Tag: Titanic Museum

Titanic Museum Attraction brings artworks made of ice to Pigeon Forge

Posted by Erin Freeman – January 7, 2013

Pigeon Forge, Tenn. – The Titanic Museum Attraction’s outdoor visitor area becomes an art museum made of ice on Saturday, January 19, 2013, when the world’s best ice artists gather in Pigeon Forge for an annual ice carving competition. Thousands of spectators gather to watch this free outdoor event as professional and amateur ice carvers race the clock to create stunning, unique works of art made completely from ice.

The Titanic Museum Attraction will host the free event in its parking area from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The popular competition attracted approximately 5,000 spectators last year and visitors are encouraged to arrive early this year to secure the best views for watching the competitors in action.

“The Titanic Museum Attraction works each year with the National Ice Carving Association to host this exciting one-day event,” said John Joslyn, co-owner of the Titanic Museum Attraction and co-leader of the first private expedition to Titanic’s Atlantic resting place.

“Starting with 250-pound blocks of ice, these artists have a limited amount of time to create carvings that would surpass the expectations of passengers attending gala events in Titanic’s first class dining room,” continued Joslyn.

As the artists work on their projects, children and adults can view sculptures in progress, talk to the artists and learn the secrets of championship ice carving from the most accomplished ice artists in the world. Children especially enjoy the opportunity to meet the artists and watch the magical artworks evolve before their eyes.

Professionals and amateur artists are competing for prize monies ranging from $500 to $2,000 in the competition. The official National Ice Carving Association judging panel will announce the competition winners and award prizes at 3 p.m.

“People enjoy the big moment when the winners are revealed,” Joslyn said. “It’s especially fun to cheer on a favorite artist and artwork you were able to interact with during the process of creation.”

The icy artworks are only temporary by nature, so this one-day only event is even more special as families look for exciting and unique entertainment options during a Smoky Mountain winter.

Additional information about the 2013 Ice Carving Competition and other special events at the Titanic Museum Attraction can be found online at www.titanicattraction.com. Tickets are not required for the ice carving event, but are needed for tours of the attraction. The Titanic Museum Attraction opens daily at 9 a.m. in Pigeon Forge. Reservations for museum tours are strongly suggested since many days sell out entirely. Passengers may purchase tickets online at www.titanicattraction.com or by phone at (800) 381-7670.

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Titanic Museum Attraction: Cedar Bay Entertainment, LLC owns and operates the Titanic Museum Attraction in Branson, Missouri, and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. A privately owned-and-operated entertainment and development company, Cedar Bay is headquartered in Branson, Missouri, the site of its first Titanic Museum Attraction. Since its opening in 2006, Titanic Branson has welcomed more than 5 million “passengers” aboard the museum. Titanic Pigeon Forge opened in 2010 and has already welcomed 2 million visitors. For additional information about the museums, visit www.titanicattraction.com or call 800-381-7670.

Media: For high resolution digital images, museum and exhibit tours, interviews and additional information, contact Shane Rhyne at (865) 584-0550 or srhyne@ackermannpr.com.

Titanic Museum Attractions’ centennial commemoration wins marketing honors

Posted by Erin Freeman – October 8, 2012

Branson, Mo. – Titanic Museum Attractions’ year-long commemoration of the centennial anniversary of RMS Titanic’s maiden voyage captured the imagination of visitors from around the world and has earned awards within the tourism industry. The attractions received the 2012 Missouri Tourism Marketing Campaign Award at September’s statewide tourism conference.

The award recognized Titanic Museum Attractions’ ability to draw worldwide media coverage during the year, including visits to the Tennessee and Missouri locations by USA Today, CNN, CBS’ Sunday Morning, and Fox News’ Fox and Friends. The museum attractions were also featured this year in media coverage by major media outlets such as the New York Times, People Magazine, and the Associated Press.

“This is a great honor for both Titanic Branson and Titanic Pigeon Forge,” said John Joslyn, co-owner of the attractions and co-leader of first private expeditions to Titanic’s final resting place. “While the award is presented by the state of Missouri, it represents how the two attractions were able to coordinate their efforts to make the best possible impact in both Missouri and Tennessee.”

