Small Town Events - Are They Worth It?

Having worked in the tourism industry for nearly four years now, I’ve heard it all when it comes to people wondering how our small communities even HAVE a tourism industry, or could have one. These thoughts extend to hometown events - which we have quite the lineup of coming up this summer in Coffey County!

Strawnfest in New Strawn, The 4th Annual Wheels Show in Burlington, Independence Day Celebration in Gridley, Lebo’s Stars & Stripes, Ohio Days in Waverly, the Coffey County Fair in Burlington, LeRoy Homecoming, and the Smoke on the River BBQ Competition & Smoke Social - followed closely by OK Kids, Boofest and more - are being planned by local volunteers. I like to call them “movers and shakers.” These people give up time from their busy schedules to sit down, cooperate, and make cool things happen in their communities. Regardless of your opinion of local events, I do hope you will applaud these individuals for serving Coffey County - they most certainly deserve thanks for putting energy into our communities.

For those of you who are skeptical, though, let’s talk more about WHY community events matter. I’ll state it simply:  Community events breathe life into our towns and communities. Here’s how:

If things are HAPPENING in your community, your community is on the map. People in surrounding communities are hearing about you, and perhaps wondering if they should make a visit to see what this little festival or this little community has to offer. This is valuable, because word-of-mouth and visitors that step foot in your community are two of the best ways to gain positive publicity. It also leads to the possibility of more foot traffic in your community, which often means more tax dollars. If someone shops in your community or stays in a local motel or Airbnb that collects transient guest tax, that visitor is directly contributing to your economy.

Some people may begin to come to your community EVERY YEAR to become

temporary citizens. Why do they come back again and again? Because they love what your community is doing and they want to be part of that, even for a day. And sometimes, those people who savor a day living the small town life might decide to make the move permanently - investing in your community and becoming another neighbor you can count on. These people are often willing to help keep local traditions going - after all, they chose to make a move and join you!

Beyond this, local businesses can see a HUGE sales increase on local festival days. In communities with little foot traffic, these high-traffic days can be the only thing standing between a functioning retail business and permanent closure. So, if nothing else, I hope we can appreciate the boost that our local businesses receive when we are able to draw visitors into our towns to celebrate with us.

On a related note - Coffey County has access to Placer.AI via Coffey County Economic Development, which can access data related to foot traffic in our communities. This will be a fun tool to leverage to learn more about the impacts that local events have on our local communities and local businesses. You can bet I’ll be watching! 

Thanks so much for reading and remember to Shop Local!