Last fall I participated in two outstanding conferences: the Montana Economic Development Summit and Montana Main Street. Both drew dynamic speakers and provided dozens of opportunities for community leaders, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and the public sector to network and brainstorm.
Tourism and what it means as part of an overall economic development strategy was a key component. As I listened to the conversations, it struck me that no one questioned the appropriateness of aggressively pursuing tourism dollars. No one was asking the fundamental question: Is tourism right for our community? Keep reading
Endless miles of open highway . . . long stretches when the only vehicle you can see is the one you’re driving. The scenery is interesting, it may even be spectacular – for an hour – and then the tedium sets in.
The mileposts flash by but it doesn’t feel like you’re getting any closer to your destination. You need a restroom and there isn’t a town, a rest area or even a tree in sight.Your legs are cramping up and the music on your iPod is boring. Of course, this doesn’t really matter because your traveling companion’s snores have been drowning it out for the past 100 miles. Keep reading
Having lived in both Chicago and Montana I understand and appreciate their differences. Montana – land of ranchers, small towns, wildlife, spectacular mountains, clear streams and wide open vistas. Chicago – home to upscale and abundant shopping and restaurants, Wrigley Field, blues and jazz, outstanding culture and museums.
Both excel in distinctive ways, so why all the trash talk? Keep reading
What an incredible idea – bring together a group of intelligent, creative people to tell a collective story. But not just any story – the story of our Main Streets.
This collaborative documentary project - Mapping Main Street – is utilizing Flickr and Vimeo to assemble photos and stories about each of the country’s more than 10,000 Main Streets. It’s your friends and neighbors – everyday people – who are taking the pictures, shooting the videos, having face-to-face conversations and then using the power of social media to share their hometowns and favorite places with the world. Keep reading
We’ve all seen it – town after town where it’s hard to differentiate one from the other. The stores are the same, the restaurants are the same and if you were blindfolded and taken to one of them, it would be difficult for you to tell where you were – to find characteristics that define that individual community and set it apart from all the others. But I know those gems are out there – in fact, my theory is that communities that have retained their sense of place are more prevalent than we think. They still have locally-owned shops and restaurants and they don’t look or feel like everywhere else. Here’s your challenge: Look around – what are the communities near you or that you’ve visited that have tenaciously hung onto their identity? Keep reading
Everyone has their favorite summer events – you know, the ones you’ll drive hours to attend, the ones that become traditions for your family and friends. But after a lazy summer of outdoor music, local festivals and weekly farmer’s markets, what is there to look forward to? The temperature is dropping, it’s dark before dinner, you’re in fall harvest overload and you’re too old to anticipate trick or treating. Hold that thought . . .
Communities around the country build upon the October obsession with all things creepy and pumpkin-related to raise money for charity, spur tourism, and highlight local attractions.
It works for small towns like Niles, MI (pop 11,272) where more than 1.2 million (yes, million) enthusiasts have trekked to their 44-acre site for “the biggest, scariest, most blood-curdling experience…this side of the Continental Divide.” Far more than its Haunted House, the park offers hours of shrieks with a zombie motel, dark terror hayride and field of screams complete with maniac maze. For those who are directionally impaired, a maze simulator is available for pre-visit practice.
Maybe you’re looking for something a little tamer – the Biggest Pumpkin Festival in the World perhaps? Keene, NH (pop 23,099) hosts this one-day extravaganza dedicated to all things pumpkin – seed spitting and pie eating competitions, arts and crafts and the ultimate jack-o-lantern display. More than 10,000 pumpkins are carved by local schoolchildren each year but that’s only about a third of the total.
This is the event’s 20th year and organizers will attempt to best the record of 30,128 pumpkins set by Boston in 2006. Granted, you may not be able to amass a comparable number of carved masterpieces or set up 40-foot high scaffolding, but even a few hundred could be a draw for small towns on an autumn evening.
A single day isn’t enough? That’s what the residents of Anoka, MN (pop 47,384) decided. Proclaimed by Congress as the Halloween Capital of the World, Anoka spends the week leading up to Halloween celebrating with carving contests, a parade and bonfire, wine-tasting, even an “orange tie” ball. The police and fire departments square off in a chili cook-off, families compete in treasure hunts and costume contests, and neighborhood decorations are to die for.
Ghost towns might seem to be the epitome of setting for Halloween events and some, like Calico near Barstow, CA and Bannack State Park, near Dillon, MT, have capitalized on the holiday with staff and volunteers providing ghostly re-enactments of historical events.But you don’t need to be an actual ghost town to host interpreted walks through your community’s history. Explore the stories and share them with your visitors and guests.
Don’t be afraid to try something new or put your own twist on an idea you’ve seen elsewhere. Get a group of volunteers together and make it happen!
Lots of buzz lately about Gowalla vs foursquare so I signed up and downloaded the apps. But wait, I have a BB Storm and Gowalla’s BB app (beta) doesn’t work on the Storm. Seriously? How is that possible?
So far, my emails to customer service and shout outs on Twitter have gone unanswered – that’s disappointing. I’m particularly interested in the trips feature after seeing the one Sheila Scarborough created for Round Rock, TX. On the website it looks promising as a new dimension to tourism, guess I’ll have to wait a while longer to test drive it.
I was more successful with foursquare – sort of. Foursquare is just emerging out here in Montana. There aren’t many places to check-in yet, which is fine since the positioning signals aren’t quite accurate. For example, I was at Carroll College and the places that showed up for check-in were more than a mile away. I did a search and the college came up but foursquare told me I was “too far away to check in”. Really? Keep reading
Vicky Soderberg