The Marketing Campaign Award is presented annually by the Missouri Tourism Commission and the Missouri Division of Tourism at the Missouri Governor’s Conference on Tourism. Winners are selected based on their ability to create a positive impact on tourism visitation and economic impact.

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Titanic Museum Attraction: Cedar Bay Entertainment, LLC owns and operates the Titanic Museum Attraction in Branson, Missouri, and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. A privately owned-and-operated entertainment and development company, Cedar Bay is headquartered in Branson, Missouri, the site of its first Titanic Museum Attraction. Since its opening in 2006, Titanic Branson has welcomed more than 5 million “passengers” aboard the museum. Titanic Pigeon Forge opened in 2010 and has already welcomed 2 million visitors. For additional information about the museums, visit www.titanicattraction.com or call 800-381-7670.

Media: For high resolution digital images, museum and exhibit tours, interviews and additional information, contact Shane Rhyne at (865) 585-0550 or srhyne@ackermannpr.com.

Titanic Museum Attraction bridges generations in centennial tribute event

Posted by Erin Freeman – April 5, 2012

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. and BRANSON, Mo. – The last of Titanic’s original survivors are gone, but the desire to connect with the tragedy’s heroes and victims 100 years later is as strong as ever. The Titanic Museum Attraction is bridging the gap between centuries through the only formal U.S. ceremonies and tribute to the ship, its passengers and crew. The tribute program will be staged on Saturday, April 14, at the Titanic Museum Attractions in Missouri and Tennessee under the watchful eyes of children and grandchildren of those aboard the ship 100 years ago, providing a living connection one of the 20th centuries most captivating stories. The program will begin at noon (Central) at Titanic Museum in Branson, Missouri, and 8:30 p.m. (Eastern) at Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

“A Night to Remember: An Original Musical Tribute to Titanic” is a professionally-staged production including the inspiring voices of choirs, the haunting sounds of bagpipes, and comforting words of tribute in honor of the 2,208 people aboard the ship a century ago.

“We wanted the ceremonies to be respectful of the memory of those who were aboard, regardless of their fate,” said John Joslyn, co-owner of the Titanic Museum Attraction and co-leader of the first private expedition to visit the ship’s final resting place on the ocean floor. “We are honored by the many descendants of the ship’s crew and passengers who have chosen to attend our ceremony.”

While many living descendants of Titanic are most commonly found among the great-grandchildren of the ship’s passengers and crew, grandchildren are becoming a rare breed. Rarer still is a living child of the descendants, but Branson will host one of the few remaining children of the ship’s original passengers and crew when Pearl Leemhuis takes her seat at the museum’s ceremonies. Pearl’s mother, Bertha Lehmann was a 17-year-old passenger leaving Switzerland to join her family in Iowa.

Among the descendants attending the tribute in Pigeon Forge will be the grandson of Charles Lightoller, the most senior Titanic crew member to survive the disaster. Timothy Lightoller and his wife are making the trip from their native Scotland to be a part of the tribute.

One of the ship’s most famous passengers, Margaret Brown—known to many as “the unsinkable Molly Brown”—will be represented in Pigeon Forge by her granddaughter, Helen Benziger. Descendants of Isidor and Ida Straus will also be present to pay respects to their ancestors who perished aboard the ship. Isidor Straus was the co-owner with his brother of Macy’s Department Store in New York.

The tribute ceremonies will include performances by choirs, musicians and children as well as a parade of flags, poetry readings, and the lighting of an eternal flame in remembrance of the people aboard Titanic.

Tickets to “A Night to Remember: An Original Musical Tribute to Titanic” are available through the Titanic Museum Attractions in Missouri and Tennessee. Visitors may purchase tickets by phone at (800) 381-7670. In addition to museum admission and the musical production, ticket holders will receive limited edition memorials dedicated to the ship’s history, including a DVD containing video tributes of the personal stories of selected passengers and crew.

