We are your resource for any information you need about visiting the Lake Norman area. Our Towns of Cornelius, Davidson, and Huntersville exude plenty of southern hospitality and charm, and offer loads of entertainment! When it comes to Hotels, Dining, Attractions, Events, and other Things to Do, we can help! Let us know how we can be your guide, or visit our website at www.visitlakenorman.org
National Tourism Week Raffle for Charity
In honor of National Tourism Week, celebrated annually in May, Visit Lake Norman (VLN) is raffling a Lake Norman Adventure Package with 100% of the proceeds going to Big Day at the Lake 8. The winner of the package will receive a hot air balloon ride over the lake for two by Balloons Over Charlotte; two All Star Race tickets for May 19th race; a $25 gift card to Kabuto Japanese Steakhouse; two Lake Norman Comedy Zone tickets; a $20 gift card to Northcross Lanes; and two Our Town Cinemas tickets. www.visitlakenorman.org/national-tourism-week
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan established National Tourism Week, to be held annually in May recognizing the “importance of travel and tourism”. The industry continues to be embraced as a powerful engine for keeping the economy moving, with President Obama reiterating the message stating “In the United States, tourism is big business.” On a national scale the industry has seen nine consecutive months of growth and produced over $118 billion in tax revenues. Travel ranks fifth in the nation in terms of employment in private industry segments, and one out of nine U.S. jobs depend on travel and tourism. www.ustravel.org
According to the N.C. Department of Commerce, domestic visitors spent a record $17 billion across the state in 2010, generating $2.7 billion in tax revenues, and supporting 185,500 jobs. Visitor spending in Mecklenburg County directly sustained 41,520 jobs and created $292 million in tax revenues, a savings of $315 to each county resident. www.nccommerce.com. Last year, VLN efforts generated over $19 million in direct visitor spending to our towns, increasing our impact by 59% for the second year in a row. One N.C. job is supported for every $92,000 in visitor spending meaning VLN’s contribution helped sustain 207 jobs; jobs that can never be exported.
VLN is celebrating the huge impact that travel has on our economy by helping support an annual effort that brings special visitors to our area. Big Day at the Lake, a staple event for the Charlotte Big Brothers and Big Sisters program, provides children in the program and their mentors the opportunity and means to visit Lake Norman for a day of fun and bonding on and off the water, and increases community awareness of the Big Brother Big Sister program. www.bigdayatthelake-lkn.com. This year’s event will be held on July 21, 2012 at Duke Energy Explorium.
Donations for the event will come from raffle entries purchased for the Lake Norman Adventure Package. Entries are $5.00 each or 5 for $20.00 and can be purchased at VLN located at 19900 West Catawba Avenue, Cornelius, NC 28031 through May 16, 2012. All entry donations are tax deductible and go directly to Big Day and the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. The winner of the drawing will be announced at the close of business on May 16th.
For more information please contact Courtney Wolfrom, VLN Marketing & Communications Manager, at 704-987-3300 or wolfrom@lakenorman.org.
Annual Asian Festival Returns to Lake Norman
The Charlotte Asian Festival returns to Ramsey Creek Park in Cornelius on May 5, 2012. The one-day festival entertains visitors from across the globe with a wide variety of traditional Asian offerings such as authentic food, stage performances, intense Dragon Boat Races, cultural exhibits and a most colorful display of young talents in the annual Miss Asian Festival Scholarship competition. www.charlottedragonboat.com
The Asian Festival and Dragon Boat Races are organized by the Carolinas Asian-American Chamber of Commerce, (CAACC) Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation, and the Charlotte Dragon Boat Association. The CAACC joined forces with Mecklenburg Park and Recreation Department in 1999 as co-organizers to bring the festival as a way to introduce Asian culture and traditions to the greater Charlotte community. Visit Lake Norman (VLN) and the Town of Cornelius serve as hosts for the event.
