June 26, 2008
IN BRIEF: TOURISM, FILM AND THE ARTS NEWS

DEW Tour gives city, state national exposure

The AST Dew Tour – an action sports competition with $2.5 million in prize money that features skateboarding, freestyle motocross and other related events – made its first stop of the season at Baltimore’s Camden Yards last weekend for the Panasonic Open. More than 52,000 people attended.

Baltimore received national exposure through NBC’s live two-day broadcast of the competition and the network’s taped footage of the downtown area. The USA Network, Fuel TV and MTV also taped segments for later use.

Maryland’s commercial for its current tourism advertising program, “Pretty. Close.” aired twice during the NBC broadcast.


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In addition to the bronze crab trophies that winners of the competition received, the City of Baltimore gave the best overall performer – Bucky Lasek (pictured) – a new “Pride of Baltimore” award: a $5,000 check and a replica of the Pride of Baltimore clipper ship.

“To be able to bring something like the Dew Tour back to Baltimore… well, let’s just say I wasn’t here to get second place and I wasn’t here to go home hurt: I was here to win it for Baltimore,” said Lasek, a native of the city and a two-time AST Dew Tour champion.

Aramark, a partner of Camden Yards and the Maryland Stadium Authority, provided the cash award. Hannah Lee Byron, assistant secretary for Tourism, Film and the Arts, a division of Maryland’s Department of Business and Economic Development, helped to present the Pride of Baltimore replica.