The Titanic Museum Attractions – the home base for the U.S. RMS Titanic 100 Year Anniversary Commemoration

The Titanic Museum Attractions are located in Branson, Missouri, and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Together, the two museums represent the largest permanent monuments in the world dedicated to the memory of Titanic. The museums, immediately recognizable for their ship-shape design, are home to hundreds of artifacts from the ship and its survivors. “Passengers” experience what it was like to walk the hallways, parlors, cabins and Grand Staircase of the Titanic while surrounded by artifacts and exhibits that tell the story of the ship’s history and fate.

Since its opening in 2006, Titanic Branson has welcomed more than 5 million “passengers” aboard the museum. Titanic Pigeon Forge opened in 2010 and has already welcomed 2 million visitors. For additional information about the museums, visit www.titanicattraction.com

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Editors:  For more information, for high-res museum photos, or to schedule interviews or visits to the museums, please contact Rick Laney or Shane Rhyne at (865) 584-0550.

History and Hollywood meet at Titanic Museum Attraction’s newest exhibit – The Titanic Movie Gallery

Posted by Erin Freeman – January 17, 2012

Pigeon Forge, TN – Fans of the Hollywood blockbuster Titanic don’t have to wait for the film’s 3D re-release to feel close enough to reach out and touch the story. The first-ever museum exhibit of actual props, costumes and items from the movie go on display at the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, in January 2012 as part of the museum’s Titanic centennial retrospective. The exhibit, opening exclusively at Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, gives movie fans a behind-the-scenes look at the making of James Cameron’s award-winning drama and its role in the lore and legend of the RMS Titanic. The exhibit is available for viewing through December 2012.

While the museum’s permanent exhibits focus on the factual history of the Titanic, the new movie-related exhibit featuring costumes, props and behind-the-scenes videos and photos, provides the museum an opportunity to explore the role of the disaster in today’s popular culture.

“We feel the movie has earned its own place in film history and will stand forever as a tribute to RMS Titanic, her builders, passengers and crew,” said John Joslyn, owner of the Titanic Museum Attraction and leader of the first private-expedition dive to explore Titanic’s resting place. “The film’s successful history as the first billion dollar blockbuster, one of the top Academy Award®-winning films of all time, and its highly anticipated release in 3D format illustrate how the stories of Titanic are just as compelling today as a century ago.

The movie will be return to movie theaters in 3-D format on April 6, 2012, in time to help commemorate the centennial of the great ship’s voyage. Popular items from the movie on display at the Titanic Museum Attraction will include a $250,000 replica of the heart-shaped diamond and sapphire necklace pursued by characters from the film. The famous full-length pink coat worn by actress Kate Winslet during the film’s climactic sinking scenes is also among the many famous costumes on display.

“We are excited to add this new dimension to our 100 year review of Titanic’s legacy in our culture,” said Joslyn. “Thanks to exclusive rights from private collectors, Titanic Museum Attraction is able to provide an unprecedented multi-dimensional exhibit associated with the film just as the film itself is returning to screens in a multi-dimensional format of its own.”

The exhibit is part of the Titanic Museum Attraction’s year-long commemoration of the centennial of the fateful maiden voyage in April 1912.

“It has been 100 years since a lookout in the crow’s nest shouted a warning of an iceberg ahead,” said Joslyn. “In the century since that moment, we have been captivated by the stories of bravery and tragedy experienced by the 2,208 passengers and crew members. Throughout 2012, Titanic Museum Attraction will offer an ongoing series of special events, activities and ceremonies to pay our respects and honor their memory.”

As the world remembers the most famous night in maritime history, Titanic Museum Attraction will continue to open the door to the past in it’s one-of-a-kind way by allowing “passengers” to experience what it was like to walk the hallways, parlors, cabin and Grand Staircase of the Titanic while surrounded by more than 400 artifacts directly from the ship and its passengers. Visitors gain first-hand experience through interactive exhibits such as touching an actual iceberg, attempting to stand on sloping decks, and placing their hands into 28-degree water.

The museum itself is housed inside a half-scale replica of three decks of the ship. Each and every day, Titanic Museum Attraction provides a gateway to 1912, where First Class Maids and a variety of Officers and crew members bring the stories of the ship and its passengers to life in vivid, dramatic detail.

The Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, opens daily at 9 a.m. Reservations are strongly suggested since many days sell out entirely. Passengers may purchase tickets online at www.titanicattraction.com or by phone at (800) 381-7670.

Cedar Bay Entertainment, LLC owns and operates the Titanic Museum Attraction in Branson, Missouri, and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. A privately owned-and-operated entertainment and development company, Cedar Bay is headquartered in Branson, Missouri, the site of its first Titanic Museum Attraction. Titanic Branson has welcomed more than four million guests and Titanic Pigeon Forge boards approximately 100,000 “passengers” each month.

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Media Contact
Rick Laney
(865) 584-0550
rlaney@ackermannpr.com

The Eyes of the World Turn to Titanic Museum Attraction and Jewelry Television® As The 100th Year Approaches

Posted by Erin Freeman – January 17, 2012

Titanic "Madeline" necklace

Knoxville, Tenn. –  Historic romance, unprecedented drama, exquisite luxury and first-class treatment were all part of the RMS Titanic’s maiden voyage 100 years ago in 1912. These are also the words being used to describe the brand new, exclusive Titanic Jewelry Collection debuting on Jewelry Television® through a new partnership with Titanic Museum Attraction.

Beginning at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, Titanic Museum Attraction and Jewelry Television will launch an exclusive line of high-quality jewelry, reminiscent of the kinds of pieces actually on the ship’s maiden voyage 100 years ago.  Each of the 20 designs in the initial collection is named in honor of actual passengers aboard the Titanic, and are available only through Jewelry Television and JTV.com.  Jaynee, the Titanic Museum Attraction’s First Class Maid, will host the hour-long show and share the fascinating true stories of the amazing women the jewelry collection honors.

“We know that the 100 Year Anniversary of the Titanic’s maiden voyage is going to draw unprecedented world-wide attention this year,” said Dan Chase, Vice President of Merchandising for Jewelry Television.

“This is a perfect partnership between the world’s most respected Titanic museum attraction and one of the world’s top jewelry retailers.  We are so excited to have this new, exclusive line of the Titanic Jewelry Collection available to our customers.”

This is a must-see show on Jewelry Television for anyone who is fascinated by the story of the Titanic or the fashion of that era. For four magical days, the Titanic’s elite passengers reveled in every modern luxury known at the time. Not only was it the most impressive ship of it’s time – draped in every luxury imaginable – but so were its passengers.  The women of the Titanic planned for months, just to bring the right fashionable apparel aboard the luxurious ship.  Along with extensive outfit planning came the accessories – large hats, mink stoles, gloves and of course the jewelry.  Jewelry of that time was depictive of the Art Nouveau, Edwardian, and Victorian eras.

The story of the RMS Titanic has remained a constant focus of interest around the world for the past century. With passengers ranging from some of the most well-known and wealthiest celebrities and business leaders of the time to everyday working class men and women who invested their life savings for a third-class ticket, people from all walks of life were thrown side-by-side into one of history’s most dramatic events. The events of that voyage brought about amazing acts of heroism and self-sacrifice that still mesmerize people today.

Each item in the collection is inspired by an actual Titanic passenger.  Examples include “Dorothy Gibson’s American Beauty Rose”, “Madeleine Astor’s Edwardian Princess Collection”, and “Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon’s Couture Cameo Collection”. Viewers will hear the actual stories – some for the first time ever – of each woman who inspired the jewelry designs during the Jewelry Television broadcasts, which will also be available on JTV.com.

One Century Ago

This year is the most significant milestone since the RMS Titanic – the largest movable manmade object on the face of the planet at the time – set sail in 1912, and it is a story that continues to fascinate the entire world.  In April 2012, it will have been 100 years since the Titanic launched its maiden voyage and embarked with its iconic passengers on a journey of adventure and elegance. The launch of the new Titanic Jewelry Collection is just one more way we keep their stories alive by telling them to a new generation.