The festival opens at 11:00 a.m. and runs until 5:00 p.m. at Ramsey Creek Park, located at 18441 Nantz Road in Cornelius. Parking is available at the Palace Theatre on 17220 W. Catawba Road in Cornelius with free shuttle service to the festival site. Onsite parking is not available. The festival and races are free and open to the public. A full schedule of events is available online. www.charlottedragonboat.com
Dragon Boat racing continues to be the fastest growing water sports event around the globe. The event embraces and promotes competition, fair play, team building, and community cohesiveness. Organized competitions are held in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, culminating in World Cup Championship races annually. The exciting team competition is an important part of the Chinese traditional calendar and originated over 2,300 years ago on the life-sustaining rivers of southern China.
Since its launch in 2006, the event has been a big success in terms of attendance bringing an estimated 5,500 to 7,000 attendees annually. Travis Dancy, Sports Sales Manager for VLN
says “We are proud to be part of such an incredible event that gives great exposure to Asian culture and history, and is a successful tourism generator year after year. The festival brings both national and international visitors to our region providing an infusion of visitor dollars into our local economy.” www.visitlakenorman.org
The CAACC is a nonprofit, all volunteer based organization. Founded in 1999, CAACC serves as a bridge to connect Asia and the United States in general and the local 70,000 plus Asian-American residents in the Charlotte community at large. With its increasing membership, CAACC’s focus is to continue to nurture, strengthen, and empower the Asian American business community in economic growth, Asian cultural awareness and active engagement in civic affairs. www.caacc.com.
For information on the 2012 Asian Festival or CAACC, please contact Andrea Lee at 704-926-3989 or Andrea.Lee@caacc.com. Photos courtesy of Dr. John Chen.
Local Angler Brent Long Wins Second Career FLW Tour Title
Brent Long, Cornelius, N.C. resident and official Visit Lake Norman (VLN) pro angler, caught 20 bass weighing 78 pounds, 13 ounces to win first place and the top prize of $125,000 at the national Walmart FLW Tour Major on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri. The four-day tournament was the third of ten 2012 tournaments, which culminate in anglers qualifying for the 2012 Forrest Wood Cup World Championship of Bass Fishing. www.flwoutdoors.com
VLN has had a sponsorship agreement with Long since 2010 that includes placements of the VLN logo on his pro jersey, boat wrap, and commits him to fishing tournaments on national professional bass circuits. Travis Dancy, Sports Sales Manager for VLN said “We are proud to sponsor Brent. He is an exceptional angler who displays genuine integrity and is a passionate advocate of his home lake. The partnership has been both successful and impactful.” www.visitlakenorman.org
Long credits a wrong turn upon his arrival at Table Rock Lake as the key to his decision to fish the “Long Creek” arm of the Ozarks reservoir. He noticed the water in that area was reddish-brown. Long said, “When I went over that arm of the lake, I saw that it was murky, and I said to myself, ‘this is where I’m going to spend all four days in the tournament’.” Throughout the tournament he stayed in the general area observed from his vehicle, flipping wood cover with a black and blue jig and a “Flipping Bug” made by another of his sponsors, Charlie’s Worms.
The win gives Long his second FLW Tour championship trophy, winning his first in June 2010 at Lake Guntersville in Alabama. Said Long, “When you win one, they can say you just got lucky, you are a one-hit wonder. When you win two, I think that solidifies you as a good angler.” Long, a lifelong resident of the Lake Norman area and a local General Contractor was born in Lincolnton and then moved over to Cornelius in 2007. He learned fishing with his father at a young age, entered his first tournament at 17 and began fishing on the pro circuit in 1997.
Coverage of the Table Rock Lake Tournament will be broadcast in HD on the NBC Sports Network May 6, 2012 from 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET. The FLW show is broadcast to more than 559 million households worldwide. www.flwoutdoors.com/tournament/fulltvschedule.cfm
For more information, please contact Travis Dancy, Sports Sales Manager for Visit Lake Norman, at 704-987-3300 or tdancy@lakenorman.org.
