Quick: Where is this year’s World’s Fair being held?
I didn’t know either, but a Google search revealed it’s taking place in Milan, Italy. I started thinking about World’s Fairs when editing Page Onorato’s column about snack foods that made their debuts at the events. Many now common foods, inventions and other items first appeared at a World’s Fair.
Knoxville, Tennessee, just over the Great Smoky Mountains from my hometown of Bryson City, hosted the fair in 1982. I joined a group of friends in visiting the fair one day. The main things I recall are the large arcade (what can I say? I was a teenaged male who loved video games, especially Ms. Pac-Man) and going to the restaurant at the top of the Sunsphere, the fair’s signature structure. My friends laughed when I said I wished the menu had ice cream, not realizing that’s what Haagen-Dazs was.
The idea behind a World’s Fair, or an attraction like Epcot Center in Florida, is to expose visitors to different cultures. But what about when someone visits here? What are we highlighting?
My college-aged son’s girlfriend, who lives in San Diego, recently spent a week with us here in Lexington. My family gives me a lot of grief about becoming bogged down in logistics on trips, but I was very impressed with my son’s planning for her visit. He wanted to expose her to many sights, foods and experiences on her first trip to North Carolina. I thought he did a fine job.
In Lexington, they ate at a barbecue restaurant (of course), visited High Rock Lake, took in high school soccer and football games, and stopped by The Candy Factory, among other activities. They also visited my parents in Bryson City, where they went tubing on Deep Creek, saw artwork at Reynolda House in Winston-Salem and hiked at Stone Mountain State Park in Roaring Gap. She drank Cheerwine, including in slushie form, and ate Moravian Sugar Cake.
Summer may seem like the time to draw tourists, but fall’s festival season also serves as a major drawing card. The big ones in Davidson County are Everybody’s Day on Sept. 26 in Thomasville and the Barbecue Festival on Oct. 24. Thousands of visitors will travel here for the events, but some may be looking for other activities as well.
State figures released earlier this year showed the impact tourism has in Davidson County. Visitors spent $149.8 million here in 2014. That money’s not all going to barbecue sandwiches, either.
Most of us would probably identify certain attractions as tourist draws: Richard Childress Racing, Childress Vineyards and other wineries, The Bob Timberlake Gallery, Thomasville’s trains and Big Chair, High Rock Lake, unique downtown stores like The Candy Factory and Lanier’s Hardware and others. But the list would begin to show variation after that, as nature lovers might point out Boone’s Cave Park, military buffs would mention the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and cookie lovers would talk about Mrs. Hanes’ Moravian Cookies. Favorite restaurants would vary as well.
Tourist backers in Davidson County have worked on educating folks on ways to make visitors feel welcome and point out places of interest. All of us really play a role in that effort. One never knows when a fellow diner at a restaurant, shopper or motorist filling up their vehicle with gas will ask for a recommendation. We should be ready to point them to businesses and attractions that showcase Davidson County.
And county residents should take advantage of these opportunities as well. For example, if you’ve never visited the Davidson County Agricultural Fair, plan to do so between Sept. 21-26. Or try a new restaurant rather than a familiar stand-by. And by all means if you’ve never gone to Everybody’s Day or the Barbecue Festival, make plans to spend a couple of hours there taking in the sights, sounds and tastes.
After all, the best way to offer an enthusiastic recommendation is to have enjoyed the experience yourself.
Chad Killebrew is executive editor of The Dispatch. He can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 215, or at chad.killebrew@the-dispatch.com.
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