As the whole world remembers the world’s most famous luxury liner, Titanic Museum Attractions will continue to open the door to the past in it’s one-of-a-kind way – letting “passengers” experience what it was like to walk the hallways, parlors, cabins and Grand Staircase of the Titanic while surrounded by more than 400 artifacts directly from the ship and its passengers.  As visitors touch a real iceberg, walk the Grand Staircase and third class hallways, reach their hands into 28-degree water, and try to stand on the sloping decks, they learn what it was like on the RMS Titanic by experiencing it first-hand.

Each and every day, Titanic Museum Attractions provides a gateway to 1912, where First Class Maids and a variety of Officers and crew members bring the stories of the fabled ship and its fascinating passengers to life by retelling their stories in vivid, dramatic detail.  The priceless artifacts throughout the museum shed additional light on the lives of those passengers and crew members when guests see the actual belongings of those on board and artifacts that sailed on Titanic’s maiden voyage.

Since 1993, Knoxville, Tennessee-based Jewelry Television’s mission has been to open the world of fine jewelry and gemstones to everyone. As the largest retailer of loose gemstones and one of the top four electronic jewelry retailers in the United States, Jewelry Television has the fine jewelry and gemstones buyers are searching for.

Anyone with access to a computer has access to Jewelry Television 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Visit the Airing Now page to view all the items in a show, new and featured items, view the turntables, or even watch the live broadcast. The Channel Finder will tell viewers where they can watch Jewelry Television in their area.

Shopping online with Jewelry Television is easy, fast and convenient and offers many different payment options. Take advantage of BillMeLater® , PayPal, or apply for the JTV Preferred Account private label credit card. Jewelry Television also accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover, as well as debit cards backed by those companies.  Viewers can also visit www.TitanicAttraction.com for more information.

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Web Video Series Shares Human Story of Historic Titanic Voyage

Posted by Ryan Willis – January 12, 2012

Pigeon Forge, Tenn. – The crew and passengers of Titanic likely could not have imagined the technology that would one day be used to help people remember their stories a century after the ship’s fateful voyage. Stories that were forged in the day of early wireless radio signal are now being shared online in a series of web videos produced and hosted by Titanic Museum Attractions.

The museum attraction has produced 100 videos spotlighting individual crew members and passengers aboard the ship in April, 1912. The Titanic Museum Attraction is sharing a new video online each day for 100 days. The videos are narrated by the museum’s First Class Maid, Jaynee, and provide background on how the spotlighted person and Titanic became intertwined in history. 

“While the Titanic Museum Attractions are notable for their collection of important artifacts associated with the ship and its passengers, the real treasure of the Titanic is found in the stories of the people associated with the event,” said John Joslyn, owner of the Titanic Museum Attraction and leader of the first private-expedition dive to explore the ship’s resting place. “This video series offers a glimpse of the stories that are told every day in one of our museums.”

Featured videos will include vignettes associated with famous passengers such as John Jacob Astor, as well as lesser known participants such as Annie Caton, a member of the ship’s crew. 

For the first 100 days of 2012, a new video will be featured each day on www.titanicbranson.com and www.titanicpigeonforge.com. All 100 videos will be available as a collection for viewing in April as part of the RMS Titanic 100th anniversary commemoration. 

The Titanic Museum Attractions in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Branson, Missouri, open the door to the past in a one-of-a-kind way by allowing “passengers” to experience what it was like to walk the hallways, parlors, cabins and Grand Staircase of the Titanic while surrounded by artifacts directly from the ship and its passengers. Visitors gain first-hand experience through interactive exhibits and through vivid, dramatic detail shared by “crew members.” Passengers may purchase tickets online at www.titanicattraction.com or by phone at (800) 381-7670. 

Cedar Bay Entertainment, LLC owns and operates the Titanic Museum Attraction in Branson, Missouri, and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. A privately owned-and-operated entertainment and development company, Cedar Bay is headquartered in Branson, Missouri, the site of its first Titanic Museum Attraction. Titanic Branson has welcomed more than four million guests and Titanic Pigeon Forge boards approximately 100,000 “passengers” each month. 