Bassmaster Southern Open Returns to Lake Norman
Visit Lake Norman (VLN) in partnership with Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation, Visit Charlotte, Visit Cabarrus, and the Charlotte Sports Commission welcomes B.A.S.S. back to the competitive fishing waters of Lake Norman for the second consecutive year in a row. The Bass Pro Shop’s Bassmaster Southern Open returns to Blythe Landing in Cornelius April 5-7, 2012 and is expected to pump close to half a million into the local economy. The 2011 event brought 358 anglers from 23 states and generated an estimated $478,380 in direct visitor spending. www.visitlakenorman.org/bass
Close to 400 of the best anglers and co-anglers in the country will launch out of Blythe at 7:00 a.m. each morning with lakeside weigh-ins beginning at 3:00 p.m. The final weigh-in on Saturday, April 7th will be held at the Bass Pro Shop in Concord Mills at 4:00 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public, and food concessions and giveaways will be available at the first two weigh-ins. Official practice days are April 2nd, 3rd, and 4th making for a week-long event. Angler registration will be held on April 4th at Michael Waltrip Racing.
“B.A.S.S. is excited to return to Lake Norman once again in 2012 for the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open Tournament. The region offers plenty of housing options, restaurants, and a superb fishery for our competitors. We expect nearly 400 anglers to be registered for the event and most competitors will come in several days, if not more than a week, prior to the competition days. The lakeside facilities at Blythe Landing are outstanding. B.A.S.S. events require full partnership and support of our local hosts. Visit Lake Norman is a tremendous asset to work hand in hand with and are fully committed to providing a fantastic experience for all”, said Chris Bowes, B.A.S.S. Tournament Director.
The Bassmaster Opens are known as a successful tournament trail for anglers looking to compete on productive fisheries against top-notch participants. B.A.S.S. also operates the renowned Bassmaster Classic, and has worked with VLN to hold prior tournaments on Lake Norman including the Women’s Bassmaster Tour in 2006, the 2005 CITGO Bassmaster Tour Stop (precursor to what is now called Elite Series event), and the Junior Bassmaster World Championships in 2004. Founded by Ray Scott with a simple tournament of 106 fishermen in 1967, BASS is now a membership organization more than half a million strong based out of Celebration, FL. www.bassmaster.com
For more information about the upcoming Bass Pro Shop’s Bassmaster Southern Open please contact Travis Dancy, Sports Sales Manager for Visit Lake Norman, at 704-987-3300 or tdancy@lakenorman.org.
DNC Delegation Housing Placements Announced
Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) CEO Steve Kerrigan released the full list of housing assignments on February 14, 2012 for the state delegations coming September 4-6, 2012. The assignments will occupy 6,700 rooms in five zones, Uptown Charlotte, SouthPark, Concord, University area, and the Airport area, as designated by the DNCC. The remaining contracted 8,300 plus rooms will be reserved for other guests including credentialed media, convention speakers, and other groups of interest.
State delegations toured contracted hotels during October and November. The delegations then submitted their top three housing choices, detailing out specific requests for proximity, on-site meeting space and amenities in December. The DNCC and their contracted housing management companies EventSphere and Akintayo made the final placements based on a lottery-determined, priority basis to pair delegations with a property that best fit their requirements.
Vinay Patel, Senior Vice President of Operations & Sales for the Charlotte based SREE Hotels, is a successful owner of properties in North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, DC and other states. Several of his properties in the Charlotte region received delegation placements. Patel says “Our properties in the Concord and Airport area were strategically selected for delegations based on their proximity to the large full-service hotels like Embassy Suites and Great Wolf Lodge with substantial capacity for meeting and reception space. Patel adds, “The Courtyard Marriott and Residence Inn properties in Huntersville are still under contract with the DNCC. Over the next several weeks we anticipate additional placements, such as the thousands of security, media, speakers, and groups the Committee will house.”
More than 8,300 rooms remain under contract with the DNCC including properties in Lake Norman, Rock Hill, Ballantyne, and Salisbury. Currently 12 of the 19 properties located in the towns of Cornelius, Davidson, and Huntersville have 80% of their inventory contracted by the DNCC. The credentialed media placements are expected to be announced in March.
Additional resources and facts can be found at charlottein2012.com. Related VLN DNC media coverage is located in the VLN online media section at visitlakenorman.org/media.
For more information please contact Sally Ashworth, Executive Director at ashworth@lakenorman.org, or Courtney Wolfrom at 704-987-3300 or wolfrom@lakenorman.org.
