BR gearing up for Fireball Run

• By CYNTHIA V. CAMPBELL
• Travel editor
• Published: Apr 26, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Baton Rouge tourism officials are gearing up (literally) to serve as hosts for the 2008 Fireball Run Transcontinental Rally. The event, scheduled Sept. 25-Oct. 4, is a networking and fun rally for 100 teams made up exclusively of business and community leaders from throughout the U.S. And it has a serious side as a race to recover America’s missing children. Started last year as an awareness campaign for the Child Rescue Network, participants contributed to the recovery of 11 missing children.

Baton Rouge was a stop on the 2007 Fireball Run, and the city’s hospitality was so appealing that organizers selected this city as the starting point for the 2008 event. Car owners and drivers will converge here for the nine-day run from Louisiana to the Great Lakes at Grand Rapids, Mich. This year’s event will have a 1980s auto theme.

“We are excited that the Fireball Run officials have chosen Baton Rouge as the official Start City for this year’s road rally,” said Paul Arrigo, president and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The eyes of the nation will be on Baton Rouge when this race to recover missing children kicks off in our front yard this September.”

During a recent California trip to meet with Fireball Run organizers, Arrigo said he viewed several custom-made cars, including a Batmobile and the De Lorean from Back to the Future.

As the official start city, the city of Baton Rouge, the office of Mayor-President Melvin L. “Kip” Holden, the Baton Rouge Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Belle of Baton Rouge Casino and the Sheraton Baton Rouge Convention Center Hotel will host a series of events. A number of the events will give local adults and children a chance to view some of the sleek, custom-designed automobiles and to talk to many of the participants.

While in Baton Rouge, Fireball Run participants will be invited to a VIP reception  Thursday, Sept. 25, hosted by Mayor Holden and city officials. Friday, participants will head to the Louisiana State Police Joint Emergency Services Training Center for a Track Challenge arranged by the city and the Louisiana State Police. Then they will be honored at the Live After Five event in downtown Baton Rouge, followed by a private reception at the Belle of Baton Rouge.

Saturday, the Fireball Run’s official start will take place at 11 a.m. along River Road in front of the Louisiana Art & and Science Museum. Mayor Holden will drop the green flag as participants head out to play the rally game. There will be a mini festival where the public can come out and view the fun. Car clubs and car enthusiasts will be on hand showcasing their vehicles and cheering the teams on. Ralph Ney, who represents the Baton Rouge Hotel and Motel Association on the BRCVB board, said, “We’re really excited about the Fireball Run. Last year we had the opportunity to show off and shine.”

According to Arrigo, the event creates a lot of publicity for the city. “You have these people driving across the country, talking about Baton Rouge.”

Fireball Run events and schedule are subject to change prior to September. For information, visit the site: http://www.fireballrun.com. Also contact http://www.visitbatonrouge.come or (800) LA ROUGE (527-6843).

Lighthouse revival
The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum in Madisonville has been awarded a $25,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Southeastern Museum Conference to stabilize and begin restoration of the Tchefuncte River Lighthouse at Madisonville. High winds and water from Hurricane Katrina damaged the lighthouse by dislodging bricks and destroying the interior and exterior finish work.

The current lighthouse was build in 1867, and is the second that has lighted the entrance to the Tchefuncte River since 1837. Ownership of the structure was transferred by the U.S. Coast Guard to the town of Madisonville in 1999. The lighthouse is managed by the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum. The lighthouse is inaccessible to the public during the stabilization and restoration process, which is expected to take several years. The Southeastern Louisiana University Development Foundation has agreed to assist in fundraising efforts.

The museum is open Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday, noon-4 p.m. Call (985) 845-9200.

Bunk Fest
New Iberia’s Bunk Fest opens Thursday, May 1, with a red beans-and-sausage reception with music by John Wilson and the Zydeco House Rockers at Bunk’s Plaza on Hopkins Street.