Is a 2009 Fall Festival in Lebanon, Oregon possible?

LEBANON, OREGON, January 16, 2009...A vision of a 2009 Lebanon Fall Festival will be discussed at a lunch meeting on January 16, Friday, at Peggy’s Alaskan Cabbage Patch B&B at 194 S 2nd St, Lebanon, Oregon.
At this noon meeting, Peggy, will present her vision for bringing more visitors and tourists to Lebanon.
“Would a ‘Fall Festival of Quilting and Textile Arts," in Lebanon in October 2009 be a good idea?” That’s the question Peggy posed in her recent email to potential meeting guests.
A True Fall Festival... More than a quilt show
She continued, “The festival would be much more than a guild quilt show. It would have an Iron Quilt contest, a quilting play on stage by the Lebanon Community Players, and a nationally known quilting speaker.”
“Please come to a short luncheon meeting at noon on Friday, January 16th to discuss this idea. I will provide lunch at my Bed & Breakfast, at 194 S 2nd Street,” she concluded.
Build on the show’s 2008 successes
The ideas to be discussed are based on the huge success of the 2008 Santiam Scrappers Quilt Guild show in October 2008.
On October 18-19, 2008, with a bigger, better venue and the big help of marketing dollars from the Lebanon Tourism Committee, the guild's annual quilt show made a giant leap forward. A few numbers show how this 2008 show increased visitors to Lebanon.

• Over 360 attendees... Up from 'bout 100,
• Over 180 quilts... Up from 'bout 120,
• 10 vendors... Up from 2,
• 13 public quilts... Up from none,
• 5 children's quilts... Up from none,
• 2 speakers... Up from none,
• 18 vignettes... Up from none,
• 4 Textile Arts entries... Up from none,
• Food service... Up from none, and all this brought
• Additional business to Lebanon.... It was up significantly.

2009 Fall Festival brings more fun, more visitors, more business
Peggy closed her email with the thought, “A 2009 Lebanon Fall Festival could take us, the Lebanon community, new places.”
“Where we go in 2009 is more fun, more to do, and more visitors.” Then she listed more specifics to outline her vision.

• Iron Quilt Contest,
• Quilt Stage Play by Lebanon’s Community Players,
• National known quilting speaker,
• Up to 500 attendees,
• Up to 15 vendors,
• Up to 4 speakers/ workshops,
• Up to 14 textile art displays,
• Up to 6 textile artists demos,
• Quilt Block Scrabble,
• Quilt car show,
• More public quilts,
• More vignettes & vendors,
• More demos & more classes,
• More marketing & publicity, and
• More helpers, supporters... All equals...
• More Fun, More to Do, More, More, More & More & More.

Peggy believes, “These and your ideas can keep the momentum going and bring more visitors and more business to Lebanon this fall and in years to come.”
If you have suggestion, please RSVP
If you are interested, please come for lunch and talk about how this could happen.
There is one last question in her email, “Whom is a contact person in the Lebanon Community Players to come to this meeting?”
Please RSVP Peggy at 541.451.4910, 541.258.1774 or via her cell 541.409.0740, or email.
She wants your ideas to help Lebanon's Fall Festival become the "Sisters' Quilt Show" of the Santiam Valley.
Peggy is Santiam Scrappers Quilt Guild 2008-2009 president and promotion committee chair.

Come to Quilt Block Scrabble this weekend in Lebanon

LEBANON, OREGON October 12, 2008...The annul quilt show in Lebanon is definitely “Quilting Outside the Box.” This weekend the show will become famous with quilters playing the very first ever game of Quilt Block Scrabble. While it is not going to be as famous as the Sister s’ Quilt Show, this year the local show is trying to bring more tourists to Lebanon.

The 6th annual quilt show —which will feature more than 100 quilts along with quilting and other textile arts fun is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the gym of the Sand Ridge Charter School, 2900 S. Main Road, Lebanon. Admission is $2 and all guests receive a yo yo flower pin. Proceeds benefit the Santiam Scrappers Quilt Guild and their community service projects.

Quilt Block Scrabble game
Heading up the Quilt Block Scrabble game and possible team competition is Peggy Christopherson. She is the Santiam Scrappers Quilt Guild president.

