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Headlining 2014 festivals and events


Courtesy Louisville Waterfront Development Corp.


Belle’s Big Birthday Bash

Louisville, Kentucky
The era of authentic steamboats may be behind us, but it is not entirely forgotten. The Belle of Louisville, an icon in this Kentucky city, is still going strong, and locals are planning a large party for the fall of 2014 to celebrate the vessel’s 100th birthday.

“The Belle of Louisville is an authentic steamboat,” said Ashley Smith of the Louisville Waterfront Development Corporation. “She’s the oldest operating Mississippi-style steamboat of her kind. The average lifespan of a boat like her was three to five years, so the fact that she has been here for 100 years is phenomenal. It’s such a milestone that we’ve been working on a big celebration for her birthday for about four years.”

The celebration, called Belle’s Big Birthday Bash, will take place October 14-19, with a variety of special events. Groups that attend can enjoy a balloon glow, a fireworks show, live music, a bourbon pavilion and more. Organizers are expecting more than 300,000 people to visit the Louisville waterfront over the course of the week.

But the highlight of the festivities will be the presence of eight other riverboats that will be traveling in Louisville to help celebrate.

“There will be more than 200 special excursion cruises over the six days, from sunrise to late night and everything in between,” Smith said. “There will be bourbon-tasting cruises, harbor history cruises and cruises through the locks and dams.”

The festivities will also include riverboat races and a special parade of all nine vessels along the Ohio River.

—  www.belles100.com  —

Canadian Badlands Passion Play
Drumheller, Alberta
In Drumheller, a small town about 170 miles northwest of Edmonton, Alberta, the story of Christ’s life, death and Resurrection plays out against a backdrop of stark canyon scenery at the Canadian Badlands Passion Play.

Celebrating its 20th year in 2014, the production has become one of the most praised Passion plays and outdoor dramas in North America. Some 200 volunteer actors, musicians and technicians from the area come together to put on the three-hour play nine times over a 10-day stretch in July.

Performances of the play often attract 2,000 or more people, who file into a natural bowl-shaped amphitheater in the middle of the Canadian Badlands. The stark, dry scenery is reminiscent of the natural environment in Israel, which helps create a sense of immersive realism for the play.
The 2014 Canadian Badlands Passion Play will take place July 10-19.

www.canadianpassionplay.com

Brian Jewell

Brian Jewell is the executive editor of The Group Travel Leader. In more than a decade of travel journalism he has visited 48 states and 25 foreign countries.