February 5, 2009 Issue
Help the Blue Ridge Parkway Celebrate Its 75th Anniversary
Blue Ridge Parkway 75, Inc. Puts Stewardship and Community Involvement at Top of Celebration Plans
Blue Ridge Parkway 75, Inc. Executive Director Leesa Brandon addresses more than 60 local business owners, chamber and TDA representatives and citizens about the Blue Ridge Parkway’s upcoming 75th anniversary celebration in 2010, while Blue Ridge Parkway 75, Inc. Board Member Becky Anderson and Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent Phil Francis look on. The public meeting took place last Thursday, January 29, at the Hayes Performing Arts Center in Blowing Rock. Picture by Sam Calhoun
Every year, more than 20 million people visit the Blue Ridge Parkway—more than all of the visitors to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Yosemite combined.
In 2010, the Blue Ridge Parkway is celebrating its 75th anniversary, and two years ago the Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and the Blue Ridge Parkway Association decided the best way to organize a celebration was to form a new nonprofit, Blue Ridge Parkway 75, Inc. The mission of the new nonprofit is to plan, fund and organize the events and activities of the anniversary; educate the general public about the Parkway’s value and assets; and, through collaborative partnerships, realize the vision of the anniversary.
“We feel that after 75 years, the community and Parkway are entitled to have a celebration, but it’s also an opportunity to initiate some calls to stewardship,” said Leesa Brandon, executive director of Blue Ridge Parkway 75, Inc.
After hosting a kickoff celebration at Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 115 in October 2008, the nonprofit began hosting public meetings at various locations off the Parkway this month, including a public meeting in Blowing Rock last Thursday, January 29.
“This meeting is to get ideas from you on how and where to celebrate,” said Phil Francis, superintendent for the Blue Ridge Parkway, during last Thursday’s meeting at the Hayes Performing Arts Center. “This is our anniversary. We are all co-owners of this special place.”
Francis said last year he assembled a 33-person board to help oversee and coordinate different events for the anniversary. The Blue Ridge Parkway 75, Inc. Board of Directors is asking local communities along the Parkway to brand ongoing community events with the celebration, piggybacking on each other.
“We’ve got an outstanding group of leaders on our board that will work with you to organize a calendar of events for the anniversary,” said Francis.
Blue Ridge Parkway 75, Inc. Board Member Becky Anderson, who recently retired as president of Handmade in America, said the board set three goals—to raise awareness of the anniversary, to involve local communities through a series of planned events and to inspire a new generation of stewards, advocates and elected officials.
Much of the meeting last Thursday focused on encouraging event coordinators in the High Country to blend ongoing or new community events with the Parkway’s anniversary. In exchange for the event endorsement, the local event coordinators will receive a listing and link on the Blue Ridge Parkway 75, Inc. website, www.blueridgeparkway75.org, and inclusion on the official 75th calendar of events; promotion with other 75th anniversary events through press releases, newsletters and other marketing strategies; permission to use the 75th anniversary logo on any promotional materials; and access to the Blue Ridge Parkway 75 traveling exhibit.
A few neighboring communities are already blending events with the anniversary, including Black Mountain. The annual Art in Bloom Festival in Black Mountain pairs painters with florists and then displays their complementary creations. Instead of paintings this year, town officials decided to use pictures from the Parkway as a jumping off point in honor of the anniversary.
Brandon identified other ways to get involved with the 75th anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Citizens can become a sponsor of the initiative with financial donations, or they can plan to participate in the “big event” for the anniversary in September 2010 at Cumberland Knob, Va. People can also attend two symposia planned for the anniversary, one at ASU and one at Virginia Tech, or they can write a community spotlight for inclusion on the anniversary’s website.
The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway contains more tree species than all of Europe and touches 29 counties in two states—12 in Virginia and 17 in North Carolina. Towns bordering the Parkway receive more than $2 billion annually from the more than 2 million annual Parkway visitors.
Blue Ridge Parkway 75, Inc. is now offering a community resource kit that offers tools and strategies for getting involved in the anniversary.
“It’s local communities’ responsibility to speak up and celebrate the Blue Ridge Parkway. As neighbors to the Parkway, we have a special responsibility—a unique role to play in preservation of this road and this region,” said Brandon. “We need an army of citizen advocates to speak out about the Parkway and save it for future generations.”
For more information about the upcoming anniversary and planning process, call Brandon at 828-271-4779, extension 224, or email lbrandon@nccommerce.com.
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