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Media Contact:
Rick Laney
(865) 584-0550
rlaney@ackermannpr.com

 

 

Titanic Museum Attraction readies for world-class Ice Carving Competition on Saturday, Jan. 14

Posted by Erin Freeman – January 6, 2012

Pigeon Forge, Tenn. –  World-class professional ice sculptors will compete at the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge this month as part of the museum’s amazing kick-off to the 100-Year Anniversary of Titanic’s maiden voyage.  This unique, family-oriented, outdoor special event takes place in the parking area at the World’s Largest Titanic Museum Attraction.

The Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge will host the outdoor event with a major ice carving competition on Saturday, Jan. 14 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.  Due to anticipated interest, visitors are advised to arrive early for the best views to watch all of the ice carving action.  Last year’s ice carving competition at Titanic Museum Attraction drew nearly 5,000 people to the massive museum, and this year’s event is expected to be even bigger.

“This exciting one-day event will be produced by Titanic Pigeon Forge under the auspices of the National Ice Carving Association,” said John Joslyn, co-owner of the Titanic Museum Attraction.

“Visitors will be invited to come to Titanic’s outdoor staging center and watch professional and amateur sculptors turn 250-pound blocks of ice into frozen works of art. Kids and parents can view sculptures in progress, talk to the artists and learn the secrets of championship ice carving from the most accomplished ice artists in the entire world.”

Professionals and amateurs will compete for prize monies ranging from $500 to $2,000. The official NICA Judging Panel will announce the competition winners and award prizes at 3 p.m.

“After watching these artists at work, people will want to stick around to see if their favorite sculptor is the big-prize winner,” Joslyn said.

Although it has been open less than two years, the Titanic Museum attraction already is recognized as one of the Great Smoky Mountain Region’s top attractions, and draws approximately 100,000 visitors each and every month.

“As the whole world remembers the world’s most famous luxury liner on the 100-Year Anniversary of her maiden voyage, Titanic Museum Attractions will continue to open the door to the past in it’s one-of-a-kind way, letting ‘passengers’ experience what it was like to walk the hallways, parlors, cabins and Grand Staircase of the Titanic while surrounded by more than 400 artifacts directly from the ship and its passengers,” Joslyn said.

The Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, is open daily at 9 a.m.  Reservations are strongly suggested (many days sell out entirely). Or, passengers may purchase tickets online at www.titanicpigeonforge.com or by phone at 800-381-7670.

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Media Contact
Rick Laney
(865) 441-2388
rlaney@ackermannpr.com

Titanic Museum’s John Joslyn will address the Tennessee Hospitality Association Annual Conference

Posted by Erin Freeman – September 6, 2011

MURFREESBORO, Tennessee — Titanic Museum Attraction co-owner John Joslyn, the man who gave the world its very first look at the RMS Titanic resting on the ocean floor in the late 1980s, will be the keynote speaker at the Tennessee Hospitality Association and Greater Nashville Hospitality Association Annual Meeting on Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 9 a.m. CT.

John Joslyn

For more than three decades, John Joslyn has been a powerful force behind innovative exhibitions, attractions, television programming and marketing.  Known worldwide as an adventurer, explorer and pioneering producer, his televised exploits have earned him considerable commercial success, as well as universal respect for high-quality, well-researched network and syndicated television specials. He currently co-owns the high-end Titanic Museum Attraction in Branson, Missouri, which he developed and opened in 2006. Joslyn’s second Titanic Museum Attraction opened in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee in 2010 and is “boarding” approximately 100,000 “passengers” each and every month.   Following is a detailed profile of Joslyn’s career and accomplishments.

Joslyn was a network television executive with NBC and CBS for six years before forming Westgate Entertainment Corporation (Westgate) in 1980. Its first projects included the series, Return of the Lone Ranger, and a program covering entertainment news, a popular forerunner of Entertainment Tonight. Syndicated by News Information Weekly Service (NIWS), it attracted an unprecedented 175 subscriber television stations in its first year.

Westgate’s success prompted Universal Pictures to recruit Joslyn in 1981. When the studio pressed him to develop a new marketing strategy for the industry, he pioneered the electronic press kit or EPK, a groundbreaking tool that continues to create marketing buzz for major studio film releases. In the process, Joslyn worked closely with studio executives, top filmmakers and stars, including Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Burt Reynolds.