Visit Lake Norman Welcomes the Ledbetter Bass Tournament to Blythe Landing
Visit Lake Norman (VLN), Foothills Marine, Balls Creek Bass Club, and Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation will host the 26th Annual Jim Ledbetter Casting Out Cancer Memorial Bass Tournament at Blythe Landing on Saturday, March 10th. This is the first time the 25 year-old charity tournament will be held at Blythe. The event is expected to generate an estimated $107,200 in direct visitor spending. www.visitlakenorman.org
The Ledbetter Bass Tournament is the longest running fishing tournament in North Carolina (NC) and previously has launched on the north end of Lake Norman. “We’ve been in contact with Visit Lake Norman for quite a few years now about moving the event and with their support, we are very excited to officially announce that the annual Ledbetter fishing tournament will launch out of Blythe. This event brings in anglers from across the East and I think the Visit Lake Norman partnership brings added value to the anglers and event by offering greater local resources for lodging, restaurants, and other amenities the Lake Norman community offers”, said Matt Farris, Event Director.
The tournament is named for Jim Ledbetter, a legendary television fishing show host and professional angler from the Catawba County area who passed away of cancer in 2002. The tournament, operated by Foothills Marine and Balls Creek Bass Club, is the largest charity bass tournament in the state and has raised over $800,000 cumulatively to benefit the V Foundation. The V Foundation is named in honor of the late Jim Valvano, the well-known basketball coach who led NC State University’s men’s basketball team to a national championship in 1983. Coach “Jimmy V”, as he was nicknamed, formed the Foundation after being diagnosed with cancer in 1992. www.jimmyv.org The tournament and the Foundation joined forces, feeling it was a good match with every dollar donated to the organization going directly to cancer research.
The tournament brought in 366, 376 and 378 anglers respectively the last three years. Anglers have historically traveled in from six states with a large contingency from West Virginia. Boats will launch at 7:00 a.m. and the weigh-in will begin at 3:00 p.m. lakeside at Blythe. Winnings include a Skeeter-Yamaha boat package and cash prizes. For detailed information on prizes visit www.foothillsboats.com
For more information about the upcoming Ledbetter Memorial Bass Tournament please contact Travis Dancy, Sports Sales Manager for Visit Lake Norman, at 704-987-3300 or tdancy@lakenorman.org.
DNC Opportunities Embrace Lake Norman
Announcements regarding delegation housing assignments by the Democratic National Convention Committee have raised concern over whether the placements could impact businesses in Cornelius, Davidson, and Huntersville. Lake Norman and other outlying areas such as Ballantyne and Rock Hill were not incorporated into the five zones for delegation housing. An estimated 8,300 guest assignments remain to be made by the Committee including credentialed media, convention speakers, and groups of interest.
Blocks are contracted by the Committee for 12 of the 19 properties located in the towns of Cornelius, Davidson, and Huntersville, leaving other properties and rooms available for private contract negotiations and for open reservations. Huntington Daly, of Daly Seven Inc., successful owners of 39 properties in North Carolina and Virginia, including the Hampton Inn & Suites in Huntersville and the Hampton Inn in Cornelius said “Our properties have rooms outside contracted commitments, and those rooms are currently booked. We have received numerous requests from outside media and security groups and from individual travelers who want to be a part of the DNC.” Committee contracts contain individualized commitments. Due to the confidential nature of those contracts, details are unavailable for public release.
Major events that will help bring political officials, elite guests, and delegates into the area are coming together as well. The Committee announced on January 31st that Carolina Raptor Center would be one of their 12 venues to host delegate events for September 2nd. As of February 22nd, VLN confirmed a lake specific event to be held in our towns. VLN has been working with the National Marine Manufacturers Association since October to help secure a large scale lake event on September 4th at the Peninsula Yacht Club. The Association has produced similar events at prior Democratic and Republican Conventions with great success. Additional details will be announced as commitments are finalized.
