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