Peggy has organized quilting and textile arts games and events since the late 1990’s, when she lived in Delta Junction in interior Alaska. At a Delta Junction quilting retreat, Peggy and her quilting sister, Dawn Grossmann, organized a quilt block mystery game. Quilters had to read a set of fictional letters and guess which quilt blocks were described therein. The letters were supposedly written in 1920 by a young woman who was traveling with her new husband to the gold fields in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Super Scrabble-sized, quilted board
Peggy says such games make the quilt show much more fun and give folks more to do. “It makes a quilt show more like a festival or a fair,” she said. “This years show is in a bigger space and we have much more for other textile artists and visitors to see and do,” she continued.

Quilt Block Scrabble is to be played on a Super Scrabble-sized board. Peggy described the game, “It’s a big quilted board on the wall with 21x21 or 441 squares vs. the standard 15x15 or 225 squares. Players add quilt block names which are then verified as one of the 4,000 quilt block names in Barbara Brackman’s book—Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns.”

Winners will include a player drawing, chosen from all players, and a “Top Block (word)smith,” the player with the most points.

“Quilting Outside the Box” plus traditional textile art fun
The show will also feature other “Quilting Outside the Box” and textile art activities. This year will have many vendors, a number of unique quilting vignettes and art quilts. Peggy said the addition of public, heritage and family quilts plus a quilted van is also new.

The shows traditional fun happenings are a small quilt silent auction and sale, quilting games, and children’s quilting—I Spy and Make a Block. Also there are quilting bed turnings, textile arts demos, and talks on historical and liturgical quilting. Plus there is a quilt and crafts flea market and a holiday boutique.

We want more tourists and visitors to enjoy Lebanon
Peggy concluded, “The Quilting Outside the Box quilt show is making a big attempt to bring more visitors to enjoy the fun and sense of community that is growing anew in Lebanon.”

For more information, call Peggy at 541-451-4910 or visit www.santiamscrppers.org.

Come Stay in The Nest B&B in Brownsville, Oregon

“Welcome to The Nest B&B, a cozy cottage in a tiny town. The Nest is your own private retreat located just a short stroll away from historic downtown Brownsville. Situated right next to the historic millrace which once powered the Brownsville Woolen Mills and sawmill, The Nest is steps away from antique shops, casual dining, the Linn County Historical Museum, and one of the best swimming holes on the Calapooia River.”

Guess that says it best… Linn County’s newest bed and breakfasts found in downtown Brownsville. Right there in the center of this neat “… small town, with fascinating people, classic houses, picket fences, old fashioned front porches and a lazy river that winds through our beautiful city park.“ Plus it’s a neat town and a great place to shoot a movie!

Mandy Cole said she and Tony Gorsline, publisher of Bedbug Press, are having fun running The Nest. This is their second year and business is just where they want it. Most of their guests are visiting friends and relatives (VFRs). Plus there are a few tourists who drive by and are attracted by the “The Nest B&B” sign and the look of the cottage. They drop in and spend a night or two.

The Nest B&B and home offices of Bedbug Press are at 308 Averill Street. That is a block off North Main Street and right across the street from the park behind Brownsville’s Community Library.

If you are looking for a cozy cottage B&B in a small, very historic, Oregon town, come stay at The Nest B&B. Come stay in The Nest and enjoy events in this “tiny town.” The fun events on Brownsville’s Chamber of Commerce web signboard lists —

• Carriage Me Back– a somewhat historic, always enjoyable community drama of life in a particular year in the history of Brownsville, early May,
• Pioneer Picnic– Oregon's oldest continuing celebration started in 1887, early June,
• Stand By Me Show– July 28, 2007, Rolling Road Show comes to town to celibate the 1986 movie “Stand By Me”, and the
• Antique Faire– August filling downtown with antiques.

Plus there are all the small town fun times like citywide garage sale, WAG Dog Agility Trials, Easter egg hunt, Farmer’s Market, summertime music afternoons of bluegrass and folk, 4th Fireworks, Home for the Holidays, and Second Annual Brownsville Storytelling Festival (January).

