Regional tourism boosted
BY JOHN E. USALIS Times Shamrock Writer
01/30/2006
ASHLAND - Labor Day weekend has been special in Ashland
for more than a century, thanks to the ABA/Mummers Parade. Now more
people than ever will be learning about it.
That's because the 2006 event will be part of a new
regional homecoming and tourist initiative for Schuylkill County.
The combined cultural, historical and ethnic resources
of the Upper Schuylkill Downtowns boroughs of Ashland, Frackville,
Girardville, Mahanoy City, Ringtown and Shenandoah will be marketed
in New York City, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Pittsburgh and other
areas outside a three-hour traveling radius of the county to entice
potential tourists to enjoy a taste of the anthracite coal region.
Funding for the marketing of the initiative will come
from a $10,000 state grant, with an additional $10,000 from local
matching funds.
The money will be used for radio, billboards, print
and electronic promotional packages and events in markets outside
Schuylkill County, including Canada, New York, New Jersey, Western
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
The Ashland Downtown Center is "ground zero"
in the planning of the initiative. USD Executive Director Patrice
K. Rader explained what the importance of this state-sponsored tourism
program is to northern Schuylkill County, not only for its potential
in drawing visitors to the area, but also for the honor of being chosen
from more than 100 other proposals submitted.
"We have a big job ahead of us," said Rader.
The story begins with a visit by tourism writer Ed
Tettemer, Philadelphia.
Tettemer travels through Pennsylvania and then writes
about a person, place or thing he finds fascinating. One day, he stopped
in Ashland and spoke to local historian James Klock about the Mother's
Memorial, the world's only three-dimensional interpretation of the
famed Whistler's Mother painting.
His article and photo appeared in a recent issue of
Pennsylvania Pursuits magazine and included the connections among
the memorial, the Ashland Boys Association and the annual parade on
the Saturday before Labor Day. The article caught the attention of
the Pennsylvania Tourism Office of the Department of Community and
Economic Development. The office was creating a program called the
"Festivals Initiative," and Ashland's ABA/Mummers Parade
fit the bill.
"The program is designed to encourage overnight
stays in Pennsylvania and encourage homecoming initiatives,"
said Rader.
Rader met with Klock and Sean Nestor, both members
of the Ashland Mummers Association, and Schuylkill County Visitors
Bureau Executive Director Mark T. Major to prepare a grant application
to meet the deadline for marketing funds. Instead of limiting the
application solely to Ashland, it was decided to propose a regional
tourism plan with the parade as the core event.
"There were 25 awards out of 118 applications
submitted to the governor and we were awarded the grant," said
Rader.
State tourism Deputy Secretary J. Mickey Rowland announced
the award in a letter to USD and the Area Redevelopment Corp.
The closest tourism initiative chosen is Williamsport,
making Ashland and the other Upper Schuylkill communities the only
homecoming tourism promotion in northeastern Pennsylvania. Rader said
the initiative's effect will go beyond the area.
"It's not just going to affect Upper Schuylkill.
It's going to affect all of Schuylkill County because we have a lot
of history and warmth," said Rader.
Of the 25 tourism initiatives, the local one centering
around the ABA/Mummers Parade will be the grand finale statewide.
Rader said much of the credit for the selection goes to those who
worked hard during the past century to keep the ABA spirit alive.
"I have to congratulate the ABA and Ashland Mummers
Association for carrying on the tradition for all of these years,
passing it on from our forefathers all the way down," said Rader.
"The parade committee is small, but they're committed and work
very, very hard every year."
© The REPUBLICAN & Herald
2007
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