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2006 Baylake Bank Tall Ships® Festival Makes Green Bay Seaworthy to Host International Fleet of Tall Ships |
GREEN BAY, WI --- Against a nautical backdrop of the S/V Denis Sullivan, Wisconsin 's Flagship, Green Bay Tall Ship Tours, Inc. today announced plans for the 2006 Baylake Bank Tall Ships® Festival July 27-31, 2006 at the Port of Green Bay. . This will mark the fourth year that Baylake Bank has been the presenting sponsor of tall ship events in Green Bay, but this time is different. The 2006 Baylake Bank Tall Ships® Festival is stepping up a notch, and promises to be one of the largest events in downtown Green Bay history, drawing an estimated 50,000 people over four days. That's because for the first time, Green Bay will also serve as an official host port of the American Sail Training Association (ASTA) TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® Race Series. Instead three ships, as in past events, a fleet of ten to 16 ASTA tall ships will arrive at the Port of Green Bay on July 27, 2006. That's when the four-day 2006 Baylake Bank Tall Ships® Festival begins. “This is a great opportunity for downtown Green Bay,” said Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt. “We want this city to be known for family festivals and we're committed to making this the ‘can't-miss' event of the year,” Schmitt said. “We are very thankful for Baylake Bank's investment in our community.” Baylake Bank recently opened the Baylake
Bank City Center downtown in the former Boston Store building, which
has served as a tremendous catalyst to downtown economic development
efforts. Baylake Bank serves Northeast and Central Wisconsin from 27 community financial centers in Brown, Door, Green Lake, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Outagamie, Waupaca and Waushara Counties, and from their website at www.baylake.com. PRIVATE AND PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS A MUST This maritime festival blends private, public, commercial, and recreational aspects of downtown and the Port of Green Bay, which is owned and managed by Brown County . Brown County Executive Carol Kelso pointed out that the 2006 Baylake Bank Tall Ships® Festival will bring attention to an international port that reaches world market through the St. Lawrence Seaway . The Port of Green Bay 's economic impact on the community is $70 million annually. “The Port of Green Bay is integral part of our regional transportation network and is a hub of economic activity and moves two million tons of commodities valued at $32 million that are essential to the livelihood of our agricultural, construction and manufacturing industries,” Kelso said. A dozen ships will port in three Fox River locations: Leicht Park on the west side of the river, the east dock wall between the Ray Nitschke Bridge and Walnut Street Bridge, and in front of Wisconsin Public Service. Wisconsin Public Service is also an
important corporate partner of the 2006 Baylake Bank Tall Ships®
Festival, lending its grounds and a financial grant from the WPS
Resources Foundation. "We're happy to sponsor an event that
will promote tourism and bring people downtown to enjoy the waterfront,"
said Tom Meinz, Executive Vice President of Wisconsin Public Service
Corporation. With 10 to 16 ships lining the banks of the Fox River, the 2006 Baylake Bank Tall Ships® Festival will take place in three pavilions. One will be named the WPS Pavilion. Each of the three pavilions will feature a myriad of maritime activities, food and beverage, and entertainment. The committee is actively seeking corporate sponsorship to name the other two pavilions. Once the ships are in port, the 2006 Baylake Bank Tall Ships® Festival will feature an elaborate maritime festival with ship tours, sailing excursions, nautical displays, crew competitions, live bands every day and into the evenings, historical re-enactors, children's games and more. The event will draw visitors from Wisconsin and the surrounding states, and will have an economic impact of $2.2 million. “There will be so many ships and activities, that it would be hard for people to see it all in one day, so we will be promoting weekend packages for visitors who want to make this a nautical adventure for their entire family.” said Kari Sliva, President of the Packer Country Visitor and Convention Bureau. GREEN BAY SOLE WISCONSIN ASTA PORT--- 50,000 VISITORS EXPECTED
Wisconsin Department of Tourism
Secretary Jim Holperin was on hand to introduce Captain John Lorenz
of the S/V Denis Sullivan, a 137' Great
Lakes Schooner based at Milwaukee 's Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin.
Members of the media and those who attended the press conference
toured Wisconsin 's Flagship following the announcement.
