Oklahoma to put on food, wine show at Epcot Center
Governor hopes display at Walt Disney World Resort creates magic for tourism
Oklahoma to put on food, wine show at Epcot Center

By Michael McNutt

Published: August 1, 2007

An estimated 1.5 million visitors to the Epcot Center can get a taste of Oklahoma, it was announced Tuesday.

Oklahoma, which is celebrating its statehood centennial this year, is the first state to be invited by the Walt Disney World Resort to showcase its cuisine and heritage at a display area during the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.

Jim MacPhee, an Epcot vice president, said this is the 12th year for the festival. It is one of the longest and largest food and wine festivals in the world, he said. More than 25 countries are featured.

Oklahoma was chosen by Disney officials, some of whom visited the state last year, as the first state because of its colorful history, MacPhee said.

This year's festival is from Sept. 28 to Nov. 11 at Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The event features food from around the world, live music, and demonstrations and seminars from Disney and celebrity chefs.

The display may persuade tourists to visit Oklahoma, Gov. Brad Henry said.

The state's display also will be a business tool, he said. It should be visited by company chief executive officers from around the world who regularly visit the festival; state officials are trying to arrange meetings with corporate leaders, he said.

It will cost about $1.2 million to develop, staff and display Oklahoma's exhibit during the festival, Henry said.

More than half — $700,000 — will come from private donors. The remaining $500,000 will be state money from the Oklahoma Centennial Commission, the governor said. Major private donors include Chesapeake Energy Corp., the Oklahoma Business Roundtable — an economic development group — and the Chickasaw, Choctaw and Creek tribes.

Oklahoma's exhibit will feature covered wagons, American Indian tepees and some scenes from the Route 66 era, and the state's aviation and space pioneers. Featured foods will be Indian dishes, chuck wagon meals and cuisine favorites from diners along Route 66 about a half century ago.

Oklahoma's wineries can't produce enough wine in such a short time for the visitors expected, Commerce and Tourism Secretary Natalie Shirley said. Dick Sias, an Oklahoman and owner of Joullian Vineyards of Carmel Valley, Calif., will provide wine that will be given away or sold at Oklahoma's display, called the Oklahoma Experience.

The display also will feature 100 stories of Oklahoma, which will be told in pictures and stories on three walls that each are 12 feet high and 21 feet long. It also will have an artisan area; an entertainment area; a merchandise and information shop modeled after the Price Tower in Bartlesville; children's activities; cultural/tourism representatives and cooking demonstrations.

"We intend to put on a great show for the rest of the world,” Henry said.

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