Capital Ideas From Delaware,

USA Winter 2010 in Dover, Delaware

In this issue:    Dover Days Historic House Tour | Car Show| Horseshoe Crabs
 The Green Top Ten Spaces
77th Dover Days Festival Bigger Than Ever!
Dover Days is Delaware State Capital's largest and longest running festival.
Featuring maypole dancing, parade, Amish quilt auction, pet parade, colonial artisans, historic presentations, historic house tour, car show, more than 150 craft/food vendors, carnival  and much more.

NEW THIS YEAR!

For the Old House Writer - Historic House Tours:  Historic Homes of Kent
More than 40 historic homes and buildings in Milford, Smyrna, Camden and Dover will open their doors April 30- May 2, 2010. Houses date back into the 1700 and 1800's showcasing clapboard, Federal, Victorian, and Greek revival style homes. This is the first time a county-wide house tour and the largest will take place in Delaware.

For the Auto Writer -   Car Show

Cars-a-plenty will surround Legislative Mall April 30 as part of the Dover Days Festival.  Hot rods, street rods and antique cars will compete for trophies as a prequel to the Saturday main event.  A free outdoor concert, carnival for the kiddies, Dover Mile fun walk/run will gather people together for a Friday night of fun. Registration is now open at www.visitdover.com.

For the Outdoor/Nature Writer - Horseshoe Crabs and Shorebirds a delicate balance:
In May, migratory birds that have flown thousands of miles will return to the Delaware Bay coastline to feast on the eggs of horseshoe crabs that have risen from the watery depths to spawnon the shoreline. The Delaware Bay coastline is the largest staging area for horseshoe crab breeding on the Atlantic flyway.  State of Delaware scientists make night time counts to see whether the population of horseshoe crabs is declining. Daytime canon netting is done to count the shorebird populations after they have feasted but before they fly on to Arctic breeding grounds.  
For more information

For the History Writer - The Green Chosen by APA as One of America's Top Ten Great Outdoor Spaces:
The American Planning Association chose The Green in Dover, Delaware as one of the nation's Top Ten Great Outdoor Spaces.  This is the first Great Places in America designation for the State of Delaware.  APA singled out The Green because it engenders a strong sense of place, for its historical significance and its role in fostering civic engagement for 300 years.  Many of Delaware's  most historic events took place on The Green.  It was there that Delaware ratified the US Constitution making it the First State. The one acre expanse is surrounded by Dover's most historic homes dating back into the 1700's.  In 1977 The Green was placed on the National Historic Register of Historic Places.

 For The Sports Writer - NASCAR Roaring into Dover International Speedway on the Monster Mile

Racing fans will be happy to hear that the Nascar Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Series will be three weeks earlier May 14-16, 2010. 

Jimmie Johnson won two monster trophies in 2009 race weekends.  With five Dover career wins, Johnson is tied with David Pearson for third all time at the Monster Mile.  If he repeats the sweep in 2010 he will join Richard Petty and Bobby Allison on the seven-win plateau at Dover. 

Miles the Monster the worlds largest fiberglass statue is on the grounds holding a full size race car in his hand.  Miles has become the symbol for Dover International Speedway's Monster Mile and has gained world-wide recognition.

Dover International Speedway is owned by Dover Motorsports, Inc. (NYSE:DVD), a leading promoter of motorsports events in the United States.  DVD subsidiaries operate four tracks in three states and present more than 400 motorsports events each year. That includes 14 major, national events which include races sanctioned by NASCAR and NHRA. Dover Motorsports, Inc. also operates Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis, MO,. Memphis Motorsports Park in Memphis, TN and Nashville Superspeedway near Nashville, TN.