American to add service to Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Asheville, N.C.
Feb 02, 2010
Beginning April 6, American Airlines will add seasonal service between South Carolina's Myrtle Beach International and Dallas/Fort Worth. AA subsidiary American Eagle will fly one daily round-trip flight on the route through Oct. 31. The flights will be on 44-seat Embraer ERJ-140 regional jets.
Meanwhile, The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that American is also set to add service to North Carolina's Asheville Regional Airport. The paper points out that no official announcement has been made, but notes American's website shows fares for sale between Asheville and Dallas/Fort Worth. Flights appear to begin April 6, according to the flight-search function at AA.com. Like the Myrtle Beach service, American Eagle would fly one daily round-trip flight through Oct. 31 on 44-seat Embraer ERJ-140 regional jets, according to the Citizen-Times.
The Citizen-Times writes Asheville airport director "Lew Bleiweis said the airport board will consider an incentives package for American at its next meeting Feb. 12." Bleiweis tells the paper: "We are still in negotiations with them. Nothing has been signed."
Despite the negotiations reported by the Citizen-Times, the new route appears to be good to go. In addition to the fares available at AA.com, AA spokesman Tim Smith tells the Citizen-Times: Asheville is "a good market for us, especially in the summer. We also believe there's a lot of people who want to get into Asheville for tourism purposes as well as business."
The Citizen-Times adds that "Smith said American would not be selling tickets for the flights without feeling confident that it will be able to come to an agreement with Asheville Regional."
And, to the west, The Associated Press writes "the Reno-Tahoe International Airport is announcing a new nonstop flight to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas on American Airlines. The airport said Monday the service on a 188-seat Boeing 757 will operate four days a week starting Feb. 11. American Airlines currently offers two daily Dallas flights on a 140-seat MD-80."
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Read more about Myrtle Beach flights at USA Today.
Widespread Panic maps spring road trip
Feb 02, 2010
Jam-rockers Widespread Panic [ tickets ] offered their fans hints about forthcoming new material last month before unveiling the group's tour plans for spring.
The group will kick things off March 25-27 in Myrtle Beach, SC, before appearing at the April 16-17 Wanee Festival in Live Oak, FL. Other stops on the outing include two nights apiece in Washington (4/20, 21); Raleigh, NC (4/23, 24); Richmond, VA (4/26, 27); and Orange Beach, AL (5/7, 8), as well as single nights in a handful of additional towns. Dates are at right.
WP continues to support 2008's "Free Somehow," its 10th studio album and the follow-up to 2006's "Earth to America." The latest disc, which surfaced last year, was recorded in Nassau, Bahamas, and re-teamed the band with legendary producer Terry Manning (ZZ Top, Jimmy Buffett).
"Free Somehow" is Widespread Panic's first release with new guitarist Jimmy Herring, who replaced George McConnell in 2007. McConnell had joined Panic following the 2002 cancer death of founding member Michael Houser.
In October, the band released "Montreal 1997," the latest in a series of live, full-show "Widespread Panic Archives" sets the band has issued over the last two years. The first release in the string, "Carbondale 2000," surfaced in 2008, followed by "Valdosta 1989" and "Huntsville 1996."
Late last month, the band announced on its website that it was "hard at work ... working on songs for a new release later on in the year." The group is working on the new material at John Keane Studios in Athens, GA.
Read more Myrtle Beach entertainment news at Live Daily.
Another new flight coming to Myrtle Beach
Feb 02, 2010
Myrtle Beach International Airport has landed a flight to Grand Rapids, Mich., on Allegiant Air, the carrier announced this morning.
The nonstop flight to a new Allegiant hub at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids begins April 30. It will run on Mondays and Fridays.
Flights will depart Grand Rapids at 11:30 a.m. and arrive at Myrtle Beach International Airport at 1:30 p.m. Flights will leave Myrtle Beach at 7:10 p.m. and arrive in Grand Rapids at 9:10 p.m. Allegiant will use a 150-seat, MD-80 series, jet-aircraft.
Officials announced a new direct flight from Myrtle Beach International Airport to Huntington, W.Va., according to a news release issued Tuesday.
Allegiant Air LLC, a subsidiary of Allegiant Travel Company, announced the direct flight with introductory fares starting at $39 one way, but must be purchased by March 28 and travel completed by Sept. 30, according to the release. A second city will be added later to the service.
After the introductory period, one-way fares to Huntington will start at $59, according to the release. Reservations can be made at www.allegiantair.com, or by calling 702-505-8888.
Travelers between Myrtle Beach and Chicago have an easier way to get back and forth starting today with the launch of a daily, nonstop flight on Spirit Airlines.
Grand Strand tourism leaders herald the new flight to Chicago O'Hare International Airport as an opportunity to lure more visitors to the beach, especially golfers from the Chicago area.
