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Press Release

Tourism Project Creates New Cash Crop for Rural Counties

Carolina Newswire
12-30-2005

Raleigh, NC - Farms. Chefs. Attractions. Roadside produce stands. Writers. Festivals. Restaurants. Museums. Galleries. Art studios. Nightclubs. Musicians. Photographers. Historic sites. Poets. Grocery stores. Banks. City halls. Community colleges. Visitors centers. Artists.

What do they all have in common? They may qualify to participate in a project created by the North Carolina Arts Council, www.homegrownhandmade.com, the first statewide effort to create thematic driving trails featuring art and agritourism. To see a sampling of what has already been developed in the eastern part of the state, click on the site and check out the trails.

Upon completion in May, homegrownhandmade.com will span 77 counties from the ocean to the mountains.

The project is free to all participants and is paid for by grants from the Golden L.E.A.F. Foundation, focusing upon counties that have traditionally had some form of agricultural based economy. The goal is to create a new "cash crop," blending tourism, arts and agriculture together.

Work is wrapping up on a trail that includes Davie, Davidson, Iredell, Rowan and Stanly counties. The final trail to be developed will include Alexander, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties. Several meetings will be held throughout the area during January. Interested individuals may attend any session:

Catawba County
Monday, Jan. 9 - Conover Town Hall, downtown Conover, 7-8:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 10 - Catawba County Cooperative Extension Office on Hwy. 321 in Newton, 2-2:30 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 23, Arts Council in downtown Hickory, 7-8:30 p.m.

Lincoln County
Tuesday, January 10, James W. Warren Citizen Center, 115 West Main Street, Lincolnton, 7-8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, January 11, James W. Warren Citizen Center, 115 West Main Street, Lincolnton, 2-3:30 p.m.

Cleveland County
Thursday, Jan. 12, Cleveland County Arts Council/Arts Center, 111 South Washington Street, Shelby, 2-3:30 p.m.

Alexander County
Thursday, Jan. 12, Taylorsville Town Hall, downtown Taylorsville, 6:30-8 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 24, Taylorsville Town Hall, downtown Taylorsville, 2-3:30 p.m.

Gaston County
Monday, Jan. 23, Gaston County Governmental Building, 128 West Main Ave., Gastonia, 2-3:30 p.m.

Greta Lint, local project coordinator for the North Carolina Arts Council, says, This is the most in-depth, cutting edge tourism effort ever created in our state. Each trail runs through 3 or 5 counties, offering the traveler opportunity to hear local music, eat locally grown food, pick locally grown produce, see locally made crafts and spend more money. By digging deeper into what communities offer, it allows businesses and artisans opportunity to capitalize upon the tourism dollar. In 2003, tourism generated nearly $18 million in direct and indirect spending in North Carolina.

For more information, call Greta Lint at 336-626-0527.

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For additional information, please contact
Valeria Lee or Mark Sorrells
Golden LEAF Foundation
1.888.684.8404 or 252.446.1916

Email: info@goldenleaf.org