Tweetsie Railroad, North Carolina’s first theme park, is best known for family fun, cowboys and Indians and the famed Engine #12 steam locomotive, but on May 9, 16 and 23, the park will be transformed into a magical place called Letterland where the letters of the alphabet come alive!  Letterland is a popular reading system which has helped raise literacy standards among North Carolina children. Burke County Reading Specialist Kathy Oliver had a vision to bring Letterland to life for children working hard in both their Letterland and phonics-related school lessons, and Tweetsie is helping that vision come true!    Visitors to Tweetsie will have the chance to meet some of Letterland’s favorite characters including the Yellow Yo-yo Man, Eddy Elephant, Harry Hat Man and the King and Queen of Letterland, just to name a few.  In addition, guests can ride on Firefighter Fred’s Ferris Wheel, Talking Tess’s Train, Golden Girl’s Go-carts, and much more!  The author and originator of Letterland, Lyn Wendon and her son, Letterland Managing Director Mark Wendon, will be flying in to join the fun at Tweetsie all the way from the United Kingdom on May 16 and 23. 
  As part of the park’s continuing education efforts, Tweetsie visitors will also have the chance to experience the Learning Express, which will be offered on May 2, and again every Friday after Labor Day through October 31 (September 5, 12, 19, 26, & October 3, 10, 17, 24 & 31). The Learning Express provides a full day of fun at Tweetsie Railroad including the opportunity to take a ride on the Learning Express Train that pulls out of Main Street several times daily, and presents a unique opportunity for teachers and parents to make history, math and science both memorable and fun. In addition, Tweetsie offers curriculum guides for parents and teachers on tweetsie.com. 
  Tweetsie Railroad will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays starting May 2, and seven days a week from May 23 through August 24 before returning to the weekend schedule from August 29 through November 2, including Labor Day Monday.  The 2008 season ends Sunday, November 2. The park's regular hours are 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., but will be open until 9:00 p.m. on July 4th, and also on Friday and Saturday from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. for the Ghost Trainâ Halloween Festival October 3 – November 1.  In addition, the park will open at 8:00 a.m. both Saturdays during the popular Day Out With Thomas™ event.  Daily admission is $30 for adults and $22 for children ages 3 through 12. Children 2 and under are admitted free.  Print at home tickets are available on tweetsie.com.
  Tweetsie Railroad is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains on U.S. Highway 321 between Boone and Blowing Rock, North Carolina.  For more information, call 1-877-TWEETSIE or visit www.tweetsie.com.  For more information on Letterland, please visit www.letterland.com.