Beyond the two major events VLN anticipates many additional event offerings will be available to attendees. “We are encouraging local partners to consider coinciding regular events held in the shoulder times of the DNC with Convention week. The more effectively we can showcase what our towns offer as a whole package, the more attractive our destination becomes.” said Courtney Wolfrom, Marketing & Communications Manager for VLN. VLN is also prepared to act as the communication channel for events held in our towns during Convention time. Wolfrom adds, “We will be collecting area event data and pushing that information out to media and attendees pre-arrival and post-arrival. Having parties from the private sector stay in our towns actually may better maximize the potential for local businesses to capture higher revenue streams, since delegates have pre-determined schedules.” VLN also has plans in place to help promote area restaurants and attractions. Details will be released over the next few weeks. www.visitlakenorman.org
For more information please contact Sally Ashworth, Executive Director at ashworth@lakenorman.org, or Courtney Wolfrom at 704-987-3300 or wolfrom@lakenorman.org.
Top Gun Softball’s Summer & Winter World Series Return in 2012
The Lake Norman region welcomes back two of Top Gun Softball’s larger national events. Visit Lake Norman and Huntersville’s Park and Recreation Department will host Top Gun Softball’s Summer World Series – July 12-15, 2012 at Bradford and North Meck Park and Top Gun Softball’s Winter World Series – November 2-4, 2012 at North Meck Park.
Visit Lake Norman along with officials from Huntersville Parks & Recreation and Visit Charlotte traveled to Rocky Mount, NC on December to make their bid presentation in front of Top Gun Sports board of directors. Last year’s Summer and Winter World Series brought in 41 teams traveling from West Virginia, Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina and generated an estimated $1,066,104 in visitor spending.
“Last year’s events went off without a hitch and Top Gun Sports is very excited to bring two of the biggest events of the season back to Lake Norman and hope to continue our relationship with Visit Lake Norman for many years to come”, said Robin Phillips, Top Gun Sport’s Softball Director.
2011 Event photos courtesy of Visit Lake Norman
Visit Lake Norman Prepares for Inaugural Everest Classic
Gymnasts from across the country will converge on Lake Norman the weekend of March 3-4, 2012 for the inaugural Everest Classic gymnastics event at Hough High School. The event operated by Everest Gymnastics Training Center in Huntersville will feature over 400 of the best girl’s gymnasts.
Visit Lake Norman and Everest Gymnastics Training Center forged a relationship back in 2008 when Visit Lake Norman was searching for a host club and secured Everest Gymnastics Training Center for the gymnastics competition for the 2009 Powerade State Games of North Carolina. The two organizations began working on the Classic in early 2011 and Visit Lake Norman was instrumental in securing Hough High School as the venue. “We are excited about the opportunity to host a gymnastics competition in the Lake Norman area that will benefit local businesses. The venue that Visit Lake Norman helped us secure will be a great facility to host an exciting gymnastics event,” said Yiwen Chen, Owner, Everest Gymnastics Training Center.
Four (4) official event hotels, located in Cornelius, Davidson, and Huntersville, have been secured by Visit Lake Norman for this event. Visit Lake Norman has made customized welcome buttons for official event hotel front desk staff to wear and has also secured special restaurant discounts for participants to take advantage while they are in town. The event is estimated to generate more than $134,000 in visitor spending.
Photo Courtesy of Everest Gymnastics
VisitLakeNorman.org Soccer Series Back for Third Year
Area soccer fields, local hotels and restaurants will kick start off the New Year with the return of the VisitLakeNorman.org Soccer Series. Hotels and restaurants will welcome traveling teams and their visiting families during the last two weekends of January and first weekend of February, which is historically a slower time for business.
The Soccer Series consists of three events: The U11–U18 Boys and U11–U14 Girls Friendlies (January 21-22, 2012), the Adidas Boys College Combine Camp (January 28, 2012), and the U9-U10 Youth Academy Festival (February 4-5, 2012). The Friendlies, which will consist of a three game minimum, will be held at Bailey Road Park, Bradford Park, Hough High School and Richard Barry Park. Organizers anticipate 80 teams to compete in the Friendlies event. The Boys College Combine Camp anticipates 125 players aged U16–U18, which will be held at Richard Barry Park. Additionally, coaches and scouts representing over 20 different college soccer programs are expected as well. Coaches from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and as far south as Saint Leo University in Florida are expected to travel in. The Youth Academy Festival, which will consist of a two game minimum anticipates 60 U9 and U10 age group teams and will be held at Richard Barry Park as well. The three events are estimated to generate over $3.4 million in visitor spending.