"It has huge potential," said Bill Golden, president of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, a marketing group that also works to get flights to the beach. "Chicago is the No. 2 golf market east of the Mississippi behind New York. It is a tremendous opportunity for us."
There's a new rock station "not necessarily playing new rock" in town, and there's also an old local morning show voice anchoring the station’s morning slot.
Former WKZQ morning show host Mad Max is back on the newly minted Rock 107, WRXZ-FM, a station that has bounced from classic rock to old school R&B in recent years. A sampling of 9 a.m. drive time music on Wednesday revealed a playlist that included Beastie Boys, Stone Temple Pilots, Faith No More, Led Zeppelin and Bad Company. So, it sounds like the music will be a cross between classic rock, classic alternative and newer formats. Stay tuned. SPRING FORWARD
Myrtle Beach International Airport is gaining new air service that area leaders say will open the Grand Strand to an entirely new region and potentially thousands of golfers, families and business travelers.
American Eagle Airlines, the regional affiliate of American Airlines, will begin nonstop service between Myrtle Beach and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on April 6.
"This is huge on so many levels. American, obviously, is a huge legacy carrier and Dallas/Fort Worth is a huge market for us," said Lauren Morris, spokeswoman for the Horry County Department of Airports.
Spirit Airlines will begin daily nonstop service between Chicago and Myrtle Beach in March, reopening a key golf and tourism market to the Grand Strand.
Spirit will make one round trip between Myrtle Beach International Airport and Chicago O'Hare International Airport in the middle of the day from March 1 to Nov. 11, the company said.
The flight marks the first daily nonstop service to the Windy City since United Airlines ceased its daily service in 2006. The airline kept nonstop weekend service intermittently through September, according to Horry County, which owns and operates the airport.
Allegiant, which has operated from Grand Rapids for a year, is setting up a hub there, flying to six destinations including Myrtle Beach, Las Vegas and Phoenix-Mesa.
Myrtle Beach has lured several new flights starting in early 2010, including a nonstop flight to Toronto on Porter Airlines and a flight to Dallas/Fort Worth on American Eagle starting this spring.
Read more at The Sun News.
Size'Skyscraper' ride could take Myrtle Beach Boardwalk to new heights
Dec 15, 2009
MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - As construction continues to move forward on a multi-million dollar boardwalk project in Myrtle Beach, a new thrill ride could soon be taking the project to new heights.
Bill Prescott, owner of the "Slingshot" along Ocean Boulevard, hopes his new amusement ride will get approval from city leaders.
Situated on the corner of 3rd Avenue South and Ocean Boulevard, the ride is proposed to be as tall as a skyscraper and features ferris wheel-style seats at the end of a 160 foot rotating arm. The ride will have thrill seekers spinning around at 70 mph.
Prescott says he has applied for zoning changes to build "The Skyscraper" and received first approval at the beginning of December.
Read more at WMBF.
Changes coming to Myrtle Beach Marathon
Dec 15, 2009
(NBC) - Changes to the Myrtle Beach Marathon mean a headache for some and a boost in business for others.
The new route for the marathon comes after congestion problems in the 2009 race. This year, race organizers say by spreading out the route through Market Common, they can alleviate traffic problems on the Kings Highway.
"The more special events we have in the area, the bigger we will grow, " Terry Elvis, a business owner, explained.
However, others say the racers will be out of the area before they open shop. The only effect from the race would be the frustration of traffic delays.
Elvis said the extra foot traffic won't matter when the money comes in.
"It's a small price to pay for the expose you get," he said.
As for people who live in the area, Jenny Covington and Sheri Hatzmann say they are excited to watch runners racing through their neighborhood.
"I think it's great to see them and support them," Covington said.
Runners have already filled the half marathon, and race organizers expect the full marathon to be closed for entries by Christmas.
Read more at WMBF.
New bike rally possibly coming to North Myrtle Beach
Dec 15, 2009
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH-There are talks of having a spring bike rally in North Myrtle Beach.
Some members of the city’s chamber of commerce said that the idea is in its infancy because they haven’t discussed with city council about making any changes to vendor ordinances.
“ We don’t have the right ordinances and permitting in place that would allow us to host or welcome any even of that size,” said chamber President and Chief Executive Marc Jordan, “I think the first thing the community has to do is come to grips with what kind of events it wants to attract.“
Jordon said some business owners and county council members introduced a plan for the event as a way of attracting visitors to the city Thursday morning.
Jordon said if the plans are approved that the event of nearly 10,000 bikers could potentially be held near the Main Street area.
He said the addition of Robert Edge Parkway would also help bring in such visitors as a way of providing easy access intot he city.
