CEDAR FALLS -- A centerpiece Cedar Valley tourism attraction was named Attraction of the Year by the Waterloo and Cedar Falls visitors bureaus Friday.

The Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center received the honor from the Waterloo Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Cedar Falls Tourism and Visitors Bureau at the organizations' third annual Cedar Valley Tourism Awards luncheon Friday at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center in Waterloo.

Awards were given in several other categories. The Waterloo Bowling Association was honored for Event of the Year for the 2006 Iowa State Bowling Championships.

Also, the Cedar Falls Tourism and Visitors Bureau Marketing Committee was selected by the Cedar Falls bureau its friend of tourism; and the Waterloo bureau similarly honored volunteer Dorothy Sallis.

Barmuda Corp. was named 2007 business/organization of the year, and the University Plaza Holiday Inn in Cedar Falls was selected as Cedar Valley hotel of the year.

Attraction of the Year

The Gallagher-Bluedorn, which opened in 2000 with substantial fundraising support from throughout the Cedar Valley, was projected to hold 100 events per year. It now hosts more than 300. More than 30,000 patrons attended artists series events there in the 2006-07 season. Those events ranged from Broadway shows to dance companies, classical musicians, theatrical companies and some popular musicians.

Tickets were sold to individuals from 70 of Iowa's 99 counties, generating enormous economic impact in terms of shopping, dining and overnight stays.

The center also hosts a number of community events, including the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, UNI School of Music, Sartori Hospital's Festival of Trees, graduations, nonprofit fundraisers, dance school recitals and weddings and holiday parties.

The center is an example of metro cooperation. While located on the UNI campus in Cedar Falls, its namesake benefactors are Waterloo philanthropists Edward J. and Cathy Gallagher and the late Carl and Peggy Bluedorn.

Cathy Gallagher is a UNI alumna.

Event of the Year

The Waterloo Bowling Association hosted the Open State Bowling Tournament over 15 weekends from Feb. 4 to May 14, 2006. More than 5,500 bowlers and their families came to Waterloo. Bowlers competed on Saturday and Sunday of tournament weekends, and they and their families contributed to the local economy with overnight stays, dining and shopping. The event received statewide media attention.

According to the Waterloo Convention and Visitors Bureau, direct spending in the Cedar Valley as a result of the bowling tournament reached nearly $1.5 million.

Waterloo had hosted the event four times in 22 years, and the city always delivered big numbers for the state association.

With the exception of Davenport's 1,308 entries in 2001, the 2006 turnout was the best in the last 10 state tournaments. The other three years Waterloo has hosted the event are three of the top four turnouts in the last 22 years.

"Waterloo is a bowling city," said Gene Wandro, who is a member of the Iowa State USBC board, said during the tournament.

"Everyone in the Cedar Valley owes the Bowling Association a huge thank-you," Aaron Buzza of the Waterloo CVB said at the event's close.

The tournament brought in more than 1,300 teams. Additional bowlers competed in the singles and doubles portion of the tournament.

In 2008, the women's state tournament will come to Waterloo, also running during the early spring months.

Cedar Falls Friend of Tourism

The Marketing Committee of the Cedar Falls Tourism and Visitors Bureau is made up of representatives from hotels, restaurants, attractions and the community, meeting monthly to plan events and publicize the Tourism Bureau's work.

When the bureau moved into its present Visitors Center on Hudson Road in 2004, the committee carried out a grand opening celebration. It regularly updates a five-year tourism marketing plan; staffs a table during orientation sessions for UNI freshmen and sells Cedar Falls memorabilia during the annual Sturgis Falls Celebration.

More recently, the committee raised funds to purchase welcoming banners lining Hudson Road, First Street, Main Street and University Avenues. The group recently broke into subcommittees to work on more projects.

Waterloo Friend of Tourism

Longtime community volunteer Dorothy Sallis "has been a mainstay in greeting our visitors at the Waterloo Regional Airport," wrote nominator Lonnie Elmore of the Waterloo Convention & Visitors Bureau. "Rain or shine, snowstorms or ice storms, she is there to welcome our visitors to the Cedar Valley."

Sallis expressed an interest in the work in 2000, prior to a major airport terminal renovation.

She was recognized in 2006 at the Women's Black History Appreciation Luncheon "for her positive commitment to the community," Elmore said.

Sallis is involved in Black Hawk County Head Start, the Waterloo Community Playhouse and Hawkeye Community College's Learning after Fifty program, among other activities. She promoted Waterloo for two conventions: the National Association of Black Social Workers and the Sunday School Convention.

Sallis even greeted airport travelers on Christmas Day. "Now that's true dedication," Elmore wrote.

Business/Organization of the Year.

Barmuda Corp., operated by Darin Beck and staff, has enhanced the community's entertainment and dining options and night life with a number of establishments and has been a major contributor to the renaissance of Cedar Falls' Main Street Parkade.

Venues include sushi bars, martini bars, microbreweries, live entertainment and "ultra" lounges. On Main Street alone, Barmuda establishments include Bourbon Street, Voodoo Lounge, Soho and The Stuffed Olive.

Barmuda also has revitalized College Hill with Mojo's, Beck's and Ice.

Barmuda also operates and markets Park Place Events Centre at Pipac Centre on the Lake in the Cedar Falls Industrial Park, a significant point of entry into Cedar Falls and a major banquet facility.

Hotel of the Year

The Cedar Falls Holiday Inn, a full-service hotel, is a "helpful partner" to the Cedar Falls Tourism and Visitors Bureau, bureau officials noted, hosting events and providing planning leadership as needed. It is a partner to local restaurants and activities.

The establishment is constantly upgrading its facilities, bureau officials noted. The hotel also was a founding partner of the Cedar Valley Sports and Entertainment Commission and has been "very supportive" of events at UNI, senior associate athletic director Justin Sell said.

Hotel officials "truly understand how to partner resources to bring visitors to the community," Sell said, that establishment and other full service hotels are "really important to have when bidding to host large scale events."

Featured speaker at the awards luncheon was destination consultant Bill Geist , owner of Zeitgeist Consulting, who has served as executive director of the Greater Madison Convention and Visitors Bureau in Madison, Wis.

Contact Pat Kinney at (319) 291-1484 or pat.kinney@wcfcourier.com.