When the 2012 CMA Music Festival kicks off its four-day event on Thursday, June 7, in Nashville, Tenn., HGTV joins in the excitement of the ultimate country music fan experience by opening the doors to its star-studded venue, The Lodge. Along withGAC,DIY Network andTravel Channel, The Lodge offers fans a unique interactive experience, live musical performances and autograph signings with popular country music stars and lifestyle television personalities.

"The CMA Music Festival audience is as passionate about country music as HGTV's audience is about their homes, making The Lodge an excellent way to engage our fans," said Denise Conroy-Galley, HGTV's senior vice president, marketing and creative services. "This event provides our viewers with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect with both our talent and some of today's popular country artists."

CMA Music Festival attendees and fans will have the opportunity to attend various autograph signings and acoustic performances from a host of country artists and HGTV and DIY Network stars at The Lodge in Fan Alley. Fans can enter for the chance to attend by visiting GACTV.com/CMAFest and looking for the banner advertisement for the official sweeps entry page and rules beginning at approximately 5 p.m. ET on May 23, 2012. Entries must be received by noon ET on May 30, 2012. The giveaway is open to legal residents of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, 18 years of age or older. Fans will also have an opportunity to win access to these signings and performances at the event and details about these opportunities will be posted on the GAC Facebook or Twitter page during CMA Music Fest week. No purchase necessary to enter or win.

The Lodge's GAC Living Country Stage line-up includes performances by country artists Gary Allan, Dierks Bentley, Bucky Covington, Love & Theft, Kip Moore, Sarah Darling, Josh Thompson, Kix Brooks, Katie Armiger and Casey James and autograph sessions with Kellie Pickler, Lauren Alaina, Rodney Atkins, Easton Corbin, Luke Bryan, Little Big Town, Thompson Square, Jake Owen, Scotty McCreery and rapper Vanilla Ice, host of DIY Network's The Vanilla Ice Project (Sundays at 4 p.m. ET). Additionally, several of HGTV's top stars will be on-hand to meet fans, including Chris Lambton, host of Going Yard (Saturdays at 5 p.m. ET); Drew and Jonathan Scott, hosts of The Property Brothers (Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET); Amie and Jolie Sykes, hosts ofJunk Gypsies (Saturdays at 7 p.m. ET).

The 2,400-square-foot Lodge also offers visitors multiple activities under one roof, including The Hook-Up, an interactive newsstand where festival goers can take a break to interact with Scripps Networks' iPad apps, browse through HGTV Magazine and recharge their electronic devices. The HGTV Red Carpet photo booth allows visitors to snap photos to share with friends through a photo download webpage. Fans can also cool off with shaved ice and a misting station at DIY Network's The Vanilla Ice Project-themed "Ice My Cup" station. Each day of the festival starting at 10 a.m. CT, The Lodge is also featuring past HGTV Design Star contestants - Josh Johnson, Todd Davis, Emily Henderson and Antonio Ballatore - who will design a room based on hit Country songs in its very own White Room Challenge area and discuss their respective designs with fans on-site.

While at The Lodge, guests can pick up a copy of Travel Channel and GAC's guide to Nashville. Folks stopping by can also visit the Travel Channel tour bus and treat themselves to an ice-cream sandwich as the network prepares to launch its newest original series Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America on Wednesday, June 6 at 9 p.m. ET. Adding to the experience, comedian and vacation expert Bert Kreischer will be on location to film an upcoming episode of the new Travel Channel series, Trip Flip. He will surprise a few lucky tourists with the ultimate Nashville vacation, as he convinces them to throw away their plans, and let him take over "flipping" their trip into an extraordinary adventure they will never forget. Trip Flip premieres June 28 at 9 p.m. ET. Kreischer will also be traveling down Broadway during the festival's kick-off parade on Wednesday, June 6.

Fans unable to visit The Lodge can keep tabs on all of the festivities through several interactive elements at GACTV.com/CMAFest. They can also follow event activities on Twitter at #TheLodge and on HGTV's Facebook page with a special CMA Music Festival tab, which will feature daily posts of behind-the-scenes content, a rolling Twitter feed, time-lapsed videos that chronicle each White Room Challenge design from start-to-finish, and trivia questions about HGTV, DIY Network, GAC and Travel Channel.

Schedule of Events at The Lodge by HGTV (All times CT.):

Thursday, June 7:
11 a.m.: Lauren Alaina & Rodney Atkins (signing)
1 p.m.: Thompson Square & Jake Owen (signing)
2 p.m.: The Vanilla Ice Project's Vanilla Ice (signing)
3 p.m.: Josh Thompson (performance and signing)
4 p.m.: HGTV Design Star's "Sparkle" Josh Johnson (signing)
5 p.m.: Dierks Bentley (performance and signing)
7:30-9:30 p.m.: Gary Allan (private, invite-only event)

Friday, June 8:
9 a.m.: Going Yard's Chris Lambton (signing)
11 a.m.: Little Big Town (signing)
1 p.m.: Easton Corbin (signing)
3 p.m.: Kellie Pickler (signing)
4 p.m.: Room Crashers' Todd Davis (signing)
5 p.m.: Casey James (performance and signing)

Saturday, June 9:
9 a.m.: Property Brothers' Drew and Jonathan Scott (signing)
11 a.m.: Bucky Covington (performance and signing)
1 p.m.: Love & Theft (performance and signing)
3 p.m.: Kip Moore (performance and signing)
4 p.m.: Secrets from a Stylists' Emily Henderson (signing)
5 p.m.: Kix Brooks (performance)

Sunday, June 10:
11 a.m.: Sarah Darling (performance and signing)
12 p.m.: Katie Armiger (performance)
1 p.m.: Scotty McCreery (signing)
2 p.m.: The Antonio Treatment's Antonio Ballatore (signing)
3 p.m.: Luke Bryan (signing)

About CMA Music Festival

CMA Music Festival is the Ultimate Country Music Fan Experience - a celebration of America's music - that takes over downtown Nashville June 7-10 with non-stop concerts on multiple stages with a vast and varied roster of artists. CMA Music Festival is a four-time winner of the International Entertainment Buyers Association's LIVE! Award for Festival of the Year (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010).

About HGTV

America's leading home and lifestyle brand, HGTV features a top-rated cable network that is distributed to more than 99 million U.S. households and the HGTV website, HGTV.com, the nation's leading online home-and-garden destination that attracts an average of four million unique visitors per month. The brand also includes the HGTV HOME consumer products line which showcases exclusive collections of paint, flooring, soft goods and other home-oriented products, as well as HGTV Magazine, a new home and lifestyle publication published in partnership with Hearst Magazines.

HGTV and DIY Network
Brandii Toby-Leon, 865-560-4280
btoby@diynetwork.com
or
Rogers & Cowan
Maggie Gallant, 212-878-5005
mgallant@rogersandcowan.com