Bringing Cheryl into a project is always a win for those involved, as she’s an excellent resource for communities and agencies, and a valued partner in successfully developing and delivering a project. She brings tremendous knowledge on multiple topics – bringing art into a community, growing cultural heritage tourism, nonprofit capacity and development, and funding […]
“Welcome to Country”
Attending the ICOMOS General Assembly meeting in Sydney this September, I experienced a very respectful recognition of Indigenous Tribes in Australia. Every tour guide, conference speaker, and even the pilot of a Qantas flight, began their “Welcome to Country” by “recognizing the traditional owners of this land” then citing the name of the specific tribe, […]
Appalachian Scenic Drives
As a follow-up to the inaugural Appalachian MapGuide produced in partnership with National Geographic, the Appalachian Regional Commission contracted for a map guide focusing on scenic and historic drives. The result was a regional guide to Appalachian byways and scenic highways. The popularity of these two map guides led to a third map guide focusing […]
Debating the Impact of “Go” and “No” Travel Lists
Fodor’s, the travel company and guidebook publisher, compiles a “Go List” each year of the top 10 places recommended to visit. They also produce a “No List” of 10 regions to reconsider visiting due to tourism impact. Many of the destinations listed on the “no list” suffer from “overtourism” with visitation often exceeding capacity. Ironically, […]
Report from Rhodes: First Impressions
Welcome to my first installment of a series on lessons learned while living in Greece for a month. We spent the majority of our time in Old Town Rhodes, an incredible World Heritage Site. The experience allowed me and my husband, John, a first-hand opportunity to learn more about Greek life, Greek traditions, Greek food […]
Recognizing Willa Cather
On June 7, 2023, the state of Nebraska unveiled a statue of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Willa Cather as the newest contribution to the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. I had the privilege of working with the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship and the Willa Cather Foundation in 2017 to investigate how […]
Streetside Storytellers
Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area commissioned Hargrove International to create a virtual instruction program for local site managers and volunteers to create new tours focused on stories related to the Revolutionary War era. The five-week online instruction helped a dozen docents research new stories, develop their presentation script, and learn from international […]
Historic Mercer Cemetery – Trenton, NJ
Hunter Research commissioned Hargrove International to conduct supplemental work related to their preservation plan for Mercer Cemetery. Consultation included a heritage tourism assessment of the historic cemetery located in downtown Trenton, New Jersey, to provide recommendations on the potential future uses of the site and to explore options to develop the cemetery as both a […]
Georgia’s Trail of Legacy and Lore
When the seven DMO members of the 25-year-old Georgia’s Antebellum Trail wanted to evaluate the trail theme and region’s heritage assets in light of changing consumer preferences, Hargrove International set out on a research-based investigation and on-site assessment to analyze the trail’s current experiences and historical interpretation. Following intensive research, review of the assessment findings, […]