From The Nest it’s just a short walk to the very interesting East Linn County Historical Museum in its railcars and Brownsville's original railroad depot, the 1881 Moyer House in the Italianate Villa style, and all the other historic homes and locations. Then there are the artists, coffee houses, Corner Café, Pharmacy, the Bank, and old-style hardware store, and so much more.

If your athletic side comes to the fore, there are many nice walks, and you can play Croquet (in consume if desired) and there is always that “best swimming holes on the Calapooia.”

Linn County has a jewel of a tourist attraction, Brownsville, and a nice “cozy cottage” in which to stay when you come to Oregon’s 3rd oldest town.

Give Mandy a call and spend a night in The Nest B&B. Come Visit Linn County, Oregon and enjoy a different world and time.

Would you come to “Blooms & Threads”– A fun, 3-day Flower & Quilt Show in Lebanon, Oregon in 2008?

2008 JUNE– STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL, LEBANON, OREGON… A few local Lebanonites are considering developing this idea for June 2008. They are asking the following five questions –

• Would mid-Willamette Valley gardeners and quilters enjoy a major, local, 3-day flower and quilt show with garden displays, judged flower arrangements, juried and judged quilt competition, art quilts, heritage quilts, local art, workshops, speakers, and a commercial vendors marketplace?
• Would Lebanon benefit from a major new tourist event at Strawberry Festival?
• Would Lebanon’s businesses and organizations like to have $5,000 to $8,000 new income?
• Would Strawberry Festival like to appeal to a new type of visitor & expand its long term potential?
• Would the City of Lebanon and Lebanon Area Chamber of Commerce like to support an economic development event in the manner of Sweet Home’s Oregon Jamboree?

MEETING
If you are interested in discussing this idea, Please come to a meeting about “Blooms & Threads” Flower & Quilt Show 3-days, workshops, speakers, vendors at 2008 Strawberry Festival Lebanon, Oregon

• What– Lunch meeting – Informally discuss “Blooms & Threads”
• When– Noon, Thursday, March 29
• Where– Peggy’s Alaskan Cabbage Patch B&B, 194 S. 2nd St. Lebanon
• Sponsor – Alaskan Chocolate Quilting Company.
• RSVP– (541) 258-1774, (5410 451-4910 ACQC@alaskaquilt.com

FICTIOUS NEWSPAPER STORY

500 Gardeners and Quilters Attend 2008 Strawberry Festival Flower & Quilt Show — “Blooms & Threads”
New York Times
BY MARK TWAIN, Published June 13, 2008

LEBANON, OREGON… Festival attendees enjoyed a new event for the 99th Strawberry Festival. The 3-day Flower & Quilt Show inspired them with 5 glorious gardens, 100 beautiful floral arrangements and over 125 colorful and unique quilts.

In six scheduled classes and workshops they tried new quilting skills and learned helpful garden techniques. Local and regional artists and professionals led these sessions in exploring a variety of Blooms & Threads.

For gardeners, quilters and general shoppers, the marketplace had many specials in gardening supplies, beautiful flowers, high-tech sewing machines, and a variety of special fabrics and quilting notions.

All this fun and learning was under cover and air-conditioned inside Lebanon’s River Center. River Center has easy parking and is close to Strawberry Festival’s Open Air Country Fair and Carnival in Cheadle Lakes Park.
–30–

SPECIFIC ITEMS OF DISCUSSION
Attendees/ Market

• 500-800 – Tourists & Locals – Gardeners & Quilters – Baby Boomers & others
  

Activities

• Flower/Garden Displays with Awards– Personal & Business
• Quilt Displays wish Awards– Personal, Heritage, Antique & Artistic– Juried & Judged– Open & Invitational
• Commercial Vendors– Nurseries, Landscapers, Sewing Machine Dealers, Quilt & Fabric Shops & Dealers
• Workshops– 4–6 Flower/Gardening & Quilting/Sewing
• Professional Speakers & Artists

Funding & Support

• Generate income– $5,000-$8,000 – Admission Fees, Vendor Fees, Sponsorships, Quilt Raffle–High quality, year long raffle, Flower & Plant Sales, Silent Quilt Auction
• Tourism promotion grant– City of Lebanon “Bed tax”
• Economic Development Support– Lebanon Chamber of Commerce
• Technical Support– OSU/Linn County Extension Service & Master Gardeners. Oregon State Federation of Garden Clubs, Lebanon Garden Club, Santiam Scrapper Quilt Guild

Benefits

• New Market– 3-day event targets new Strawberry Festival market – quilters & gardeners

Interested?
Think this might be a fun tourist event for East Linn County?

