Are you ready to travel?  

This will give you info on the airports in the area, and helping you to keep an eye out on when they will be booking!  Also, we are just 40 mins away from Springfield airport, and 1-1/2 hours from Bentonville airport in Arkansas... nice drive !  Keep your eyes out on the websites for booking information!

Branson Airport (BKG) 

10 miles south of Branson
	AirTran
	Branson AirExpress
	Frontier

The Branson Airport, which opened in 2009, is just 10 miles south of the world-famous Branson Strip. The new airport and 58,000-SF terminal have the capacity to handle more than 1 million travelers annually. The airport is the first privately-financed and operated commercial airport in the United States.  Families and groups flying to Branson enjoy dining and auto-rental services on-site, as well as taxi and shuttle service into Branson.  

The airlines that service Branson Airport (BKG) are Frontier Airlines, Air Trans and Branson AirExpress.  These airlines are providing non-stop or 1-stop flight to Branson from most major US cities, as well as international destinations ... and any time now they will be opening the availability to make your airline reservations (they wait til about 6 to 9 months out).  So I've included some TRAVEL MAPS to let you see where they fly from and connect to. 

Service at Branson Airport (BKG)

Springfield-Branson National Airport

Springfield-Branson Natl. Airport (SGF): 50 miles north of Branson
	Allegiant
	American
	Delta
	United

Springfield-Branson National Airport opened its new 275,000 sq. ft., $117 million Midfield Terminal in 2009, has 10 airline gates and room to add 50 more if needed. Accessibility has been improved as well: flyers can walk from their car to their airplane without climbing a single stair. Allegiant Air and American Airlines are among the carriers providing low-cost flights to the airport. Springfield-Branson National Airport is roughly 50 miles north of Branson.

For more information, visit www.flyspringfield.com or call 417-868-0500.

Service at Springfield International Airport (SGF)

Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport

NW Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA): 98 miles SW of Branson
	Allegiant
	American
	Continental
	Delta
	US Airways
	United

The Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA) is another major area  airport facility that opened in 1998. The airport serves primarily the Northwest Arkansas cities of Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers, Siloam Springs and Springdale, but it's also less than two hours from the Branson/Lakes Area.

The airport's location also makes it convenient for visitors who also want to visit Eureka Springs, Ark. on their way to Branson, or the Joplin, Mo., area.  

This is the airport that I used when I traveled to Charlotte NC for the 2011 Circle of Friends Retreat because they had the best fares.  It's a couple of hours out of Branson, but the drive is beautiful, traveling through the Ozarks.  If you would like to rent a car, it's modern, busy, and easy to find... around here it's call "the walmart airport" because so many of the walmart executives fly through here to and from all over the country!

For more information, visit www.nwara.com or call 479-205-1000.

Service at Bentonville (Fayetteville) Airport (XNA)

WANT TO WIN A BEAUTIFUL QUILT ???

THE 4th Annual Crayola Challenge Quilt Drawing has begun! Get YOUR tickets for a chance at one of these GORGEOUS QUILTS! And will benefit an AWESOME cause at the same time!!!

Our friend Quiltaholic has headed up the project for the past drawings that have benefited many charities, including the bringing Christmas for children twice, back to school clothes and supplies for children, presented funds to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, as well as Ronald McDonald Houses in different areas of the country. She has asked me to take over the coordinating of the raffle, which I am honored to do, and I will try my best to carry on the tradition that Q has set such high bars for!

So... are you READY for some QUILTS? We are celebrating the 4th Annual Crayola Challenge Quilt Drawing for the Ronald McDonald Houses, and it will be benefiting the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ozarks, which is located in Springfield, Missouri! And this year, we are collaborating it with the Circle of Friends Retreat in Branson!

The theme this year was " Life Is Like A Bowlful Of ______ " and we filled in the blank with the Crayola color we wanted. We also had to incorporate black and white as well, so it was a 3 color challenge!

The quilts have been sent to Quiltaholic, and will be mailed to the winners from North Carolina. There are some REAL BEAUTIES in this fun, and the gals did an outstanding job of embracing the challenge!

The drawing itself will be on Sunday morning, September 23rd at the COF Retreat! The quilts will be shown on a slide show, by coordinating numbers and names of quilt makers, so that everyone will know what quilt they have won!

You do not have to be present at the retreat to win. Winners will be notified by Monday, September 24th.

A staff member from the Ronald McDonald House in Springfield will be joining us and do the drawing of the tickets! I'm excited for them to meet SOME of the wonderful gals who make this whole endeavor possible, and for the retreat goers to see what our labors of love work for!

Also in the drawing, are 3 HUGE baskets of quilting goodies, tools, patterns, fabrics... all sorts of goodies every quilter would love. Two of the baskets are in machine totes ... a great prize or a gift for a quilter you know!


We have scheduled 29 quilts to give away! Right now there are 22 received, and the rest will be received before the drawing. These quilts are GORGEOUS and will make FABULOUS prizes for the lucky winners!

If you would like to SEE the quilts, you can check them out at CRAYOLA PICS TAB ON THIS BLOG. As all the quilts are received, the pics will be updated!


In the last raffle we had at the 2011 Circle of Friends Retreat, we raised over $4200 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Jayardi and Quiltaholic did a fantastic job in raising funds for such a worthy cause!

Let's top that! The goal this year is $5000. Wouldn't YOU love to see us hand a check to such a worthy cause? I WOULD!!!

HERE'S THE SCOOP ON THE TICKETS!
TICKET SALES WILL BEGIN FEBRUARY 1st! For your chance at a quilt, a donation of $2 will get your name in for the drawing... and for every $5 donated, you will receive 3 tickets for The Ronald McDonald House Quilt Raffle.

All monies must be here by September 15, 2012, unless you are attending retreat. Tickets WILL ALSO BE SOLD AT THE RETREAT, and retreat ticket sales will close at 9pm, Saturday, September 22nd.

For those desiring, please make checks payable to Ronald McDonald House Charites of the Ozarks (RMHC), and post date them for September 20, 2012. I don't accept PayPal, so send it thru pony mail. For the mailing address, please go to THE MAILING LIST LINK on the side of the blog. Any cash or checks received with my name will be deposited in a bank account specifically set up for this raffle :)

If you would like to SELL to your friends, neighbors, brothers, sisters, quilting buddies ... we can send you tickets with stubs by mail. You can request them thru a PM, or an email to CRAYOLA QUILTS. You will send in the money for tickets, and return the stubs and their name will be put into the raffle. All sales to others will be tracked, so that we can tally for a special drawing... There will be a Special Quilty Prize for the person who brings in the most donations... that's tickets sold to others.

So, get out there and blog about it. Tell all your friends about it. Share with your family and co-workers. If you would like, I can send you an e-mail with all the details. That way, all you have to do is forward it to them.

WHO'S READY FOR SOME TICKETS ???Official rules for the 2012 Crayola Quilt Challenge Drawing for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ozarks can be found here. Thank you for your participation for such a great cause!