Pocahontas County Tourism Happenings in April and May

As the spring season progresses in beautiful Pocahontas County, there are a lot of interesting events coming up, as Cara Rose of the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau explains.

“We have several things that are happening in the tourism world in Pocahontas County over the next several weeks, so I thought I’d highlight a few of those things, Tim,” Rose began.

“Earth Day is April 22^nd. Of course, Earth Day is the day we all celebrate this great planet that we live on and learn how better care of our planet. Some ideas about how to celebrate Earth Day include planting a tree; plant a bee friendly garden; pick up some litter in your neighborhood as well; and recycling; also repurposing some things you might have thrown away. And those are all great ways for us to take better care of this place that we live.”

“Speaking of picking up litter, we do have the ‘Make it Shine’ campaign beginning on Earth Day and going through the 21^st of May. I am happy to report that I have over a hundred miles of road clean-up secured by our groups and businesses around Pocahontas County. So, as you are travelling around Pocahontas County over the next 5 or 6 weeks, if you see the orange litter control signs along the highways, just slow down a little bit because we have all kinds of groups collecting trash along the highways. And that includes community groups, school groups, clubs, etc. So, there will also be small kids who are picking up litter, so just be cautious and drive slow whenever you see those orange signs. And, give them honk because it’s a very much needed effort in our community, and it’s also a great way to foster a litter-free community as well.”

Do you still have openings for groups if they want to get involved with the road clean-up, or is that pretty much filled up?

“Well, we have reached our milage goal, but I will not turn away any group that has not signed up yet but is still interested in doing so. If there any groups in the community who have not contacted me about ‘Make it Shine,’ and do want to do some road clean-up, they can call me at (304) 799-4636, and we can talk about what roads have already been secured and what roads need to be secured as well. So, (I am) happy to accommodate any groups and organizations that are willing to help.”

“National Travel and Tourism Week is also coming up the week of May 7^th through the 13^th. If you recall last year during that week, we gave away free Nature’s Mountain Playground t-shirts here at the office. And, we are planning another free t-shirt give-away that week. We will be doing the give-away May 10^th through the 12^th. This is a nice free t-shirt give-away for the residents of Pocahontas County. There are a few guidelines for the free t-shirt give-away. And, that means individuals in the community need to stop in the Marlinton Visitors Center office to pick up the free t-shirt. We are not permitting people to pick-up multiple t-shirts for other people who may not be with them. So, you have to physically come into the Visitor Center and pick-up your t-shirt.”

“Along with National Travel and Tourism Week, we also host our annual Tourism Summit. That will be in Marlinton on Tuesday May 9^th. The public is invited, and it begins at noon. So hopefully, listeners will show up and learn a little more about things that are going on in the tourism industry around Pocahontas County. We have several featured speakers, including Andy Williamson. He works for the WVU Extension Service and the Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative at WVU. He’ll be talking about how to build a very strong hospitality based recreation economy.”

Thanks Cara.