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Show THE READER'S DATE BOOK Communities in the Sun-Belt Advertise Winter Attractions i j Vacation promotions are usually associated with spring, summer sum-mer and fall. In recent years, however, more and more home town-ers town-ers have started taking the annual two-weeks rest in winter, heading head-ing for the sunny south. And home towns in the sun-belt, too, have become aware of this trend and have taken advantage of it to attract tourists. Motels in or near small towns along the southern routes in the sun-belt have done much to attract business. Today the re- Golf, San Diego, Jan. 17-20. $10,-000 $10,-000 open tournament. Carrot Carnival, Holtville, Feb. 9-11. Bug Bunny will he-1! street fair; carrot-crate coaster contest. Date Festival, Indio, Feb. 19-24. Camel races highlight this annual event. Soaring, San Diego, Feb. 23-24. Sixth annual Pacific Coast midwinter mid-winter soaring championships. Regatta, San Diego, Feb. 24. Annual An-nual contest for Southwestern Yacht Club Trophy. "This Is America," San Diego, Feb. 26. Songs, dances, discussions about various nations whose people came to America. Garden Tours, Santa Barbara, March 15-May 30. FLORIDA Fishing, St. Petersburg, Jan. 1-April 1-April 1. Rod-Gun Club's tournament. Camellia Show, Pensacola, Jan. 19-20. Cat Show, St. Petersburg, Jan. 19-20. Regatta, St. Petersburg, Jan. 19-23. 19-23. Mid-winter lightning meet. Antiques, St. Petersburg, Jan. 28-31. Horse Show, Miami, Feb. 1-3. Sports Show, Miarr', Feb. 1-8. Fair, Ft. Myers, Feb. 4-9. South-west South-west Florida exhibition. spectability of most roadside rooming room-ing is on a par with its almost unbelievable un-believable luxury. There are stretches of highway in the south, especially in Florida, where motels are lined up almost solidly. The growing appeal of the motel, of course, is based upon ease and informality of ar-7r7T ar-7r7T ' ' ' rival, stay, and de-parture. de-parture. At the end . ftjfjfj of a long day's drive a tired and 5Tfl&t? T wrinkled family FEATURE doesn't particularly - care to buck traffic in a city to searcn out a hotel, find a parking place, parade through a critical lobby, and tip bell boys in and out. Many people peo-ple now prefer to pull up at their "sleeping door", where everything in the loaded car, down to the baby's bottle, is handy. A clean restaurant L, usually in the same building or just across or down the road. There are no city noises to keep the traveler awake, no hands out for tips, no necessity to dress up. Departure at any hour in the morning is at the convenience of the motorist. Along Florida's Gold Coast the luxury of some of these motels is unbelievable. Comfort is represented represent-ed by spick-and-span new room. Some are wholly air-conditioned. Quite a number have their own private pri-vate swimming pools and sundecks. Many have their private beaches as well. Restaurants and bars are present in the big new ones. In the service department the motel is beginning to outshine hotels. At many places the guests are practically wrapped up in cotton and put to bed at night. If you are staying at least a week the icebox in your complete kitchenette will be stocked, free, with bacon, butter, cream, milk, eggs, bread, breakfast break-fast food, sugar, salt and pepper. Maid service is included in your rent. Your car is washed, on the house,- every few days. Flowers from the grounds are kept in your vases. Ice is always available. Of increasing popularity to winter vacationists is Key West, favorite retreat of President Truman. Last year all records were broken on the Overseas Highway which connects Florida and the Keys when 406,-347 406,-347 passenger automobiles were checked through the toll gates. Of these 174.729. or 43 per cent, were State Fair, Tampa, Feb. 5-16. Attracts At-tracts more than 1,000,000 visitors. Edison Pageant, Ft. Myers, Feb. 14-16. Gasparilla Festival, Tampa, Feb. 11-16. Parade, pirate invasion, coronation coro-nation ball, fiesta, outward-bound voyage, fireworks. GEORGIA Masters Tourney, Augusta, March 13-16. Top-ranking men golfers participate. out-of-state cars. This was a big jump from the previous year, when tolls were collected from 282,600 of which about 45 per cent were from out of state. In 1946 the number of passenger cars was the much smaller total of 154,555. For the home town tourist planning plan-ning a- vacation in the next few months here is a calendar of events in a few states: ARIZONA Travelcades, sponsored by Phoenix Phoe-nix Chamber of Commerce, to Mesa, Feb. 2. Don Club Treks, from Phoenix to Wickenburg Dude Ranches. Jan. 13; Wickenburg Gold Rush Day, Feb. 3; St. John's Mission, Feb. 24; Lost Dutchman Mine, March 9; San Carlos Indian Reservation, March Hams-Eggs Show, Ft. Valley, March 27-28. Titleholders Golf, Augusta, Apr. 3-6. For women experts. LOUISIANA Mardi Gras, New Orleans, Feb. 21-26. Spring Fiesta, New Orleans, Apr. 13-26. Tours of old homes, party in French Quarter. MISSISSIPPI Field Trials, Shuqualak, Jan. 21. National meet. U.S. Field Trials, Hernando, Feb. 11. Mardi Gras, Biloxi, Feb. 26. Pilgrimage, Natches, March 1-30. NEW MEXICO Fiesta, San Ildefonso Pueblo, Jan. 23. Buffalo Dance featured. 23; Grand Canyon, March 29-30. State Picnics, Mesa, Kansas-Missouri, Jan. 27; Montana, Feb. 3; South Dakota, Feb. 10; North Dakota, Da-kota, Feb. 17; Wyoming, Feb. 24. Stampede, Phoenix-, Feb. 3. All-western All-western roundup. Rodeo, Wickenburg, Feb. 10. Dancing, Phoenix, Feb. 15-16. Contests Con-tests for square dancing and old-time old-time fiddling. Cactus Show, Phoenix, Feb. 17-24. Trapshooting, Phoenix, Feb. 22-24. Horse Show, Mesa, March 1-9. Dog Show, Phoenix, March 12-13. At state fairgrounds, open to all breeds. Western Dance, Clayton, Jan. 25-27. Candlemas Day, San Felipe, Cochiti and Santo Domingo Pueblos, Feb. 2. Spring Corn Dance, Cochiti Pueblo, Pueb-lo, March 25-28. TEXAS Fat Stock Show, Ft. Worth, Jan. 25-Feb. 3. Livestock, Houston, Jan 30-Feb. 1-0. All-States Picnic, McAllen, Feb. 15. Charro Days, Brownsville. Feb. 21-24. VIRGINIA Antiques Forum, Williamsburg, Jan 21-25; Jan. 28 Feb. 1. Gem Show, Phoenix, March 12-13. Rodeo, Phoenix, March 21-23. ARKANSAS Quail Championship, Booneville, March 3. National event for amateurs. ama-teurs. Concert, Little Rock, March 20-21 All-state high school competition. - Sunrise Service, Hot Springs, April 13. Seventeenth annual presentation pres-entation on Hot Springs mountain. Fishing, Hot Springs, April 20. Contest on Lakes Catherine and Hamilton mark 120th anniversary of Hot Springs as a government park. CALIFORNIA Tennis, La Jolla, Jan. 12-14. Sixth annual tournament for players 45 or older. Admission free. |