“Anything that brings in business and keeps people employed is worth it,” said Avista Resort’s general manger James Eggen, ”I mean our job as a manager is to take care of our people take care of our product and if it keeps our employees employed longer then I think it’s a good benefit.“
Jordon said that Harley-Davidson representatives are eyeing the city as their first choice while keeping Ocean City, Maryland and New Orleans as other potential venues on their list.
Jordon and Eggen both said that it’s up to city council to support the idea and consider making changes to the ordinances .
“You’ve got a lot of businesses that would say bring it on ...Bring anything on…but you know what, you have got look at your resources…you’ve got to look at your public safety you’ve got look at all sorts of things that come into play for any event, we have a lot to consider and we are starting on that early next week,” said Jordon.
“I don’t have any business in May… I can’t find business in May in the middle of the week so how else can I bring in ten thousand people that pays the bills?…please bring them on,“ Eggen said.
Read More at SCNOW.com.
Myrtle Beach's Film Fest Continues to Grow
Nov 29, 2009
Who doesn't love the magic of movies? Nothing stimulates the senses and has the power to move or simply entertain us in 120-minutes (more or less), quite the way a good movie can. Many of us are self-professed cinema fanatics and collectively we purchase some 200 million movie tickets in the U.S. annually. Some creative movie buffs go a step further, bypassing Hollywood, to make and distribute their own movies, called "indies" and "art films."
Jerry Dalton, owner of Dalton Picture and Entertainment Company (DPEC) of Loris, will once again screen more than 75 of these indies, from movie makers from around the globe (seriously), at the 5th annual Myrtle Beach International Film Festival (MBIFF) running Tuesday through Dec. 5 at Carmike Cinema Broadway 16, at Broadway at the Beach.
With theaters happy to fill empty seats and sell a bag of popcorn or two (at a 1300-percent mark-up) Dalton's indie festival, and festivals like it, are showing up across the country, but why?
"These festivals are profitable for the theaters," said Mike Lubensky, Carmike Cinema District Manager for the Carolinas. "People who don't like mainstream movies will come out, and we sell tickets during our slower [during the day parts] because of it. We also participate in the Independent Film Series program but this [film festival] is the only one like it at any of my theaters."
Lubensky's industry, like many, faces tough challenges and anything to help the bottom line is appreciated. The at-home movie VHS/DVD revolution, started by Blockbuster in the 1980s, and modernized by Netflix and vending machine rentals from companies such as redbox and DVDXpress, have wreaked havoc on movie theaters around the globe, with U.S. attendance mostly flat since 2002, though enjoying a 4.5-percent up-tick so far in 2009.
"When times are tough more people go to the movies," said Lubensky. "When times are good, they spend their money in other places."
Since the Great Depression, anthropologists have noted that movies have been a traditional antidote to stress in hard times - but less so this go-round. Add in pressures from pricey tickets, pricier concessions, satellite and cable TV, on-demand Internet options, inexpensive home theater setups, plus HBO, Showtime and the two-dozen additional movie-dedicated channels, and theaters battle plenty of competition. Don't feel too badly though, according to the National Association of Theater Owners and AC Nielsen, the U.S. / Canada box office gross is still around $10 billion annually, though theaters only see a fraction of that pie. Small, limited theatrical release indie films account for less than two percent of that market, around $200 million in ticket sales.
Despite all the reasons not to, we movie buffs go to the theater because it's the place where movies are best enjoyed - no e-mail, no cell phones or texting (usually), and fewer other distractions - not to mention a giant screen, stadium seating, digital projection, seven channels of sound, and copious amounts of popcorn served in 55-gallon drums.
More often then not, I attend a late show and half the time I am the only person in a theater with some 300-plus seats. I go by myself if I have to, and am not afraid to look like a loser. Last week at a poorly attended 9:50 p.m. screening of "The Men Who Stare at Goats" at Carmike Cinema Broadway 16, a three-minute big-screen plug for The 5th annual Myrtle Beach International Film Festival played during previews. About five of us saw it. MBIFF and DPEC logos filled the screen along with various graphics, sound effects and a bevy of HD (high definition) visual delights. The promo looked and sounded professional. This was not the kind of piece you can slap together on your PC or Mac and have look this good. Before the previews were over, the five of us in attendance knew for sure the indies were coming to town, and all because of Carmike's cooperation and the determination of Dalton, a former pastry chef from Pine Lakes.
INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION WITH LOCAL FLAIR
To say Myrtle Beach has an "International Film Festival" is kind of like saying we have an "International Airport" - and we do. With 76 submissions from seven countries, the little film-fest that could began at Horry-Georgetown Technical College before moving to an actual cineplex, and manages to grow and serve a population of indie film buffs and producers, who couldn't care less about Hollywood.
