FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AVON, CONNECTICUT, September 24, 2001—New England travel writer Kim Knox Beckius is once again sending autumn in New England enthusiasts the leaves off her trees. “It's not the shirt off my back,” she says, “but what other girl would send you the leaves from her travels?”

Beckius produces About.com’s New England for Visitors Web site, home to New England Foliage Central—http://gonewengland.about.com. In its fourth year, New England Foliage Central provides Internet users with comprehensive coverage of fall in the Northeast, plus a few fun surprises including the free leaf giveaway.

At New England Foliage Central, Web users will not only be able to track current foliage conditions, they’ll discover:

• the region’s best fall driving tours,
• a fall foliage travel planner,
• fall festivals,
• day trip suggestions,
• autumn leaf coloring pages to keep kids amused on fall foliage drives,
• tips for photographing fall foliage,
• apple and pumpkin picking locations, and
• delicious apple and pumpkin recipes from New England inns to make at home.

They’ll even find a collection of fall foliage Web Cams so that they can peep at the leaves before they leave home or visit New England virtually and avoid the crowds. Yahoo! Internet Life has called New England Foliage Central, “the Web’s best guide to regional tours.”

Details of the free fall leaf giveaway are online at: http://gonewengland.about.com/library/weekly/aa100500a.htm. Those interested in receiving free autumn leaves need simply send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the address specified.

“The Internet is a great source of information for the tens of thousands of leaf peepers who flock to New England each year,” says Beckius. “For four years now, New England Foliage Central has enabled me to share autumn in my part of the world not only with travelers who are planning to enjoy the season in person, but with displaced New Englanders who are longing for a glimpse of home,” she said. “I even post weekly photos of the view outside my window in central Connecticut so that folks who can’t get to New England can watch the leaves turn along with me,” she added.

Site visitors will also have opportunities to chat with New Englanders and fellow tourists about the best places to see fall colors, to post their travel tips to the New England for Visitors Forum, and even to share their own photos of New England decked out in red and gold with the Web’s global audience via an online Fall Foliage Photo Album.

Kim Knox Beckius

Kim Knox Beckius is a resident of Avon , Connecticut . Since 1998, she has produced About.com’s New England Web site—http://gonewengland.about.com— taking Internet users on a virtual tour of New England and providing the Web’s worldwide audience with lively, weekly commentary on travel and events and insight into Yankee tradition, history, and ingenuity. She has also produced About.com’s local site for Hartford, Connecticut, http://hartford.about.com, since 1999. She is the author of The Everything Guide to New England, a travel guidebook to the region scheduled to be released in the spring of 2002 by Adams Media Publishing. It will be available at bookstores everywhere.

About
The Human Internet(TM)

About, Inc. is the mirror image of its parent company, PRIMEDIA Inc. Both are complete targeted environments for users and marketers. PRIMEDIA Inc., owns and operates print, video, and Internet businesses focused on consumer and business-to-business audiences, such as Seventeen, Fly Fisherman and Modern Bride, whereas About has more than 700 topic sites, each overseen by a professional Guide, with similar topics, such as Teen Advice, Fly Fishing and Marriage. The About Network provides customers with an experience unlike any other on the Web--including the Internet's best link directories, original content, community features and commerce opportunities. Media Metrix (April 2001) ranks About.com as the 6th largest Web Property. More information on the company can be found on its website at www.about.com.

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