Ripley's Believe It Or Not Day

Posted on May 24, 2010

The Town of Santa Claus and Spencer County, Indiana, have both declared Tuesday, May 11, 2010, as "Ripley's Believe It Or Not Day." The designation comes during the kickoff week to the tourism season–in Spencer County, the state and the nation. As part of the celebration, the Visitors Bureau will host a tourism luncheon featuring keynote speaker Tim O'Brien, vice president of communications of Ripley Entertainment. Some of the "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" cartoons played a key role in initiating local tourism. More than 80 years ago, in the 1930s, famous cartoonist Robert Ripley drew four cartoon sketches featuring items of interest in Spencer County, Indiana. In one cartoon, for example, he told readers about the only post office in the country with the Santa Claus name. Once the cartoon sketch was published, the town of Santa Claus received more letters to Santa than ever before. A continuing tradition, the town now receives thousands of letters each year addressed to Santa Claus and answered by "Santa's Elves." Letters come from all over the United States and from other countries. The tourism luncheon will be held on Tuesday, May 11, from 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Celebration Room of Santa's Lodge in Santa Claus. The public is invited to attend. To make reservations for the luncheon (cost is $10 per person), contact the Spencer County Visitors Bureau at [email protected] or 888-444-9252 by Saturday, May 8. The Visitors Bureau encourages guests to stay overnight and visit county attractions, shops and restaurants.   For more information about Spencer County as a year-round destination, call (888) 444-9252 or visit www.santaclausind.org.