Ripley's Believe It or Not! Roadshow Draws Crowds in British Columbia; Traveling exhibit attracts new audience to Surrey Museum.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Since its original display of the odd and unusual at the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago, Ripley's Believe It or Not! has attracted millions of visitors to its Odditoriums across the world to experience the wonder and fascination of items that are unbelievably real.

Temporary exhibits, touring sideshows and permanent museums have showcased the eclectic lineup of Ripley oddities. Currently, there are 26 Ripley's Believe It or Not! museums operating in 10 countries. In 2005, Ripley's began its globetrotting once again with the creation of Ripley's Believe It or Not! Roadshow, an exhibit bursting with wonders that can be housed in traditional museums and galleries around the world. In its premiere showing at the new Surrey Museum in British Columbia, Canada, the Ripley exhibit is credited with expanding the audience of the city's newest museum. The traveling exhibit is on display in Surrey through December.

"The Ripley's Believe It or Not! Roadshow has been a tremendous part of the initial success of the Surrey Museum and has created a sense of urgency for people to come out to the museum while the oddities of Ripley are still on display," said Bev Sommer, manager of heritage services for the City of Surrey. "It draws a diverse, energetic crowd that we would not have attracted without these wonderful objects from Ripley."

"The driving force behind the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Roadshow is to bring the wonders of the world -- including unimaginable folk art, oddities of nature and unbelievable historic pieces -- to people's backyards,'' said Ripley CEO Robert Masterson. "Museums are consistently looking for ways to attract younger audiences and our traveling exhibit certainly attract younger folks.''

Ripley's flexible new touring exhibit can fill museum spaces of any size and can be customized to fit the needs of the host museum. The current exhibit at the Surrey Museum features one-of-a-kind artifacts including an original Iron Maiden, a torture device used in medieval times; a mural of British Columbia made of more than 45,000 postage stamps, a genuine shrunken head from Ecuador, and a small piece of the planet Mars that broke off during an asteroid collision more than nine million years ago.

To learn more about booking Ripley's Believe It or Not! Roadshow and its availability, contact Lisa Shea, project manager for Ripley Entertainment, at [phone] or [e-mail].

About Ripley Entertainment

Ripley Entertainment, Inc. (www.ripleys.com) is a leading global attractions company with annual attendance of more than 12 million guests. In addition to its 50-plus attractions, the Orlando-based company has publishing and broadcast divisions that oversee projects including the globally syndicated Believe It or Not! television show, best-selling books and the popular syndicated comic strip. Ripley Entertainment is a Jim Pattison Company; the third largest privately held company in Canada.