Statewide News

IBOT revs up for the 2006 Illinois Road Show

Each year representatives from the Bureau of Tourism take to the roads to create awareness of the significant economic and social benefits of Illinois' travel and tourism industry through strategic statewide media outreach on the annual Road Show. This year, the 2006 Illinois Road Show will traverse the state June 5-8 armed with an exciting lineup of news and future plans.

Deputy Director Jan Kostner and other IBOT representatives, or “crew members,” will be visiting major media markets statewide including Chicagoland, Rockford, the Quad Cities, Peoria, Springfield and Carbondale. Press conference highlights will include the announcing of the 2005 visitor and economic impact numbers, as well as an overview of exciting statewide tourism initiatives such as the debut of the latest series of “Offbeat Illinois” posters and IBOT’s spring/summer advertising campaign.

The theme of this year’s Illinois Road Show is the “The Power of One” and will focus on the importance of the industry, working together and speaking in one collective voice. IBOT encourages all travel industry representatives and stakeholders to show their support and attend their local Road Show event. Presentation sites include:

Monday, June 5
9:00 a.m.: Brookfield Zoo, Brookfield – Chicago Plus
1:00 p.m.: Clock Tower Resort and Conference Center, Rockford – Northern

Tuesday, June 6
9:00 a.m.: Hampton Heritage Center, Hampton (Quad Cities) – Western
2:30 p.m.: The Gateway Building, Peoria - Western

Wednesday, June 7
9:00 a.m.: Illinois State Museum, Springfield - Central

Thursday, June 8
8:30 a.m.: Stone Creek Golf Club and Resort, Makanda - Southern

For more information on the 2006 Illinois Road Show, please contact Anne Dattulo at (312)240-2829 or anne.dattulo@edelman.com. The Bureau looks forward to seeing you!

Viewers embark on “Wild Chicago’s Illinois Road Trip”

Approximately 55,000 viewers tuned in for WTTW11’s “Wild Chicago’s Illinois Road Trip” premiere, which highlighted Southern Illinois, on Friday, April 21. Sponsored by the Bureau, the program is a revival of WTTW11’s popular “Wild Chicago” program, and takes viewers on an adventure across the state discovering unique destinations and lesser-known attractions. The premiere episode also included an exclusive interview with George Harrison’s sister, Louise, who shared home movies of the very young Beatle visiting Benton in the 1960s. Central Illinois was the star of the April 28 episode as Ben toured Route 66, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and the Amish communities of Arthur and Arcola.

IBOT has been actively promoting the program through media relations, and WTTW11 hosted a press preview party on April 19 in Chicago to give journalists a sneak peek of the premiere episode. Media coverage to date includes mentions in the Chicago Tribune, the Rockford Register-Star and The Southern Illinoisan, among others. WTTW11’s viewing area encompasses 4 million viewers, and the new edition of “Wild Chicago” has been picked up by ten additional PBS markets across Illinois. The show’s premiere doubled the number of households tuned into WTTW11’s popular 8 p.m. program, "Check, Please!"

Industry members should be sure to check out upcoming episodes of “Wild Chicago’s Illinois Road Trip” airing every Friday through June 2 at 8:30 p.m. Attractions to be featured in future episodes include Cahokia Mounds, Wildlife Prairie State Park, and the Brookfield Zoo.

For more information, visit www.enjoyillinois.com.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum welcomes Mrs. President: From Martha to Laura

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield unveils Mrs. President: From Martha to Laura, a one-of-a-kind exhibit examining the role of America’s legendary first ladies throughout history, May 13-Oct. 29. Since the museum’s opening in April 2005, more than a half-million people from throughout the world have explored the complex, and museum officials expect this exhibit to continue drawing record-breaking numbers of visitors to Springfield.

This exclusive exhibit invites guests to discover more than 100 items—some more than 200 years old—that hold an important place in history along with the first ladies who owned them. Among the featured items are Mary Todd Lincoln’s coral necklace, Abigail Adams’ bullet mold and Grace Coolidge’s Girl Scout uniform. The exhibit will also explore how the first ladies’ involvement impacted society and governmental programs. For example, visitors can discover Lady Bird Johnson’s early materials from Head Start, which has increased school readiness of more than 23 million young children from low-income families since its inception in 1965.

