lick Resort Casino is a $500 million historic restoration and casino development project that includes the French Lick Springs Hotel, the new French Lick Casino and the West Baden Springs Hotel. This premier resort and casino destination features 689 guest rooms and suites; a 42,000-square-foot, single-level casino; 45 holes of golf, including the fully restored 1917-designed Donald Ross Course at French Lick and the new, 18-hole Pete Dye Course at French Lick (opening 2009); two full-service spas with a combined 36 treatment rooms totaling 41,000 square feet; and an array of dining and entertainment options. For more information, please visit www.frenchlick.com or call 1-888-MyHideaway (888-694-4332).