Release Details

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 23, 1999--The continuing efforts of Gaylord Entertainment Company (NYSE: GET) to build its brand awareness will result in a round of national TV exposure for the company and its hometown, Nashville, when CBS airs "The All-American Thanksgiving Day Parade" from 8-11 a.m. (CST).

The show's final segment will be the Opryland Aqua Parade from Gaylord Entertainment's Opryland Hotel. The parade, hosted by country music star Jo Dee Messina and CBS soap opera star Michael Park of "As the World Turns," features seven floats that travel on the hotel's indoor quarter-mile-long Delta River.

"Our floats really float," said Joe Crace, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Gaylord Entertainment, "and they show off Nashville's best product--entertainment. We are on a mission to promote the Gaylord Entertainment name, and the Opryland Aqua Parade is a fun way to do just that."

Gaylord Entertainment itself sponsored one of the floats, which has the theme of "Girls Are Heroes, Too." Lightsource.com, a Gaylord Entertainment Internet company, sponsored another float. Its theme is "Hearth and Home," and it features contemporary Christian artist Avalon.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers appear on a float sponsored by AT&T, comedian Ray Stevens is on a float sponsored by Kodak and country singer Brad Paisley is on the Chevrolet float. Children will recognize Larry the Cucumber, Bob the Tomato and Larry Boy, who will appear on the Veggie Tales float, and Santa will ride on the Coca-Cola float.

"The All-American Thanksgiving Day Parade" covers holiday parades in Honolulu, Detroit and New York, as well as Nashville. The Nashville segment featuring the Opryland Aqua Parade is scheduled in the third hour (10-11 a.m. CST). It was taped in October before a standing-room-only crowd in the Opryland Hotel's Delta, a 41/2-acre indoor semi-tropical garden.

Gaylord Entertainment Company (NYSE: GET) is a diversified entertainment company with operations in hospitality, attractions, music, entertainment, Internet communications, broadcasting and cable networks. Among its properties are WSM Radio and the Grand Ole Opry, the Opryland Hotel, Acuff-Rose Music Publishing, Word Entertainment, Z Music Television, Country Music Television International, the Wildhorse Saloon, the Ryman Auditorium, WWTN Radio, Cornerstone Sports, GETdigitalmedia and Opryland Productions. Its headquarters are in Nashville, Tenn.