Summer in Branson: New attractions, all-American festivals
BRANSON, Mo. – The newest attraction at Silver Dollar City blends local lore, a fictional fable and a costumed canine character to honor the volunteer spirit.
At the core of the story is a nugget of truth: Where the theme park now stands, there once was a town called Marmaros that was destroyed by fire about 130 years ago. The town was never rebuilt, and over the years, a legend emerged that a band of roaming vigilantes, the Bald Knobbers, set the fire at Marmaros. With that fanciful history in mind, Silver Dollar City created Fireman's Landing, a place to recruit and train an army of volunteer firefighters so such a catastrophe could never happen again – a seamless match for the 1880s theme at the park.
This $8 million addition to 55-year-old Silver Dollar City includes 10 attractions: six new firefighter-themed rides and four interactive play areas. For the daring, there's FireFall, an eight-story free-fall drop ride (there's a smaller version for more cautious riders). Lucky's Dizzy Dogs, featuring dalmatians racing around a fire hydrant, is a kid-pleaser. In the play area, youngsters can learn age-appropriate firefighter skills. And they may run into a costumed character named Lucky the Rescue Dog, who strolls around the grounds with an escort who carries a bag of treats.
Herschend Family Entertainment, which owns and operates Silver Dollar City (as well as Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) invited firefighters from across the country to attend the dedication of Fireman's Landing last month. Among the almost 400 volunteers attending was Rick Dozier, a volunteer chief from Oregon, Mo., who made a 300-mile trip to Branson just for the dedication.
"I've never really been to Branson," Dozier said. "Can you believe it? But I wanted to come for this, because it's about the volunteers, and for me, that's important."
At Silver Dollar City – and in Branson, too – a red, white and blue ribbon of patriotism runs through. Each morning at Silver Dollar City, veterans in attendance help raise the flag. At most events, veterans are asked to stand for recognition. And throughout the year, the park offers themed festivals with all-American notes.
Through May 25, the park hosts its annual Bluegrass & BBQ Festival, a popular draw that's been named Bluegrass Event of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association. Hundreds of musicians will perform during the three-week festival, including six-time Grammy nominee Rhonda Vincent with her band, The Rage, and The Grascals and Balsam Range. Vincent was discovered while singing at Silver Dollar City.
Beyond the music, Bluegrass & BBQ will also serve up plenty of grilled meat, with sauces from every region of the country.
From June 6-July 19, the park hosts its Star-Spangled Summer festival, with a variety of attractions including the Harlem Globetrotters, cloggers and "Wacky Science" demos. Rounding out the summer: Silver Dollar City's Southern Gospel Picnic, from Aug. 27-Sept. 7. Dozens of gospel groups will perform, including The Hoppers, Gold City, Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, Karen Peck and Booth Brothers. The "picnic" part of the festival includes a feast from the park's House of Chicken that includes hickory-grilled and Southern-fried varieties.
Elsewhere in the park, coaster fiends will find plenty to love. Outlaw Run holds the 2015 Guinness World Record as steepest wooden roller coaster, with an 81-degree drop. The "explosive launch" Powderkeg coaster takes riders from 0 to 53 mph in less than three seconds, and WildFire reaches a speed of 66 mph and features a variety of loops, rolls and inversions. Fire-in-the-Hole is an indoor dark coaster and Thunderation offers a top speed of 48 mph with Ozark scenery.
Families and the not so brave find fun in the Grand Exposition, which mimics park attractions from an 1880s fair, including a flying swing ride.
Just 20 minutes away, Branson continues to thrive with family-style entertainment. The city claims to have more theater seats than Broadway. Music revues abound; the Presley (no relation to Elvis) family opened the first country music theater in town in 1967. The family still does a nightly appropriate-for-all-ages show that's a mixture of traditional toe-tapping down-home country music, humor and fiddle playing. Other family shows, The Duttons, and The Haygoods at the Clay Cooper Theater, offer similar fare. For a change of scene, take in dinner and a show on a cruise aboard the Showboat Branson Belle on Table Rock Lake.
At Branson's Titanic Museum, your entry ticket is a boarding pass for a passenger on the doomed ship. After passing through the museum, where you'll see 400 artifacts from the ship -- a passenger's purse, china and flatware, among others -- you learn the fate of your alter ego. (Hint: If you're a third-class passenger, you probably didn't make it.) Interactive displays help you understand what it might have been like to be on the Titanic. You can stick in your hand in water the same temperature as the dark Atlantic on the morning of April 15, 1912 – and a stopwatch measures how long you can stand it.
In a different vein, Sight and Sound Theater offers "Jonah," the Biblical story set to music with eye-popping sets, including 30 live animals in the show and a 30,000-pound boat on stage.
Finish your trip with a trolley ride through Historic Downtown Branson and be sure to stop at Dick's 5 & 10, a 10,000 square-foot emporium stuffed with items both useful and kitschy.