New Guidebook Promotes
“Agri-Cultural Tourism”
Eclectic sites abound in Homegrown Handmade: Art Roads and Farm Trails, a new travel guide to authentic arts and agricultural experiences, unique places and people in North Carolina. The 400-page book of 16 self-directed driving trails with ideas for affordable travel includes almost 1,300 sites in 76 North Carolina counties.
The trails are examples of what is now popularly called “agri-Cultural tourism.” Each trail tells a story of its unique place, such as “Lights…Waves…Action” and “Rock Stew Ramble” in the east or “Hushpuppies, Pimento Cheese and Sweet Tea” and “Burning Rubber and Riding the Rails” in the Piedmont. Recreational farms, artist studios, organic foods, museums, festivals and restaurants that serve local produce or serve up indigenous recipes with a dash of art, music or history are included.
“If it grows in North Carolina there is a festival for it, and this book has 137 festivals plus 198 art galleries,” said Maryanne Friend of the Department of Cultural Resources. “The book is a helpful resource to fun things to see and do for tank-of-gas-or-less day trips and weekend get-aways,” said Friend, “and many of these activities are free.”
The Homegrown Handmade project began as collaboration among several public organizations, mainly the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, North Carolina Arts Council and North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, supported by the Golden LEAF Foundation. John F. Blair, Publisher, was brought into the mix in an effort to reach more people, marking the beginning of a relationship between private enterprise and government agencies that will become a new method for promoting North Carolina’s tourism economy.
Even with higher gas prices, creative cultural resources continue to grow, mostly because of travelers who desire out-of-the-ordinary experiences. Homegrown Handmade directs interested travelers to such diverse activities as horseback riding, kissing llamas, picking blueberries, taking pottery lessons, celebrating Everybody’s Day and other festivals, designing quilts . . . the possibilities are endless!
Homegrown Handmade: Art Roads and Farm Trails is available at bookstores everywhere.
An eastern regional kickoff event was held June 4 in Snow Hill to celebrate the publication of the travel guide. A Piedmont kickoff will begin at 9 a.m. June 25 at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, featuring area farmers and craft exhibitors.