By Madinah Hazim, Public Information Officer

Thousands of people read the Kansas Official Visitors Guide every year to find out what there is to see and do in the great state of Kansas. This year is no different.

The Kansas Department of Commerce along with Midwest Living magazine will distribute 450,000 copies of the publication throughout the state, nationwide and internationally.

Symphony in the Flint Hills is featured on the cover of this year’s guide. The event will take place on June 10, 2006, at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve two miles north of Strong City. The Kansas City Symphony, with a 100-voice chorus, the Paul Winter Consort and Bill Kurtis as Orator will perform Grasslands: Prairie Voices, a symphony composed by Kansas native Eugene Friesen.

Kansas Department of Commerce Tourism Marketing Manager Richard Smalley thought Symphony in the Flint Hills would be a great cover shot for this year’s guide.

“It was such a neat contrast of the general picture,” Smalley said. “These are people in formal attire playing to the cows.”

The Kansas Department of Commerce received $155,742 through the Economic Development Initiatives Fund, which is derived through Lottery proceeds, to cover editorial content and photography for this year’s guide.

Smalley said the production of the guide takes a lot of time and planning.

“We usually start planning the guide about a year in advance,” Smalley said. “ Midwest Living magazine writes the stories and takes the pictures for the guide. We give Midwest Living a general outline of stories, events and themes for the publication.”

Smalley said that the guide is a tremendous help in developing travel and tourism in Kansas.

“The Visitors Guide opens the eyes of many potential travelers to Kansas,” Smalley said. “Our research supports this in the fact that over 50 percent of the people who received the guide were influenced to visit more destinations and attractions on their trip to Kansas than they had originally planned.”

For more information on the Kansas Official Visitors Guide, or to order a copy, call (800)-2KANSAS or go to www.travelks.com.