Article excerpt: Autumn is shaping up sweetly for the Blue Ridge Parkway. The first fall colors are starting to burst, the weather has been cool and comfortable and -- best of all -- a Ken Burns documentary dedicated to national parks is slated to premiere tonight.
"I couldn't have planned it any better," said Phil Francis, parkway superintendent.
Representatives with the National Park Service, including the managers of park service units in Western Virginia, are expecting a tourism bonanza spurred by Burns' six-part series, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," which begins tonight at 8 on PBS. (Sunday Sept 27)
The 12-hour documentary is expected to be another treasure chest of Burns-produced ratings gold for PBS.
The filmmaker's previous television documentaries -- which include "The Civil War," "Baseball," "Jazz" and "The War" -- have attracted almost 40 million viewers each, won numerous awards and have often increased the public's interest in the films' subjects. Likewise, "The National Parks" is expected to be a boon for the parks, which are already seeing attendance increase this year.
INNKEEPERS IF YOU LIVE NEAR OR ENROUTE TO A NATIONAL PARK I HOPE THIS NEW DOC WILL BRING YOU A BOON IN BUSINESS! JB
"I couldn't have planned it any better," said Phil Francis, parkway superintendent.
Representatives with the National Park Service, including the managers of park service units in Western Virginia, are expecting a tourism bonanza spurred by Burns' six-part series, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," which begins tonight at 8 on PBS. (Sunday Sept 27)
The 12-hour documentary is expected to be another treasure chest of Burns-produced ratings gold for PBS.
The filmmaker's previous television documentaries -- which include "The Civil War," "Baseball," "Jazz" and "The War" -- have attracted almost 40 million viewers each, won numerous awards and have often increased the public's interest in the films' subjects. Likewise, "The National Parks" is expected to be a boon for the parks, which are already seeing attendance increase this year.
INNKEEPERS IF YOU LIVE NEAR OR ENROUTE TO A NATIONAL PARK I HOPE THIS NEW DOC WILL BRING YOU A BOON IN BUSINESS! JB