That small lady standing next to me is my mother. I know, hard to believe such a big guy could come from such a petite lady! My mother has always been my biggest fan, so, on Mother’s Day I surprised her and took her to see the Lion King at the Performing Arts Center. It was visually amazing, and one of the best Broadway shows I’ve ever seen. Even though the show is based in Appleton, Grand Chute businesses are sure to prosper from this being the premier performance of the Lion King in Wisconsin. Just off quick calculations, 54 performances with seating for 2,100 people, means around 113,400 people will see the show. Many of these people go out to dinner, or even stay overnight in our area.
I got to talking with a couple from Minnesota who said they were visiting our area for an extended weekend because of the Lion King. They were staying at a hotel in Grand Chute and definitely shopping at the mall. Curious now to the tourism dollars such an event can bring, I asked Lynn Peters of the Fox Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau if there are any revenue projections for the six week run. Ms. Peters indicated a study is in the works and will be available in July, after hotels submit their occupancy data. I’ll be posting the results here. In the meantime, I highly recommend seeing the Lion King if you get a chance. Take your mother. She’ll love you for it. Even though I have five brothers and one sister, I think I shot to the top my mom’s favorite list….at least for this week!