Developing this exhibit was one of ALPLM Executive Director Richard Norton Smith’s many achievements during his tenure at the museum. After leading this world-class complex through its planning and inaugural year, Smith announced his resignation and accepted an academic position at George Mason University in Virginia. Illinois State Historian Tom Schwartz is serving as interim director while a nationwide search is underway for a permanent director.

Viva La Emoción this spring

This month, IBOT kicks off the “Viva La Emoción” campaign through several grassroots efforts that promote Illinois destinations among Hispanic travelers. The campaign—an effort by IBOT’s Hispanic marketing agency of record, The San Jose Group—will launch at Fiesta Primavera, a popular Hispanic event this month with an expected attendance of 30,000. Event attendees who stop by the IBOT booth will receive the new Spanish-language travel guide and will have the opportunity to speak to an IBOT representative who can advise them on various Illinois attractions, travel packages and suggested itineraries.

In addition, IBOT is partnering with Univision Radio to conduct a series of live remote radio broadcasts to drive Hispanic travelers to specific Illinois destinations. As leaders in Chicagoland Spanish radio, Univision Radio stations will broadcast live from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford and Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in Gurnee.

For more information, visit www.disfrutaillinois.com.

All-American family fun in Illinois

Illinois is a year-round destination for family fun and dynamic discoveries. This summer, IBOT is touting many of the state’s top destinations for families, including some of the country’s most interactive museum exhibits and thrilling water parks.

Dinosaurs, inventors, super heroes and more are on display this summer at various museums throughout the state. In Chicago, Leonardo da Vinci is featured in the highly anticipated blockbuster exhibit, Leonardo da Vinci: Man, Inventor, Genius, at the Museum of Science and Industry, now through Sept. 4. Children of all ages can enjoy learning about the world around them at the Chicago Children’s Museum at Navy Pier, the Kohl Children’s Museum in Glenview, and the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford. Fans of pop culture icon Superman will be thrilled by the collection of memorabilia at Metropolis’ Super Museum. Super fans can peruse original costumes, movie props, rare toys, comic books and even a 15-foot bronze Superman statue.

Adventure abounds at the state’s water parks. In Chicagoland, the popular Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, a 13-acre Caribbean-themed water park in Gurnee, features 25 water slides, family raft rides and a 500,000-gallon wave pool. Daredevils can ride the ultimate storm with a trip into the Tornado, Hurricane Harbor’s new 60-foot-wide giant funnel slide. As the state’s first indoor water park resort, Grizzly Jack’s Grand Bear Lodge and Indoor Water Park boasts a wave pool, a lazy river, rock grotto waterfall, and one of their most popular attractions, a motion and sound adventure water slide—the first in America. Visitors to the Holiday Inn Elmhurst can now enjoy the brand-new Mayan Adventure Indoor Water Park. Attractions include two giant water slides, a soothing lazy river full of twists and turns, and a fun-filled children’s area with a family activity pool and arcade.

Illinois is also a top destination for outdoor family fun. Along Peoria’s scenic riverfront, active families can spend their time boating, playing sand volleyball and biking, as well as attending concerts and festivals throughout the spring and summer months. For beautiful landscapes and a wealth of outdoor activities, the Shawnee National Forest is home to Giant City, Garden of the Gods and Cave-in-Rock state parks, all of which offer dramatic rock formations, moderate to difficult hiking trails and ideal bird watching.

IBOT offers additional information on family-friendly travel through its travel counselors at 1-800-2CONNECT or at the Bureau’s Web site, www.enjoyillinois.com.

Burpee Museum of Natural History receives top honors

The Burpee Museum of Natural History continues to prove itself as one of Illinois’ most prominent destinations. In less than a year “the little museum that could” has made big news, and in April Burpee staff learned that they had won the American Association of Museums’ (AAM) “Excellence in Exhibition” award for Jane: Diary of a Dinosaur. Burpee also won the AAM’s MUSE Award for superior use of media technologies in an exhibit. The “Meet the Researcher—Dr. Greg Erickson” interactive media segment in the Jane exhibit garnered this top award. The Jane exhibit opened in June 2005 and was promoted through a partnership between the Burpee Museum of Natural History, the Rockford CVB and IBOT.

Burpee president Lew Crampton accepted both awards on April 27 at the AAM’s annual convention in Boston.