She then set sail for a three-day excursion to Milwaukee carrying crew and visitors who purchased a sailing package for a all-hands-on-deck experience—a precursor to the upcoming 2006 Baylake Bank Tall Ships® Festival next year. “Connecting with Wisconsin's maritime heritage, from our great lakes to the ships that sail on them, is a fascinating part of the Wisconsin travel experience. We've got maritime museums, we've got working historic vessels like the Denis Sullivan and now we have the 2006 Baylake Bank Tall Ships® Festival as a premier event to offer Wisconsin visitors and residents alike. It's the kind of event we love—one that provides a memorable experience, passes our heritage on to the next generation, and keeps travelers coming back year after year,” Wisconsin Tourism Secretary Jim Holperin said. ALL HANDS ON DECK: 500+VOLUNTEERS AND BUSINESS INVOLVEMENT A KEY TO SUCCESS Recreational boaters, sailing organizations and other nautical clubs are encouraged to become involved in the planning of the 2006 Baylake Bank Tall Ships® Festival, which is also expected to include a Venetian parade and plenty of family activities planned for downtown. “With the renewed interest in downtown and growing confidence that things are looking up, the 2006 Baylake Bank Tall Ships® Festival will give businesses, citizens and community groups a chance to show their pride in our great city. We're going to need a minimum of 500 volunteers to make this happen,” said Jeff Mirkes, Executive Director of Downtown Green Bay, Inc. Green Bay Tall Ship Tours has hired two companies to assist in producing the 2006 Baylake Bank Tall Ships® Festival. Great Lakes Marketing Group, of Palatine, Illinois, a company specializing in ship recruitment and ship promotions, was hired in April. In July, organizers hired locally-based PMI to handle event operations, ticketing, and overall event marketing. PMI manages the Brown County Veterans Memorial Complex, the Meyer Theater, and the Leach Amphitheater in Oshkosh. PMI also owns Ticket Star ™ and has organized several community festivals including Blues on Broadway, Packers Experience, and Ducks Unlimited Great Outdoors Festival.
ASTA AND THE TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® --YOUTH SAILING The TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® Race is a series of sailing races, cruises, and crew rallies and organized by the American Sail Training Association (ASTA) in conjunction with five US and Canadian ports in the Great Lakes. While the vessels are at sea, racing is one of the most important components of the series. Historically, when two or more sailing vessels are found to be heading in the same direction, an impromptu race almost always ensues. The crews pay closer attention to the other ships and to the trim of their own sails in hopes of outdoing their counterparts. “2006 marks the 50th Anniversary of the first Tall Ships Race that took place in Europe as well as the 30th anniversary of the first Tall Ships® Race to come to America. ASTA is excited to celebrate this important milestone in maritime history with Cleveland, Bay City, Chicago, and our newest port partner, Green Bay,” said Peter Mello, ASTA Executive Director. Each year the race rotates from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast to the Great Lakes. Traditionally, as many as 60 traditionally-rigged sailing vessels from Canada, the US, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia and other countries take part in the race. They are crewed by young people (either civilians or cadets) ages 13 - 25 who are engaged in sail training programs under the supervision of captains and professional crewmembers. The public can also purchase multi-day journeys aboard the tall ships as they race from port to port. More information on these voyages will be made available as the exact ships are confirmed for the Port of Green Bay. Other Great Lakes ports hosting the 2006 ASTA TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® include: Cleveland, Ohio; Bay City, Michigan; Chicago, Illinois; and Detroit, Michigan. The ships will race from port to port and spend 4 to 7 days in each port, participating in each city's festivities. GREEN BAY TALL SHIP TOURS, INC. --- NO 2005 EVENT PLANNED There will not be a 2005 Tall Ship event in Green Bay so that the committee may focus on the 2006 extravaganza. Also, construction at Leicht Memorial Park prevents the ships from docking in the traditional location. Green Bay Tall Ship Tours, Inc. is
a non-profit organization created in 2001 to host tall ship events
in the Port of Green Bay for the public and draw visitors to downtown.
Members of Board of Directors include Dean Haen, Port of Green Bay,
Jeff Mirkes, Downtown Green Bay, Inc., Kari Sliva, Packer Country
Visitor and Convention Bureau, and Jennifer Brown, City of Green
Bay Department of Economic Development. |
