The Grand Opening of Cooter's in Luray is May 6 & 7 Featuring Tom Wopat in Concert!

This is gong to be one great Dukes-filled summer!  In July we have the big event, Hazzard Homecoming: Cooter's Last Stand, but before that we got all kinds of great activities, starting with the Grand Opening of Cooter's In The Valley in Luray, VA on May 6 and 7.  

I visited the new store a few weeks ago and helped out with a few things.  Believe me when I say that this place is special.  Ben and Alma have put their years of experience running great Dukes of Hazzard locations toward building the perfect destination.

The Grand Opening is set for Saturday May 6 and Sunday May 7.  Along with Cooter, Luke Duke himself, Tom Wopat will be there to cut the ribbon.  You don't want to miss this event.  The ribbon cutting with Ben Jones and Tom Wopat is at 10am on Saturday.  After the meet and greets during the day on Saturday, Tom will be the first guest of the Shenandoah Jamboree concert series that will take place inside the new Cooter's Place.  Tom will be performing some well known classics as well as music from his upcoming album.

Tom's concerts are always a wonderful time.  He loves performing and it really shows when he's on stage.  The concert starts at 7 on Saturday evening and the doors open at 6.  This event requires a purchased ticket and there are only a limited number left.  Tickets are $20.  To get your tickets, you can call the Luray store at 540-843-2515 or follow this link to the Eventbrite page.

I can't wait for the Grand Opening weekend.  The new store is going to be so amazing with the museum, the cars, the new Cooter's Garage display, Cooter and Luke Duke!  Make your plans now and I'll see you May 6 and 7 in Luray, VA!

And The Winners Are...

Well it sure has been a fun week with this contest.  I got emails and twitter notifications all week each time someone entered.  It was a huge success!

I decided last minute (or was it the plan all along?) to give away two signed copies of Home For Christmas on vinyl just to make it a little more fun.  The winners are...

Justin G. and Jean M.!

Justin won by leaving a blog comment.  He shared with us "I once got Boss Hogg and Bo action figures, which were pretty cool!"  Sure was Justin.  He also knew the Christmas episode of the Dukes was entitled "The Great Santa Claus Chase."  

Jean won by following me (@larryafranks) on Twitter!  

You can congratulate both Justin and Jean on Twitter and follow them as well at @justinboy94 and @jasonjean2005.  

Thank you very much to everyone who entered.  If you didn't win, you can buy your own copy of Tom Wopat and John Schneider's Home For Christmas at TomWopat.com.  You can buy the special edition vinyl version, a CD, or a digital download.  It makes a great gift for fellow Dukes fans as well!  

You Can Win Home For Christmas On Vinyl Signed By John Schneider and Tom Wopat

Christmas time is almost here and I'm giving away some gifts!

Last year, Tom Wopat and John Schneider released a Christmas album with all of our help on Kickstarter.  It became a huge success and created some memories that will last a lifetime.  This year, they are releasing the album on special edition vinyl!  What a great collector's item!  I've partnered with the Duke Boys and us Three Goold Ol' Boys are giving away autographed copies of  "Home For Christmas" on vinyl right here on the DukesCollector blog!

"Home For Christmas" is the first album that Tom and John have ever recorded together.  It combines Tom's swinging jazz sounds and John's Dukes inspired country with Christmas classics.  My favorite song is Johnny, It's Cold Outside.  It's got everything a Dukes fan could want.  I played the album a lot last Christmas, and I'll be doing the same for the next month.  You can buy the special edition vinyl copy, as well as a standard CD version from Tom Wopat's site.  TomWopat.com also has a link to buy a digital copy of the album.

Through the relationship I formed working with the Kickstarter project last year, I am able to give away a few signed copies of the vinyl album to you, the loyal DukesCollector readers.  It will be autographed by John Schneider and Tom Wopat and will be an incredible collector's piece.  To manage the giveaway, I'm using software called Rafflecopter.  The app is below.  It's very easy.  You sign in using your email address or Facebook.  I'm not a Facebook fan, so you don't have to have an account with them at all for my contest.  Once you sign on with your email, you have multiple ways to gain entries in the contest.  You can post comments on the blog and use Twitter to enter.   By completing all the tasks, you could gain as many as 7 entries into the drawing.  Using Rafflecopter helps build the DukesCollector brand as well as gives you several chances to win.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


You might remember all the fun we had last year leading up to the album release.  The Kickstarter gave fans all sorts of different opportunities to interact with the Duke Boys.  I went to NYC for their concert and got to interview them about the album and the Dukes of Hazzard.  If you've never seen it, or haven't watched it since last year, here it is.




If you have an questions about the giveaway, please email me lafre@atlanticbb.net or contact me on Twitter.  A long time ago, I first opened a Twitter account just for contests.  It sat dormant for some time until I started using it to promote the blog.  Since then I've become pretty active on it.  If you don't have a twitter account, consider signing up to get more entries in the giveaway.  I do a good bit of Dukes talking on there and you might find that you like it.  Just yesterday I was talking with John Schneider about a potential movie role.  It's a fun way to interact with friends, make new ones, and once in a while, talk to celebrities.

To take a look back at John and Tom's two concerts in New York City promoting the release last December, check out the blog posts:

John Schneider and Tom Wopat's Kickstarter Concert at Joe's Pub in NYC 12/12/14

John Schneider and Tom Wopat at Barnes & Noble December 3, 2014

The contest runs this week, over black Friday and ends on cyber Monday.  Get those entries in!  I'll announce the winner on Tuesday, December 1.  Good Luck!

Dukes of Hazzard Christmas Presents!

