Anyone go to that Branson Jubilee meeting they had a Jim Stafford's on July 27th? I was there and to be honest I quite excited about it. I hope their optimism pays off because Branson could really use a big boost like it had back in the early 90s.

With the Branson landing and with this Branson Jubliee TV show taking off, we better buckle our seat belts! I think we're long overdue for another boom. Hang on for the ride!

Yep I saw their promo. Looks like it was well done. I can't wait to watch the full 2-hour thing on PBS in August. I hope it drives them in to town!

Hi - what special is everybody talking about that will be on PBS in August? Also, what date and time in August? Thanks, Cindy

Check www.pbs.org to find the local time and listing for your area. I just saw the 2-hour special and I wasn't too impressed. Some of those entertainers I don't think have ever even been to Branson before. And of course, they only highlight the "big names."

All in all, I was kind of disappointed.

What is the Branson Jubilee? Is it a show there that is going on TV, or something new?

Last year the Branson Jubilee came to town and filmed a bunch of stuff around Branson. They got Jimmy Osmond to host it and this month (August) they're airing it around the country via PBS to help sell Branson to the nation. I still haven't seen it myself but when I do, I'll be sure to post something about it.

I was at the meeting. There is no question that the intentions are good. I wonder if perhaps the expectations are too high for the return. I was living here when the “60 minutes” piece aired in December 1991. That little bit of “free advertising” didn’t do as much good as people would like to remember. It caused too much growth, too fast and by spring of 1994 we had more “star-shows” than we’ve ever had playing at one time and none of the shows did as well as they expected to or wanted to. The problems Branson has in 2005 with the “entertainment infrastructure” are not going to be fixed when the Branson Landing opens. Nor will simply enticing another 3-4 million visitors to come here on vacation fix the problem like the Chamber seems to think. A lot of elements have to change and we as a town must get our collective heads out of the sand and start really working together if we’re ever going to make it happen. I have a lot of ideas as to where we can begin. If anyone wants to know what they are, all they have to do is ask me.

O.K., Ben, I'm asking. I'm very concerned for the future of Branson. Too many shows (many which really are hurting Branson) and not enough people coming to town. The pie is being cut into too many tiny slices and some of the really good shows are hurting because of it. The last few weeks have been great; but nothing like Branson was when I arrived in 1999. So, bring it on Ben. I'd love to hear your ideas.

I don't know about the politics, but 7.2 million people visiting Branson every year. Seems like a lot of folks to me.

Greetings everyone. I finally saw the Branson Jubilee over the weekend. I didn't attend that meeting so I don't think I understand what the TV show was about. I thought it would be about Branson and I only recognized a few Branson entertainers such as Ronnie Prophet and Glen Campbell (who isn't here very much anyway). Why did they have all those other entertainers that aren't here?

I have to agree. I watched the whole show and couldn't figure out the point of it. I don't see how it promoted Branson, (as you might think it would), by having performers who have never performed in Branson, (Lesley Gore......Kingston Trio......Debra Moreno?.....Lee Greenwood). Even those who have performed in Branson, (Jimmy Osmond, Tony Orlando, Glen Campbell, Crystal Gayle), haven't even been here this year. To make matters worse, the local PBS hosts kept claiming that Wayne Newton and John Davidson were still performing here. I know John was back briefly in 2001?, but Wayne hasn't performed here since what, 1997 or '98. Were they completely misinformed?

The other point the PBS hosts kept making is that there are no variety shows around anymore, (in the style of Andy Williams, Carol Burnett, etc.....), and wouldn't it be great to have a variety show from Branson. While that might be nice, the PBS show certainly wasn't a variety show to me. The show was simply Jimmy Osmond introducing performer after performer, from different locations.

Maybe someone connected with the show can post here and let us know the intended purpose of the show.

I was so disappointed. I did attend that meeting and although Deb said they would have a 'few' entertainers outside of Branson, I had no idea the show was going to contain that many outsiders. That show didn't give an accurate representation of Branson at all. If anything it kind of misleads people into thinking that Branson currently has a lot of those big names that aren't here anymore or have never been here to begin with.

I was expecting to see a lot of the family shows in town that help define Branson's 'family values' and I didn't see a single one. All in all, I felt a big let down after it was through. Oh well. Maybe 60 minutes will come back and do a recap....

I agree with the majority here. It was really a bad representation of Branson. I thought it was extremely deceiving as to who is performing here. What happened to all the shows that are here...why weren't bits and pieces of them on the show? One more step backward. Too bad.

The problem is neither too many shows nor not enough people coming to town. Saying there are too many shows is just an excuse. There are too many shows putting on entertainment that our guests don't want to see, That is a BIG problem.

Also, there are plenty of people coming to town. The problem is they're not seeing shows like they used to. 15 years ago every show patron I spoke to told me they were seeing at LEAST 3 shows while vacationing here. Most were seeing more, and many were seeing what I considered to be a LOT (over 8 per visit). I don't have an average because I never kept records nor did surveys but I can tell you my estimates are on the low side. I also talked to a lot of guests that had seen the show I was playing SEVERAL TIMES THAT SEASON. I know this for a fact because in each case the guests delighted in telling me how many times, which dates, and what we did slightly different each time in the show. I marveled at the fact that so many of our guests would consume entertainment in this fashion. It also amazed me that so many of our guests had seen us the previous winter doing our "winter road show tour".
The fact that our guests would see us in the winter and then come to Branson and see us again (sometimes more than once) in the summer was something I felt was unique. I would love to get back to something even close to what we had as a town in the early '90s.

So, as you asked, here are just a few ideas:

1. Every show that is really serious about working Branson during the season needs to go out in the winter doing "winter road shows". It just amazes me the marketing dollars that are being spent in 2005. In the late 80s early 90s nobody was spending that kind of money, we were going out and promoting our shows on the road. THAT was much of our marketing for the coming season. The Presley's were the first show to feel they no longer needed to do the "winter touring". In Branson's notorious "Monkey see, Monkey do" way, every show that was touring in the winter, one by one, stopped touring. That was probably our biggest mistake.
2. Every show needs to promote seeing other shows. We used to tell our audiences "See a LOT of shows while you're here" and then mention several to see. Why did we stop doing it??? The "Stars" that came in after "60 minutes" didn't promote other shows so (Monkey see, Monkey do) the other shows decided they wouldn't either. Another BIG mistake
3. Every show that wants to do well needs to slash their ticket price to under $20.00 and then give a dollar discount (up to $5.00) for patrons that have seen other shows and kept their ticket stub-one dollar per previous show attended. And don't tell me you can't afford to do that, or that shows in New York or Orlando or VEGAS are more than double what our prices are now. OUR GUESTS DON'T GO TO THOSE PLACES. They come here. Perceived value is the only value that counts and our guest's PERCEPTION is that our ticket prices are too high. That's the #1 reason why our guests don't do multiple shows anymore. They feel they can no longer afford it.

If every show in town would adopt these three ideas alone, I think we would see a major positive change.

Does anyone know what happened with the Branson Jubliee? Did PBS decide to make it a series so we can see the rest of the shows? Or did it fall flat on its face?

I know this is and old thread, but I'm happy to say our local PBS started carrying this show. I LOVE IT!!!