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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-10-19, Page 9THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2017. PAGE 9. RT04 begins DestinationllLYTll initiative Identifying assets To help break the ice and open exercises last week at a meeting hosted by Regional Tourism Organization 4 (RTO4) at Memorial Hall, those in attendance were asked to look at pictures from Blyth and write their thoughts on each attraction or asset. The meeting, which spanned over three hours, marked the beginning of work on the DestinationBLYTH initiative, in which RTO4 has identified Blyth as an important asset in the region that deserves the organization's attention going forward. (Denny Scott photo) By Denny Scott The Citizen Regional Tourism Organization 4 (RTO4) has now hosted the first of three meetings dedicated to DestinationBLYTH, a special think- tank aimed at leveraging recent growth in Blyth to position the village to capitalize on tourism and development opportunities. David Peacock, Chief Executive Officer for RT04, explained that, right now, the organziation believes Blyth is deserving of attention. While RTO4's catchment area covers Huron, Perth, Waterloo and Wellington Counties and hundreds Strengths People Places Service Heritage/History Visitors Facilities Theatre Community pride Volunteerism Weaknesses Geography (barriers) Wayfinding (signs) Conversion of visitors Aesthetics Parking Accommodation Digital presence Shoulder seasons Development options Opportunities Downtown Core Specific niches Storytelling Community Campground Theatre/Hall Tourism packages Commercial kitchen Digital opportunities -ri Girl Power Girl Pow -R was one of the many musical acts on stage last weekend in Blyth for the Festival of Wizardry, which was held at the Blyth Campground. While the festival was cut short due to extreme weather on Sunday, many reported being pleased with the programming of the one - day event that attracted thousands to the village. (Denny Scott photo) of tourist attractions, it falls to its staff to determine which are provincially significant. Blyth has made that list, according to Peacock, joining such destinations as local theatre clusters, heritage towns such as Bayfield and Stratford and locations that can support music and sporting events such as Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge. "Blyth is surrounded by places that are similar in size, but it is different," he said at the Oct. 13 meeting held at Memorial Hall. "That why we're here, is to find out why Blyth is different and provincially significant." Peacock said there were obvious long-standing answers, such as the Blyth Festival and Memorial Hall, and newer developments such as the Goderich to Guelph Rail Trail, Blyth Cowbell Brewing Company and Blyth Arts and Cultural Initiative 14/19. Five years ago Blyth wasn't where it is now according to Peacock. While there were early plans for the programs, the brewery and the trail, the village hadn't "reached critical mass" for the convergence of development opportunities. He explained that the village is reaching that critical mass now. "Because the best destinations are community driven, we're here to make sure there is buy -in on the community level," he said. Part of the project's drive is to make sure that Blyth lives up to the opportunities in the village, pointing to Stratford as an example. "Stratford wasn't living up to [the Stratford] Festival," he said. He told the 30 stakeholders present that, as involved as the community is, the village needs to make sure it measures up to the potential growing within its borders. Andrea Gardi, Senior Project manager at RTO4, spoke next, explaining why she had pushed for Blyth to be the focus of the next project. She said that, when looking across the entire RT04 region, Blyth was unique. "Blyth has the biggest opportunity to be truly spectacular," she said. "I want to be a part of that." She explained the meeting was focused on determining Blyth's `DNA', or identifying its unique selling points and assets. "We want to know what makes Blyth special and what cuts through the clutter to get people to choose to come here," she said. The first part of the process had attendees walk around Blyth Memorial Community Hall's lower hall, in which pictures of the village had been posted. They were asked to put their impressions or memories of locations on sticky notes beside the photos as a means of exploring the community. Next, in groups of six, tourism personas were explored. Each group selected a specific type of tourist and talked about the feelings, experiences, goals and challenges faced. Tourist archetypes examined included snowmobilers, country music fans, sports tourists and families. Using the lens of those tourism personas, groups then began to outline the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities the village faced. For a list, see the sidebar below. The group then wrote individual postcards to themselves in the future with what they hoped Blyth would look like in five years. The goal of the meeting was to articulate the strengths, assets and weaknesses of the village and, at a meeting scheduled for Nov. 2, a vision plan using that information will be formulated. For more information or to participate in the next meeting, contact Gardi at andrea@rto4.ca or 519-271-7000 extension 205. BUY? SELL? TRY CLASSIFIED g REPRINTS-` OF PHOTOS taken by Citizen photographers are available to purchase. ALL ARE IN COLOUR 4x6 - $4.00 5x7 - $5.00 8x10 - $8.00 Phone to order -- 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114 PUT DOWN SOME ROOTS! MVCA Tree Planting Services Large Stock Service: offers larger trees for stream buffers, windbreaks, reforestation and road side plantings. A variety of native hardwood (6-7 ft. bare root) and coniferous trees (2 ft. balled and burlapped) available. Applicants are responsible for picking up their order from the MVCA. Order deadline is Oct. 31, 2017. Seedling Service: provides a variety of seedling trees to landowners doing their own planting. A minimum 50 tree order is required. Applicants are responsible for picking up their order from the MVCA. Order deadline is Oct. 31, 2017. GRANTS AVAILABLE for some planting projects! Call for details. Maitland Valley Conservation Authority [e] trees@mvca.on.ca [w] www.mvca.on.ca [t] 519-335-3557 Please contact the MVCA for information on species availability, costs and the application process.