The North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) is offering a series of free webinars on heritage tourism that are open to you regardless of where you live.  There is no cost, and you do not need to participate in every session, but after the introductory session they ask that you register in advance.

Enter each session from this site; “enter as a guest” is selected by default.  Enter your name and click on “Enter Room” to participate.

All sessions begin at 2 p.m. (Eastern) and are expected to run about 30 minutes with an additional 30 minutes for questions and discussion.  Sessions will be recorded and archived for later viewing.

September 20, 2012: Introduction to Heritage Tourism

• The importance of heritage tourism and regional approaches.
• Introduction to the Heritage Tourism website and ways to network and share resources.

October 4, 2012: Is Heritage Tourism A Fit for Your Community?

• Assessing the readiness of your community to pursue heritage tourism as an economic development strategy, including determining your community’s assets and resources.

October 11, 2012: Initiating Heritage Tourism in your Community

• How to assess your community’s potential and conduct an inventory of your community’s assets
• How to create local interest and engagement by using tools such as community mapping, focus groups, and local surveys.

October 18, 2012: Organizing for Heritage Tourism

• Determining the individuals and organizations that must be involved in order to create a community-wide approach, and the governance needed to build this effort in your community.

October 25, 2012: Planning for Heritage Tourism

• How to develop a strategic plan and action plans for your heritage tourism efforts that all in the community can support and that ensure that important aspects of your community are protected and saved.

November 1, 2012: Implementing Heritage Tourism

• The process, techniques, tools, and resources for marketing your community.

November 15, 2012: Evaluating and Renewing Heritage Tourism

• The life cycle of heritage tourism efforts and how to determine the impact of heritage tourism efforts on your community.

If you have questions, contact Julie Avery of the NCRCRD.  Julie is a cultural community and economic development specialist with Michigan State University Extension and curator at the MSU Museum.  The NCRCRD, housed at Michigan State University, works with extension services and others in the states of OH, IN, MI, WI, IL, MO, IA, KS, NE, MN, ND, SD.

The sessions will be archived here for later viewing.

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Photo: The 21st Annual American Independence Festival in Exeter, New Hampshire on July 16, 2011.

From the festival site: “On the night of July 4, 1776, Philadelphia printer John Dunlap slaved over his printing press, turning Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten pages into 200 posters that were then sent off to the King of England and the colonies via horseback and coach. New Hampshire’s copy arrived in Exeter, the Revolutionary-era capitol, on July 16, 1776. Twenty-two year old John Taylor Gilman put his life on the line as he read the Declaration of Independence to the townspeople of Exeter.

“Help us celebrate America’s freedom with our popular festival! Join the crowd escorting George Washington down Water Street, see the horseback delivery of the Declaration and listen to the public reading (complete with hecklers!), chat with historic role-players, step to the stirring music of the Lincoln Fife and Drum and delight in the maneuvers and cannon firings of militias. Visit the Traditional New Hampshire artisans’ village, view the original Dunlap Broadside (one of 26 known copies in the world) and early drafts of the U.S. Constitution and stroll Swasey Parkway and Water Street to see local arts and crafts. Enjoy plenty of food, music, sidewalk sales and children’s activities, then stay for the town’s evening fireworks and live band!”