 

It is very hard to surprise me with Dukes of Hazzard presents.  But each year, my friends and family pull off the near impossible and get me some great gifts.  

My mom blew me away with this poster she had printed of me, John, and Tom.  This baby is huge. She is going to have it framed for me, but thought I might want to have it signed first.  Good thought. I really love this poster.  I can't wait until it's hanging on the wall.  Great job Mom!

Before I show off Jeff's Dukes presents.  I wanted to share this awesome gift from Jeff's wife Sara. Guardians of the Galaxy was huge this year.  Groot was everywhere.  No one has a Groot as cool as this.  Sara crocheted this little guy.  I am really impressed with it.  Thanks Sara!

Jeff's first present was this Movie theater mylar display.  This display was used above the theater door so patrons know which auditorium to go into.  It is in perfect condition.  

The opposite side has a reverse image.  It can be lighted from the back like a movie poster.  This is a really cool item.  Jeff has a long history with movie theaters so this is perfect coming from him.

Jeff's other present is a very ornate, ceramic owl.  It features a nocturnal bird of prey preparing to take off from a small log.

The wings are spread and many colors are portrayed.

It has an artist's marking as well as a number 1114.  I am unaware what the marking means.

Of course, Jeff bought me this piece because it was a prop used on the set of the Dukes of Hazzard.

It comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.  This owl is so cool.  Now that the Dukes is in HD, we have to be able to find this bad boy.  Come on internet, help me find this owl on a shelf in Uncle Jesse's kitchen.  Jeff has added some great props to the collection.  First the bowl from last Christmas, and then the train pin for my birthday.  You are awesome Jeffrey.   

Non-Dukes, but we have been discussing Hulk Hogan a little bit around these parts.  Mattel released their first Hulkster figure and I had to jump on it.  This is the best figure to date of the best wrestler ever.

Mom made another really cool printed item for me.  I am not a coffee drinker, but I do love cookies and milk.  Now I can split my servings between my Dukes mug and this great "Me and Hulk Hogan" mug she made me.  Thanks again, Mom. 

I don't want to toot my own Dixie horn, but I got Jeff a pretty cool gift this year.  It is a brand new Thing hoodie, that I got from 80stees.  I think he likes it.  He didn't really clobber his dog.

Have A Very Merry Dukes Of Hazzard Christmas

Not since the Golden Era Of Dukes have we had such a Hazzard filled Christmas.  With John and Tom spreading holiday cheer all over with their album "Home For Christmas" and Hallmark finally releasing a General Lee Keepsake ornament, this has been a Christmas to remember.

The last time we had this much Dukes Christmas was with the 1980 episode "The Great Santa Claus Chase."

And who can forget the Dukes cartoon episode from 1983, "A Dickens Of A Christmas."

And of course the 1987 movie that reunited Bo and Luke, "Christmas Comes to Willow Creek."

To all of the Dukes of Hazzard family, fans, collectors, and the rest of the world, have a Larry Christmas!

John Schneider and Tom Wopat at Barnes & Noble December 3, 2014

The night after the big Kickstarter concert, John and Tom performed a small concert in the Barnes & Noble on the Upper East Side in New York City.  It was another magical night.

Getting to see two small venue Bo and Luke Concerts in two nights would be great enough, but I got to see two sound checks on top of that.  Each sound check was like a personal concert.  Man, sometimes I wonder how I get so lucky.  Before the show started, I was just hanging around the store when John walked in.  He called me over, and we hung out in B&N for quite a while.  We talked about Nooks and cell phones, you know, normal tech talk.  It was pretty awesome.  I'm glad to report that John is an Android guy, and not an Apple guy.  It's the little things that make me happy.  I also showed him a picture of my Dukes of Hazzard swimming pool and he was quite impressed.  Man, did I have a great time!

The Barnes & Noble store had several levels.  The small event center was on the bottom floor.  John was pleasantly surprised at how nice the venue was.  He said he expected to be playing at the top of the escalator.  Tom knew what he was doing when he set this gig up.

It was a smaller musical ensemble than the night before, and Tom's musicians sure are talented.  He had his bass player, drummer, and  piano player, all fabulous.

The boys took some press shots before the show.

The photographers told Tom to do Zoolander, and he did.  He said he knew someone would use the picture.  

 The room sat around 75 people.

It filled up pretty quickly.  I was surprised that only Eric Kabakoff and I made it to both shows.We figured a lot of the Kickstarter backers had probably traveled for the show and then just went back home.  Or they just didn't know about this one.  I tried to let everyone know.  Eric is a new friend of the blog who  lives in NYC.  He is a baseball fanatic and has written several books on the sport. which were on sale in B&N. Cool.  Very glad I met Eric.  

John and Tom only sang five songs, but they were good ones.  They really brought the house down.

It is obvious that they really enjoy performing together.

The crowd loved the show.

Tom closed the show with his solo of "Home For Christmas."  It is a wonderful rendition filled with emotion.  An easy choice for the title track of the album.

After the show, the Dukes Boys hung around and signed a bunch of stuff, especially the Christmas album.

Everyone was very excited to get their autographs.

The family that loves the Dukes together, stays together.

There were a lot of great Dukes collectibles floating around.  You know I love talking to fellow collectors.

John mentioned that he enjoys signing records because they still play perfectly even if signed.  I never thought of that.  Good point John.

John even got Tom's autograph for his mother, Shirley.  John had a few other family members there and they all seemed to really enjoy the event.

I had to grab one more picture with my heroes.  It was another very successful event to promote "Home For Christmas."  With only a week before Christmas, you really should get the album if you haven't yet.  It is great.  I had so much fun hanging with John and Tom in New York.  Christmas came early for this Dukes Collector.