Joslyn then segued into television production in 1986, serving as executive producer for more than a dozen high-profile syndicated and network television specials for NBC, CBS, ABC, the Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel. Two such programs hold records as the highest-rated syndicated specials of all-time: “The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults” (1986) and “Return to the Titanic…LIVE” (1987), viewed respectively by 28 million and 22 million households in the U.S. alone. The latter film documents the 1987 Titanic Expedition that Joslyn mounted from his position as co-founder and general manager of Titanic Ventures Limited Partnership, the predecessor of RMS Titanic, Inc.

The 1987 Titanic Expedition was the first to recover and restore artifacts from the ship’s wreck site. As co-expedition leader, Joslyn assembled the best scientists and salvage experts available. The team collaborated with the distinguished French Institute for Research and Exploration of the Sea (Ifremer) to reach Titanic’s final resting place in the North Atlantic. Nautile, Ifremer’s deep-diving submersible, plunged to depths up to 12,500 feet and completed 32 deep-sea dives—the highest number of dives for any televised project.

For more information about the Tennessee Hospitality Association Annual Conference, visit www.tnhospitality.net.

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Media Contact
Rick Laney
(865) 584-0550
rlaney@ackermannpr.com

Titanic Museum Attraction celebrates one year of operation in Pigeon Forge and launches new audio tours

Posted by Erin Freeman – April 7, 2011

Pigeon Forge, Tenn. – This month marks the one-year anniversary of Titanic Museum Attraction’s Grand Opening in Pigeon Forge.  The museum, which has already been named one of the Smoky Mountain Region’s top “must-see” attractions, has hosted over 800,000 visitors in its first year of operation.

The Memorial Gallery at Titanic Museum Attraction

The excitement about Titanic Museum Attraction that started when popular television host Regis Philbin emceed the Grand Opening Celebration in 2010 – calling it “simply the best museum I’ve ever seen” – has continued to grow with each new special event and the constantly-changing elements within the museum.

John Joslyn, co-owner of the Titanic Museum Attraction, said, “As we enter our second year of operation, we wanted to give our visitors something special.  If I had the ability to let you walk through the Titanic Museum Attraction with one of the survivors, would that interest you?  Of course it would – and I can do that right now with the brand new audio tour we just introduced at Titanic Museum Attraction.”

The headset for Titanic Museum Attraction's new audio tours.

As part of a television documentary Joslyn produced, he traveled the world interviewing survivors of the Titanic, and those dramatic first-hand accounts of what happened are now being revealed for the first time ever at the Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge.  Guests will be able to hear amazingly detailed stories about what took place on the ship that fateful night and learn the stories behind the museum’s most fascinating artifacts.Titanic

Titanic Museum Attraction invested well over $1 million in the new audio tour, which is available as an “adult tour” version and a “young person tour” version.  Narrated by Jaynee, the Titanic Museum’s First Class maid, the audio tour includes music and special effects that sound amazing on the $600 audio players from France which are used in some of the world’s premier museums.

Joslyn has been to the RMS Titanic on the ocean floor and organized the $6 million expedition to the ship that brought the world its first televised video of the famous luxury liner in her final resting place two and a half miles beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.

This month also marks another significant milestone for the RMS Titanic and the Titanic Museum Attraction.  On April 15, 2011 it will have been exactly 99 years since the lookout in the crow’s nest shouted, “Iceberg right ahead!”  For the twelve months leading up to April 15, 2012, when it will have been a century since the Titanic was lost, Titanic Museum will have many special events and ways to honor, respect and pay homage to those 2,208 passengers and crew members onboard RMS Titanic.

As the whole world remembers the world’s most famous luxury liner, we will continue to open the door to the past and let our “passengers” experience what it was like to walk the hallways, parlors, cabins and Grand Staircase of the Titanic – surrounded by more than 400 artifacts from the ship and its passengers.

The Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. is open daily at 9 a.m.  Reservations are strongly suggested (many days sell out entirely). Or, passengers may purchase tickets online at www.titanicpigeonforge.com or by phone at 800-381-7670.  Two (2) audio players can be rented for $10 at the museum.

