The Dove Award winning Jeff & Sheri Easter will be performing at Silver Dollar City's Southern Gospel Picnic
“It seems like a perfect fit,” said Tammy Johnson, the Director of Operations for the Branson Tourism Center as she reflected on the “Southern Gospel Picnic” that will be held at Branson’s Silver Dollar City August 26 – September 6. “People relate both to the spirit and values that both represent and will be celebrated during the popular, inspirational and toe-tapping 12 day festival.”
The festival coordinator D. A. Callaway said, “When we launched the Southern Gospel Picnic as a festival four years ago, we knew it would be a great opportunity for Southern Gospel fans to gather and enjoy the ‘best of the best’ of the genre.” He went on to point out that in the years since the Southern Gospel Picnic started that they have “found that guests who had never before been exposed to the music are becoming the newest fans, and the festival keeps growing each year.”
The festival will feature special Sunday worship services with inspirational speaker David Ring on August 29, and noted humorist and evangelist Dennis Swanberg on September 5. Each day will be filled with performances by the top names in the music genre with over 350 performances during the festival and followed each evening by the “Southern Gospel Nights” concerts in Echo-Hollow, the parks 4,000 seat amphitheater.
The performers will include “Dove Award winners Jeff & Sheri Easter and The Isaacs; Hall of Famers The Kingsmen and The Perrys; Grammy nominee Karen Peck and New River and fan favorites including the Inspirations, Squire Parsons, Legacy Five and the Reggie Sadler Family, led by former R&B artist Reggie Saddler who performed with artists from Jerry Lee Lewis to the Drifters before entering the gospel music ministry.” Click here for a complete list and schedule of festival performers.
“Let’s not forget the picnic part of the ‘Southern Gospel Picnic'”, said Johnson. She points out that, in addition to all the delicious food normally available at Silver Dollar City, the festival will feature “‘The House of Chicken and Fixin’s on the Square’ featuring double-battered southern fried chicken, slow-roasted apple-glazed chicken and smoked barbecue chicken, with favorite ‘fixin’s’ from potato salad and coleslaw to Silver Dollar City’s official 50th Birthday Cake: Chocolate RiverBlast Raspberry.”
Johnson also points out that the special activities and events involved in the celebration of the festival are in addition to all the excitement and adventure that the international award winning 1880s’s theme park is noted for including craft demonstrations and over 30 fun filled rides and attractions. For further information on the Southern Gospel Picnic or any of Branson’s other shows and attractions or for lodging arrangements please contact the Branson Tourism Center (BTC), one of Branson’s largest and most respected vacation planning services. BTC can be reached by either calling their toll free number 1-800-785-1550 or through their website www.BransonTourismCenter.com.