Annual Veterans Week in Branson starts Wednesday

The Branson/Lakes Area Convention and Visitors Bureau expects about 40,000 people will attend the city's annual Veterans Week, which is Nov. 5-11.

The weeklong event begins with a grand opening at 1 p.m. Wednesday. Skydiver and retired Sgt. 1st Class Dana Bowman will parachute onto the grounds of The Mansion theater on Shepherd of the Hills Expressway. Bowman was a Special Forces soldier in the Army Golden Knights and, in 1994, lost his legs when he and his partner collided in the air during a demonstration jump. His partner was killed.

A free show follows at 2 p.m. in the theater and will feature the Oak Ridge Boys, Yakov Smirnoff and impressionist Bob Anderson. Artist and motivational speaker Richard Hight will create a piece of art on stage, retired Army Maj. Gen. Lee Baxter is the keynote speaker, and giving the invocation and benediction will be Army Chief of Chaplains Maj. Gen. Douglas Carver and evangelist Keith Moore of Moore Life Ministries.

Retired Lt. Col. Oliver North will be a special guest in Branson for Veterans Week; he will arrive Nov. 9. North was a member of the National Security Council staff and served as the U.S. government's counter-terrorism coordinator under President Ronald Reagan. He recently published "American Heroes," a book on defending the country against radical Islamic terror.

On Sunday, North will autograph his book 5-8 p.m. at Silver Dollar City. He will hold another book-signing 10 a.m.-noon Monday at Branson Landing, and later that evening, he will be the keynote speaker at the Marine Corps birthday gala at Chateau on the Lake.

On Tuesday, North will be at a public breakfast at 8 a.m. at Branson Convention Center - tickets are $15 - and will autograph books afterward. He then will be honored at the Tony Orlando Veterans Show at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Welk Resort Theatre, followed by another book-signing.

A complete Veterans Week schedule is available at the link below.