A Big Summer in DeKalb by John Dersham

According to the National Travel Agency July 4^th this year had the largest number of people on the road for this holiday since 2005. Some of this is due to the sudden drop in gas prices earlier in the summer and much is due to the gradual overall economic recovery. With that said it is still noted that our economy is fragile and the slightest downward trend could put the economy in recession again. None the less people are traveling this summer. Thus far here in DeKalb County our summer has been very strong. The numbers we have seen at our information center and are witnessed at hotels, campgrounds, B&B’s, parks and restaurants, all are indicating a really good season. Last weekend was Julyfest in Mentone. Julyfest is the re-establishment of a festival held years ago in Mentone. Many of you are already familiar with the Rhododendron festival in May and Colorfest in October which have been Mentone’s two annual festivals in recent years. I was very pleased with the combination of people and organizations promoting Julyfest in cooperation with each other. The Mentone Area Arts Council put forth a great venue of artists, entertainment and food at Julyfest which was held as a two day event in Mason Park in Mentone but that was only the focal point.  The festival had many sponsors and events were all over town. The Mentone Inn and Mentone Springs Hotel and all the local merchants and restaurants participated with special events and incentives and advertising to attract visitors. My family and I spent a number of hours at the festival on Saturday and I was very pleased to see how well people scattered all over town. I also talked to some people to find out where they were from. It appears we had an exceptional out of town response to this. Tourists are known to be the ones who buy art when they travel. They like to have some pieces that represent the area they visit. Tourists plan their trips to have extra money to spend on shopping, food and entertainment. The average tourist saves money so they won’t have to scrimp while on vacation.

Julyfest was well promoted via rack cards, websites, Facebook, press releases and newspaper articles. Social media has become a major advertising format for the travel industry. It is an easy way to get information distributed to a lot of people at low or no cost. This festival is a great example of how working together leads to a much better result than going at it alone. It delighted me to see so many people involved in developing and promoting this event. If you were there this weekend you know what I am talking about…and what about all that great art. We have hundreds of high quality artists of varying mediums living and working in our area. They are incredibly talented.

Other well attended and supported events this summer have been the Sand Mountain Potato festival and the first Fort Payne Third Saturday. Thanks everybody for the wonderful fellowship and team efforts that have gone into all of these events. It is hard work but has a big payoff to the communities and patrons involved.