Give us a call – Alaskan Chocolate Quilting Company (541) 358-1774, (541) 451-4910 or email ACQC@alaskaquilt.com.

A Linn Faire would be good for tourism

It’s true a new mid-valley renaissance festival might hurt Shrewsbury (in Kings Valley) a bit. But if Royal Faires was to locate its 2008 July festivals in Linn County away from Albany, it would be a great boon to the rest of the county’s tourist industry. (See Democrat-Herald story about this possibility.)

As to having two summer faires in mid-valley, Philomath and Sweet Home have been holding rodeos at about the same time in July for a few years and their rodeos continue to be held. Also Shrewsbury is held in late September. Royal is targeting “summer months” beginning in 2008.

This could be great for county tourism. Linn County has I-5 access, more than 2 million folks within a short drive, and great venues. Local tourism businesses need more activities to draw overnight visitors.

Most Linn tourists (a tourist travels over 50 miles and stays overnight) come to county/forest service RV parks and campgrounds. They already have food and places to sleep. They don’t go to our events.

Oregon Jamboree fills motels and B&Bs in east Linn County. We need more events to fill our motels outside of Albany.

Timber Carnival is gone. Pioneer Picnic and Lamb and Wool Fair are for locals. Strawberry Festival is a parade, craft fair, and carnival. These are local events. Tourists don’t come.

A Linn Faire would be a reason for new motels & hotels in Brownsville, Sweet Home, Crabtree, Sodaville, Scio or Lebanon. It would be good for local tourism.

Would an official Linn County Visitor Commission help?

Basic premise —
Linn County, Oregon does not have a tourism marketing and development program.

Suggestion One —

• Albany Visitor Association be contracted to provide needed tourism marketing operations for entire Linn County.

Suggestion Two —

• Linn County Tourism Coalition (LCTC) becomes a formal commission of Linn County.

Function –

1. Provide direction to tourism marketing contractor,
2. Conduct county's tourism industry strategic planning (In manner similar to Clackamas County Tourism Development Council).

Tourism marketing and strategic planning factors

Linn County has 2 highpoints —

• Albany and Albany Visitor Association, and
• Cascades outdoor and natural recreation — RV/campgrounds at county parks, forest service campgrounds, Green Peter and Foster reservoirs, and Hoodoo Ski Bowl.

Tourism Resources Survey for Linn County

Tourism Marketing Resources and Funding for Linn County

State supported marketing & development —

• Minimal
• Some state bed tax monies benefit Linn County tourism through !% state bed tax funds given to Willamette Valley Visitor Association (WVVA).

WVVA’s marketing focus —

• Does not really include Linn County.
• WVVA marketing focus is “Wine Country Oregon” — Southern valley – Lane County/Eugene, along Willamette River – Corvallis/Benton County & Albany, Salem/Marion County, Yamhill County, and Clackamss County.
• WVVA’s mission (from WVVA’s website – Oregon Wine Country)
  “The Willamette Valley Visitors Association is a private, non-profit organization that supports travel and tourism in the Willamette Valley. Compromised of six visitors associations, the Willamette Valley Visitors Association works to maintain the Willamette Valley as Oregon’s premier wine destination.”
• WVVA’s six members are — CVALCO (Lane County),Salem/Marion County CVB, Corvallis CVB, Albany VA, Clackamas County Tourism Development Council, and Yamhill County Association.

Oregon Tourist Commission (OTC) —

• OTC does not strongly support all state lodging businesses — OTC does not have a basic list of all state lodging facilities on its Travel Oregon website. —
• Yet all these business pay a 1% state transient occupancy tax. This additional income jumped the OTC-state budget from 47^th nationally (pre 2004) to somewhere in the middle (25^th or 26^th).
• Nearby state visitor office official websites have most respective state lodging listings on official state visitor websites — Lodging business in Idaho, Colorado, Washington, Montana have such free or minimal marketing support from respective state tourism marketing offices.
• OTC only lists selected lodging businesses — Only if lodging businesses are members of Oregon Lodging Association (OLA).

