Pa Boat Show

Bucks visitors centers a draw for locals, too | Philadelphia Inquirer | 2011-08-07

When Bonnie Kennedy is looking for something to do on the weekend, she stops by a two-story Colonial near her Bensalem home to browse the exhibits and brochures.

The brick Colonial in front of the flashy Parx Casino on Street Road is one of Bucks County's four visitor centers - and they're not just for out-of-towners anymore.

"We're finding, with the economy, that people are staying closer to home," says Michelle Greco Falcone, spokeswoman for Visit Bucks County, the county's official tourism agency.

Bucks covers more than 600 square miles, with northernmost Riegelsville an hour's drive and a world away from Andalusia on the Philadelphia border.

"For people in lower Bucks, the Mercer and Michener Museums in Doylestown can be a trip," says Mary Gardner, who works at the New Hope visitor center. For people in upper Bucks with children, a trip could be made to Sesame Place in Langhorne, and for those in lower Bucks, there's the Crayola Factory in Easton, Pa., she said.

The Crayola Factory is one of a few dozen of the visitors bureau's 600 partners - hotels, B&Bs, restaurants, museums, attractions, and services - that are outside the county. Several are in Lambertville, N.J., across the Delaware River from New Hope.

The New Hope office is the busiest of the three main centers; it helped 31,832 visitors last year, compared with 10,209 at Bensalem and 13,433 at Peddler's Village. The fourth center, at 2170 Portzer Rd. in Quakertown, is staffed by the Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce.

Each center has a niche, says Jerry Lepping, executive director of Visit Bucks County.

"New Hope has a big walk-in and varied audience, from bikers to artists," Lepping said. "It gets a lot of New Yorkers - they think things are dirt-cheap down here.

"Peddler's Village has a walk-in presence that is slightly different than New Hope: families, girlfriend getaways, and couples on romantic weekends," he said.

The Bensalem center, on the other hand, "is geared as much to county residents as it is to visitors," Lepping says.

Its spacious display area is lined with a permanent exhibit highlighting 12 of the county's most famous residents, including the novelist James A. Michener, the author and humanitarian Pearl S. Buck, and the playwright and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II.

Shows and Events

This roundup of upcoming shows and events includes news from the Tampa (Fla.) Boat Show, the United States Sailboat Show and the United States Powerboat Show.

Thousands of new and seasoned boaters are expected to visit the 46th annual Tampa (Fla.) Boat Show, set for Sept. 9-11.

In addition to boats and marine products on land and in the water, the Tampa Bay area’s largest boat show offers seminars and attractions for boaters of all ages and experience levels.

Highlights include:

• Meet the Harris brothers, Jake and Josh, from the Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch.” They are sons of the late Capt. Phil Harris and deckhands on the Cornelia Marie.

• The Discover Boating Resource Center allows boaters of all ages to take advantage of free interactive and educational on-the-water programs to hone their skills. This year’s courses include ski boat rides, close-quarters boat handling, an introduction to sailing and free boat rides to experience the fun of boating.

• The Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team cruises into the show with giveaways, games and special appearances by players.

• The Fishing Center offers free daily fishing educational sessions from the area’s top anglers.

• Preshow shopping: The show’s newest online offering allows attendees to preshop the 2011 show for deals on the newest boats. Show-goers can plan ahead and search boats by brand, model and more and schedule dealer appointments.

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October marks the 42nd annual United States Sailboat Show and the 40th annual United States Powerboat Show. Both Annapolis, Md.-based shows are produced annually by United States Yacht Shows Inc .

The United States Sailboat Show, set for Oct. 6-10, is recognized as the nation’s oldest and largest in-water show of new sailboats. It will feature hundreds of new sailboats, ranging from inflatable and one-design boats and modest family weekend racer/cruisers to impressive yachts of all sizes.

Special show features include the premiere of more than two dozen new boat designs, free seminars by Cruising World and Chesapeake Bay magazines and the Hendrick’s Gin tasting barge bar.

The United States Powerboat Show is set for Oct. 13-16.

With hundreds of boats on land and in the water, the range and selection of new boats to see and buy includes inflatables, kayaks, electric and hybrid boats, recreational ski boats, center consoles, trawlers and yachts as large as 82 feet.

Yachting

Lakeland boating

Forest and stream

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