Holiday In Dixie Festival Receives Award
The Southeast Tourism Society has selected Holiday In Dixie as one of the Society’s Top 20 Events for the month of April. Because HID has been selected as one of the events, the festival will be receiving publicity in over 400 newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations across the nation.

Holiday In Dixie Festival begins on Friday, April 18, 2008, with a carnival and entertainment at Festival Plaza. The annual HID Classic Parade is to be held on Saturday, April 19, starting at 5:30 pm.

The festival will continue through Sunday, April 27, with events every day. One of the major attractions of the festival is the area Block Parties held each year. This year, the Block Parties will be held in various locations around Shreveport and Bossier City on Saturday, April 26. Anyone wishing to host a HID Block Party may turn in a registration form to the Holiday In Dixie Offices at P. O. Box 6774, Shreveport, LA 71136. Deadlines for turning in entries for Block Parties are due not later than Friday, April 18.

Holiday In Dixie is a multifaceted spring festival celebrating its 60th year in the Shreveport area, making it one of the oldest running festivals in Louisiana. HID provides cultural enrichment, family oriented activities, economic development, a celebration of The Louisiana Purchase and most importantly, a spirit of community involvement and pride.

For further information, contact Lara Yerger at the Holiday In Dixie office at 318.865.5555. For interviews and live appearances, contact Jim Barlow, President, HID, at 318.865.5555.

Classic Parade
The Holiday In Dixie Classic Parade will be held at 5:30 pm on Saturday, April 19, 2008, in downtown Shreveport beginning at the Municipal Auditorium and heading east on Milam, north on Market, then west on Texas. This parade has been unique to the Shreveport - Bossier area for 60 years in 2008, and continues the tradition of family fun by the inclusion of over 70 parade entries featuring Shriner’s Clowns and cars, Classic Convertibles, Fire Trucks, The National Guard, Bossier City Marshals and Fire Departments, Local School Marching Bands, 16 Floats and more! Once again there will be tons of “throws”, cups and candy showering the crowds that line the streets. The Barksdale Air Force Base fly over during the Holiday In Dixie Classic Parade will once again bring tears of respect and smiles of admiration to the thousands of spectators viewing the mammoth B52 transport and the two A10 Thunderbolts soar over the buildings of downtown Shreveport. These are just a few highlights to grab your attention. Do not miss the Classic Parade on April 19th. Come join us for the time of your life!

Economic Impact
Holiday In Dixie offers a wide variety of family oriented events and activities which are designed to enhance the quality of life for the citizens of our community. Equally important, however, is the significant economic boost Holiday In Dixie annually provides to the Shreveport-Bossier area through the many expenditures of goods and services, temporary jobs, payment of local taxes and monies generated by participants.

The festival’s ten day schedule of activities attracts approximately 200,000 participants; an estimated 2,680 of these participants spend one or more nights in the area. This number reflects only participants in Holiday In Dixie events - the number of local and out-of-town spectators attending the festival is not incorporated. It is difficult to document the number of out-of-town visitors simply attending festival activities, however with all the events held during the festival, more than 500 local hotel rooms are booked.

Holiday In Dixie events generate approximately $1,085,271.50 in retail and service expenditures. According to the Shreveport - Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau guidelines of $136.00 per day for overnight visitors, and $84.00 per day for daytime visitors, Holiday In Dixie generates additional revenue of $673,920.00 from persons outside the area. Total expenditures for both local and non-local areas amount to $1,759,191.50. The Travel Industry Association of America uses an economic rollover factor of 3.3% for festivals, and by applying this factor, Holiday In Dixie is estimated to have an overall economic impact of $5,805,331.90. Additionally, all Holiday In Dixie events pay applicable local taxes as well as any other license or permit fees required to host the event.