Linn County Tourism Association —

• Does not exist. No county-wide tourism association exists — there is no official, county supported, county funded tourism marketing and development association.
• AVA does most of county-wide marketing.,
• Linn County Tourism Coalition (LCTC)— An informal group which has been inactive for a year and has no funding nor official mandate.

SWOT Analysis — Linn County's Tourism Industry

This is an informal SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Threats) analysis of tourism industry in Linn County, Oregon.

Tourism Industry Facilities and Attractions in Linn County

Tourist lodging

• Almost no quality tourist lodging exists in this huge county, outside of Albany.

Major tourism events outside of Albany

• Only One — Sweet Home’s Oregon Jamboree. This event draws mainly RVs and campers. Jamboree RV parking and campgrounds are mainly temporary fields and parking lots. Jamboree does not have an official arena or area.
• Other multi-day events — Small. Draw mainly county and near county visitors on day trips.

Convention centers

• No convention centers outside of Albany.

Adventure tourism

• Potential – Low,
• Developed – Low (Forest Service hiking trails, Hoodoo Ski Bowl),
• Marketing – Low

Agri-tourism — Increasing growth sector nationally

• Potential – Low-Moderate,
• Developed – Minimal,
• Marketing – Minimal

Driving & biking tourism

• Potential – Low-Moderate,
• Developed – Low (Covered bridges [9-Scio, Sweet Home, Crawfordsville] – need more maps & signage, Scenic byways – One – Hwy 228/Hwy 20, County loops Two – Santiam Loop [Hwy 226-Hwy 22-Hwy 20 loop], Peoria Loop [Peoria Rd-99E Loop]),
• Marketing – Low

Eco-tourism

Entertainment tourism

• Weakness (need casino)

Event tourism

• Potential – Low,
• Developed — Low/Moderate (Oregon Jamboree, Wah Chang Northwest Art & Air Festival, Smaller events at Linn Co Fair & Expo Center)
• Marketing — Low/Moderate<

Foreign tourism

Food/ culinary tourism

Heritage-Cultural-Historical tourism — Increasing growth sector nationally — Target Market – Baby Boomers

• Potential – Low-Moderate (Historic districts & homes in Albany, Boston Mill-Shedd, entire Town of Brownsville – Museums, small [Brownsville, Albany, Scio, Sweet Home], nine Covered Bridges),
• Developed – low,
• Marketing – Minimal (mainly in Albany and some for Brownsville)

Movie tourism

• Potential – Minimal – One movie shot in Brownsville, Some movie stars live, visit, or were from county
• Marketing – Minimal

Outdoor recreation tourism

• Potential – Moderate,
• Developed – Moderate,
• Marketing – Low

Railroad tourism

• Potential – Low-Moderate,
  – Railroad aspects/museums/rail cars & depots (Brownsville, Scio, Albany, Harrisburg, Lebanon)
  – Small railroads (Lebanon, Hwy 226 toward Lyons)
• Developed – Low
• Marketing – Minimal-Low

Sport tourism

Tour tourism

• Potential – Low-Moderate,
• Developed– Low

Wildlife/birding/nature tourism

• Potential – Low-Moderate,
• Developed – Low,
• Marketing – Low

Shopping tourism — None

Wine tourism — None

Transportation

I-5 Corridor & 99E

• Major strength

Hwy 20, Hwy 22

• Strengths — Heavily traveled cross Cascades routes, Highly scenic, Great outdoor recreation
• Weakness — Not marketed well

Hwy 20, Hwy 34

• Strengths — Heavily traveled valley to coast routes, Very scenic (old rural Oregon)
• Weakness — Not marketed well

Marketing

Branding

• Weakness
• Opportunity

Infrastructure

• Weakness – Lacking official county-wide organization

Political Support & Awareness

• Weakness – Needs development at state and county level

Community Support & Awareness

• Weakness – Needs development

Industry Business Factors

Uniqueness

• Possible strength

Seasonality

• Possible strengths for some aspects

Short distance travel potential

Strengths –

• OSU just across river,
• 800,000 people within 50 miles,
• Portland metro within easy driving for weekend stay