Cedar Bay Entertainment owns and operates Titanic Museum Attraction in Branson, Mo. and Pigeon Forge, Tenn.  A privately owned-and-operated entertainment and development company, Cedar Bay is headquartered in Branson, Mo., the site of its first Titanic Museum Attraction.  Since it’s April 2006 grand opening, Titanic Branson has welcomed more than 3 million guests.

Media Contact
Rick Laney
(865) 584-0550
rlaney@ackermannpr.com

Susie Millar, descendant of RMS Titanic engineer, to visit Titanic Museum Attraction and unveil new exhibit

Posted by Erin Freeman – February 28, 2011

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. – Thomas Millar of Belfast, Ireland was an engineer for Harland & Wolff, the British heavy industrial company that specialized in ship building.  In the early 1900s, the company designed and built the RMS Olympic and her sister-ships, the RMS Titanic and HMHS Britannic. At Harland & Wolff, Millar worked as an engine fitter and helped build the engines for both the Olympic and Titanic.

Susie Millar

In 1912, just three months after his wife died leaving the 33-year old Thomas to raise the couple’s two young boys, he decided that he would sail on the Titanic to New York where he would start a new life for himself and his sons.  He signed up for a job as an assistant deck engineer on the Titanic and made plans to leave Ireland and start again in America.

Just before boarding the Titanic, Millar gave each of his sons – 11-year old Thomas Jr. and 5-year old William Ruddick – a shiny, new penny.  The boys, who were being left with their aunt, were told to keep the pennies and not spend them until their dad returned to get them.

Around 11:40 p.m. on the fourth night Millar was at sea, his plans made a dramatic turn as the result of an iceberg.  Thomas Millar’s body was never found after Titanic sank.

Susie Millar, Thomas’ great granddaughter, will visit Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge during March when the museum honors the hardworking, skilled Irish laborers helped build Titanic in Belfast.  Millar, who still resides in Belfast, recalls her grandfather, William Ruddick Millar, reading books to her about Titanic when she was a young girl.

“The whole world has a fascination with the Titanic,” Millar said. “Strangely, Belfast has not been one of those areas terribly interested in the Titanic until recently.  The largest man-made movable object on the face of the Earth at the time – the Titanic – was designed and built right here in little, tiny Belfast. With the approaching Centennial, the people here in Belfast are finally interested in learning about Titanic.”

Susie Millar, who was a longtime television reporter in Ireland,  will arrive in Pigeon Forge on Saturday, March 19, 2011 and will be at the Titanic Museum Attraction daily through Wednesday, March 23, 2011.  In honor of her visit, Titanic Museum attraction has prepared a special display focused on her great grandfather, Thomas Millar.  The highlights of that display are the actually pennies handed to Thomas Jr. and William Ruddick by Thomas Millar just before he climbed aboard Titanic.

Thomas Millar

“I’m proud to keep Thomas Millar’s short story alive,” Susie Millar said. “He was so young – and it’s an honor for me to tell people about him.  It’s thrilling for me personally to see how many people are still interested in Titanic.”

Throughout the entire Month of March the Titanic Museum Attraction honors the Irish—the spirited, irrepressible, hardworking men and women from the Emerald Isle. Come prepared to be entertained with the music, song and folklore that accompanied these courageous souls on their voyage to America.

Although it has been open less than a year, the Titanic Museum attraction already is recognized as one of the Great Smoky Mountain area’s top attractions.  Approximately 100,000 “passengers” have visited the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge every month since its grand opening in April 2010.

The Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. is open daily at 9 a.m.  Reservations are strongly suggested (many days sell out entirely). Or, passengers may purchase tickets online at www.titanicpigeonforge.com or by phone at 800-381-7670.

Cedar Bay Entertainment owns and operates Titanic Museum Attraction in Branson, Mo. and Pigeon Forge, Tenn.  A privately owned-and-operated entertainment and development company, Cedar Bay is headquartered in Branson, Mo., the site of its first Titanic Museum Attraction.  Since it’s April 2006 grand opening, Titanic Branson has welcomed nearly 3 million guests.

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Media Contact
Rick Laney
(865) 584-0550
rlaney@ackermannpr.com