GLIN==> Press release/sidebar: Great Lakes Seaway Trail sets full slate of War of 1812 Bicentennial Plans

PRESS RELEASE: March 9, 2011
Contact: Seaway Trail, Inc. President and CEO Teresa Mitchell, 315-646-1000
x202; publicist Kara Lynn Dunn, 315-465-7578
 
Great Lakes Seaway Trail Sets Full Slate of War of 1812 Bicentennial Plans
 
Sackets Harbor, NY ­ From Sackets Harbor, NY, site of two big War of 1812
battles that are cause still today for gatherings of troops ­ of living
history reenactors for festivals and educational events in the Lake Ontario
shoreline village, Seaway Trail, Inc. has announced a full complement of War
of 1812 Bicentennial plans to promote travel along the 518-mile National
Scenic Byway that runs alongside New York¹s and Pennsylvania¹s freshwater
coast. 
 
³This project has federal funding to accomplish many planned tasks, so we
are seeking both financial and historical knowledge partners in U.S. and
Canada. Based on our success with the French & Indian War Bicentennial
commemoration, we expect the War of 1812 plans to result in immediate and
long-term tourism and economic benefit,² said Seaway Trail, Inc. President
and CEO Teresa Mitchell.
 
The Great Lakes Seaway Trail 2011-2014 War of 1812 Bicentennial Plan
includes provisions for:
·      Adding 20 40 inch x 30 inch War of 1812 themed panels to the Great
Lakes Seaway Trail ³outdoor storyteller² signage system

·      A short-term tourism impact brochure guide to War of 1812 sites along
the byway in NY and Pennsylvania and in Plattsburgh, NY

·      A new Seaway Trail War of 1812 guidebook to replace the 1987 edition
that was among the Seaway Trail travel guides that received ³Best of the
Byways² honors from the American Recreation Coalition

·      Incorporation of War of 1812 historic site into the Great Lakes
Seaway Trail GeoTrail high tech treasure-hunting travel adventure

·      A War of 1812 reproduction theme quilt show and challenge competition
at the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Discovery Center in Sackets Harbor, NY, in
March 2012

·      War of 1812 public programming at the Great Lakes Seaway Trail
Discovery Center in Sackets Harbor, NY

·      A marketing campaign in historic and heritage travel publications

·      War of 1812 themed travel itineraries for families and groups

·      A series of War of 1812 feature stories in the annual Great Lakes
Seaway Trail Travel Guide over next four years

·      Great Lakes Seaway Trail War of 1812 travel focus at the US Travel
Association annual international travel trade show.

Seaway Trail, Inc.¹s current War of 1812 projects funding partners include
the New York State Department of Transportation, Empire State Development,
the Erie County (PA) Department of Planning (Seaway Trail Pennsylvania), the
Plattsburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau, Key Bank, and the Federal Highway
Administration National Scenic Byways Program.
 
Seaway Trail, Inc. plans to hold two spring 2011 meetings to provide 1812
Bicentennial promoters throughout the War¹s northern theatre, including
Canada, to share information and discuss opportunities for collaboration and
the creation of War of 1812 ³Signature Events² similar to those recognizing
the 250th French and Indian War anniversary commemoration.
 
More information on the Great Lakes Seaway Trail ‹ also a National
Recreation Trail ‹ is online at www.seawaytrail.com. #

SIDEBAR
NY Byways Have Successful Track Record in Promoting Heritage Travel ‹ French
& Indian War Theme Collaboration a National Model
 
Sackets Harbor, NY ­ In March 2010, the nation¹s byway leaders participated
in a webinar with Great Lakes Seaway Trail President & CEO Teresa Mitchell
and Lakes to Locks Passage Executive Director Janet Kennedy showcasing the
first-ever collaboration by four New York byways. The effort focused on
multiple means of capitalizing on the tourism and economic value of heritage
travel centered on the French & Indian War¹s 250th Anniversary
Commemoration.

Webinar moderator Byways Specialist Curtis Pianalto of the America¹s Byways
Resource Center, Duluth, MN, said, ³Sharing this case study was important
for the greater byway community. This byway partnership created a shared
platform for showcasing byways as the unique vehicle for discovering the
story of the French and Indian War along the historic waterways of New York
and Pennsylvania.²

In 2006-2009, the Great Lakes Seaway Trail, Lakes to Locks Passage,
Revolutionary War Trail, and Mohawk Towpath partnered with I Love NY and the
New York State 250th French and Indian War Commemoration Commission to:
· publish a byway-based French and Indian War historic sites brochure
· publish a full-color guidebook: Waterways of War: The Struggle for Empire
1754-1763: A Traveler¹s Guide to the French and Indian War Forts and
Battlefields Along America¹s Byways in New York and Pennsylvania
· develop and install a series of ³outdoor storyteller² interpretive panels
at destination points significant to the war
· promote living history demonstrations, including NY¹s 2010 French and
Indian War Commemorative Signature Events (The July 2009 event at Old Fort
Niagara set a record attendance of 15,000 visitors there)
· develop a French and Indian War theme-based website to showcase 19
historic sites in New York (17) and Pennsylvania (2)
· jointly promote French and Indian War Commemorative Events to bus tour
groups with the American Bus Association
· partner with Mountain Lakes PBS to present and uplink a ³Forgotten War²
documentary to the national PBS network with downloadable resources for
grade 7-12 educators and a Google Map-based travel itinerary based on the
Waterways of War guidebook.
 
New York State Assembly Tourism Committee Chair Steven Englebright said,
³Travel and history are great natural tourism partners. This new (Waterways
of War) guidebook to the French & Indian War is a result of the first
collaboration of New York¹s designated byways and provides travelers with a
wonderful vehicle for exploring our history and our waterfronts.

Mitchell said, ³The New York-Pennsylvania French and Indian War project
showcased byways as a unique way to discover the historic, cultural,
natural, and recreational resources along America¹s Byways. The heritage
travel theme allowed us to emphasize the experience of traveling along the
byways to historic sites and living history experiences.²

Kennedy said, ³The outreach created by the synergy of the four byways
attracted a diverse mix of audiences ­ from heritage tourists and traveling
educators to the US Army Times and PBS. This type of collaboration is the
future of the byway programs and sets a standard for creating public
awareness of how byways offer an authentic American experience of the
landscapes of history, well-kept military architecture, battlefields and
waterfront staging areas.²

The American Bus Association named the four-byway tour to French and Indian
War sites among its Top 100 Events in North America for tour packagers in
2007. 

The NY-based partnership attracted an additional $15,000 in grant funds from
Visit Erie, which manages the Seaway Trail Pennsylvania extension of the
Great Lakes Seaway Trail.

Mitchell said, ³This project created a base for developing, interpreting and
promoting the 200th War of 1812 anniversary commemoration in New York and
Pennsylvania.² #

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