"Most of these producers do it for the love of moviemaking," says Dalton, the MBIFF chief architect and owner of DPEC, a Loris-based film production and distribution business focusing on independent movies. The MBIFF was named one of the "25 festivals worth the submission fees" by MovieMaker Magazine. Several indie moviemakers will travel to Myrtle Beach for their screenings, according to Dalton, and represent entries from England, Japan, Canada, France, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia, and Italy. "The quality of submissions this year is phenomenal," said Dalton. "Because of our distribution options, that's brought in the best. Especially the music videos - they're top quality." DPEC was recently invited to screen a film of its choosing and to represent its distribution network at the Mecca of all film festivals - Cannes Film Festival held on the French Riviera in May. "We'll go if we can raise enough money," said Dalton. "It's an expensive venture."
Dalton is a bit of an enigma. After moving to Myrtle Beach from Oregon in 1984 to obtain a culinary degree from Horry-Georgetown Tech, he and his wife, Susie Dalton, eventually opened a restaurant/bakery, Perfections, where Jerry Dalton specialized in pastries. "We sold the business four years later and started full time with DPEC, but I've been messing around with independent film since I was nine," he said. Before the Daltons sold Perfections they shot a cooking video and went on to sell around 1,000 copies, and the Daltons saw the potential for profit. They began to grow their indie film and commercial video production/distribution business and DPEC is now the sole distributor of indie films each month to between 20-100 Carmike Theaters in 35 states, called The Independent Film Series. "We don't run the indies in the summer or at Christmas time," said Dalton, "that's blockbuster season."
Additionally DPEC takes analog movie prints and makes digital prints for distribution to the growing legion of digital movie theaters - film is quickly being replaced by hard-drives. DPEC is also the parent company of the fledgling Pro Models, Inc., and Pro Talent, Inc. After a massive open casting call earlier this year, these DPEC subsidiaries are having some success in placing talent, with one of its models appearing in two movie trade publications; MovieMaker Magazine, and Indie Slate. DPEC also produces a television program, "DPEC TV," which is broadcast daily on Time Warner Cable (channel 47) at 12:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., as well as HTC (channel 4) at 6 a.m., 5 p.m., and 10 p.m. The current TV programming is focusing on Dalton's film festival and features clips from a few of this year's entries.
"Altered Courses," a DPEC film released in 2004, was written, produced and directed by Jerry Dalton. The film was partially shot in Myrtle Beach and showed on 112 screens in 37 states. Without giving up hard numbers, Dalton says he can make a profit producing and distributing indie films though, surprisingly, he has never personally shown at a film festival anywhere, and thinks it's in bad taste to present one of his flicks at his own festival. "We go straight to distribution," he says. "That's what most people are looking to achieve from entering a film festival anyway. We had our movie ["Altered Courses"] at Blockbuster, Hollywood Video and a few other retail outlets a few years ago. Distribution is the key to everything, and negotiating smart deals. That's sort of my forte - film negotiation." Netflix offers Dalton's movie as a rental.
WHAT'S ON SCREEN
At this year's MBIFF, the 76 films are categorized into subsets: Shorts (30-minutes or less), Animation, Feature Project, Documentary, Music Video, and Anything Goes (a mish-mash of films that didn't fit elsewhere). Additionally Wednesday's offerings includes a two-hour block (2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.) of senior interest (with discounted ticketing), an obvious nod to the Myrtle Beach area's plethora of retirees. At the MBIFF you'll have opportunity to see everything and anything from rock 'n' roll music videos, to faith-based feature films, dark comedies, family-friendly features, musicals, documentaries and even commercials - it's all here and it's all produced outside of the commercial film industry mainstream. (See accompanying guide to the MBIFF on page 13 for specific times and synopses).
While few pre-screening reviews were available, realize you'll be seeing the works of up-and-coming moviemakers - some will be better than others, some may be exceptional, but ultimately quality is in the eye of the beholder. None of the films are rated, so beware before taking children to certain features. Dalton had more entries than time allowed for and claims to have rejected sub-par submissions and picked the cream of this year's crop, including: the seven-minute "Worth" about "not judging a book by its cover," according to the film's Los Angeles-based writer, director and producer Kathi Carey, and "Escrow: The Musical," a 116-minute feature-length musical comedy about "three confused thespians" who "have five days to write, rehearse and perform a production," according to the film's Web site.
Most of the films presented have Web sites, video interviews and/or trailers, links to which may be found on the MBIFF Web site myrtlebeachfilmfestival.com.
Remember the movies "Clerks," "Little Miss Sunshine," "Sideways"? Remember directors like Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith? All were indie movies and unknown indie directors until a cult following and tireless efforts at film festivals paid off. Today's MBIFF submission could be next year's Oscar favorite. Who knows?
"I learned early on that Hollywood is closed to most outsiders," said Dalton, "and so I decided to build my own road."
