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Kayakers Paddle Down the Mississippi River for Charity
Group Stops at Tunice RiverPark

TUNICA, Mississippi (Sunday, May 27, 2007)—Kayak 4 A Kure made a stop in Tunica at the Tunica RiverPark on their way down the entire Mississippi River to raise money for Children’s Cancer Research.

The team Kayak 4 A Kure paddled into the most exciting landmark on the Mississippi River, the award-winning Tunica RiverPark, that has a museum, nature trail, and Tunica Queen riverboat. 

The group started their journey at the mouth of the Mississippi River in Lake Itasca, MN.  They are scheduled to finish outside their adventure down the Mighty Mississippi just outside of New Orleans, Louisiana at the Gulf of Mexico on June 10th.  They are holding fundraisers at all of their stops down the Mississippi River.
 
“We are using our own money, volunteering our time and energy, and all of the money we raise is going to St. Jude, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, and the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders,” John Dubina, the organizer and one of the kayakers, said.

Officials at The Fitz Casino and Hotel were eager to provide overnight accommodations to this group of dedicated Children’s Cancer Research kayak participants. 

“This group is raising $500,000 to give to charities like St. Jude, and that’s something we support,” Bob McQueen, the senior VP and general manager of The Fitz Casino and Hotel, said.

Outdoors Inc. also helped the group get from Memphis to Tunica on the Mississippi River. 

“We decided to be part of the promotions arm because our company enjoys promoting all outdoor sports, especially events that help children’s cancer research,” Joe Royer, an owner of Outdoors Inc., said.

“The average cancer cure rate for leukemia in children has risen from four percent to over 80 percent, and with the donations we are getting at all of our stops down the Mississippi River, we will be funding research that could find cures for childhood cancers,” Dubina said.

The Tunica RiverPark is open daily, except for Christmas Day. Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the Nature Trail and Park are open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets to the museum are $5 for adults, $4 for children age 12 and under, and $4 for seniors age 65 and older. Group rates are available. For more information, call 866-517-4837 (toll free) or visit the website at www.tunicariverpark.com. 

The Tunica Queen sails six days a week with three sightseeing cruises daily and a dinner cruise nightly April through November.  Mondays the Tunica Queen does not cruise.  Passes for the sightseeing cruises during the day are $12 for adults, $11 for seniors, and $7 for children.   Dinner cruises are $39.50 for adults and $37.50 for seniors and children.  For more information, or to book a group, call the Tunica Queen office at 1-866-805-3535, or visit www.tunicaqueen.com. 
 
Tunica, an area where cotton, rice, soybean fields and catfish ponds still thrive, is “The South’s Casino Capital.”  Located 30 minutes south of Memphis, Tunica welcomes more than 15 million visitors annually to its nine world-class casino resorts, with more than 6,300 new hotel rooms, over 40 restaurants, three championship golf courses, outdoor recreation, museums, outlet and antique shopping, and much more. For travel information, please visit the Tunica website at tunicamiss.com or call Tunica toll free at 888-4-TUNICA.