[BCMA] Seat Sale at the BC Forest Discovery Centre

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

July 9, 2010

For Immediate Release							File No.:  20100710

Seat Sale at the BC Forest Discovery Centre

Cowichan – Expanding the season for the Christmas Express will help to
address the BC Forest Discovery Centre’s financial woes.  “We have been
looking at ways to increase our revenues,” explained Vicki Holman, Centre
Manager.  “With over 11,000 visitors over the 2009 Christmas season, we see
the 2010 Christmas Express as one of our biggest opportunites for balancing
our budget.  Line ups out the door last year left many visitors waiting up
to two hours to ride the train and some who went home without a ride at
 all.”

To build upon the opportunity for increasing capacity the staff and
volunteers of the Centre want to build a new covered car to add to the three
cars already behind the steam locomotive.  The new covered car will cost
approximately $30,000 including volunteers and donations.  The new car will
be outfitted with 20 seats adding an additional 40 passengers per ride
around the 100 acre site.  People wishing to contribute $250 to the project
as a family supporter,  a memorial or corporate donation, will have their
name engraved on a brass plaque mounted on one of the seats where it would
be visible to thousands of visitors each year.  Additionally the right to
name the new car can be negotiated by discussing the opportunity with the
Manager.  “We are working really hard to become self reliant and we
understand that it will take an investment by us and the community to make
it happen,” says Holman.  “We would even be happy for a corporate sponsor to
come up with a major contribution for the naming rights to the car.”

New dates for the event include the time between Christmas and New Years Eve
when many people are off work and still have holiday.  The 2010 Christmas
Express will run for 17 days throughout the month of December:  Each Friday,
Saturday, Sunday from December 3 to 18, each day from December 20-30, with
the exception of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.  Centre
staff expect to host approximately 16,000 passengers for the 2010 Christmas
event.

The BC Forest Discovery Centre is operated by the BC Forest Museum Society.
The 100 acre open air museum has over 5,000 artifacts from the forest sector
of Coastal British Columbia and the site boasts a mature second growth
forest, wetland trails and twelve historically significant buildings.  The
Centre serves to support the cultural tourism sector of Vancouver Isand and
the Cowichan Region while preserving the forest heritage of Coastal British
Columbia.  More information on the fundraising and membership programs can
be found at www.discoveryforest.com or by calling the Manager, Vicki Holman
at 250 715-1113 extension 24.

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Vicki Holman, Manager, (250) 715-1113 ext. 24
manager.bcfdc at shawlink.ca