Camping Opportunities with the Wellness Center: Space is still available for the June 25-26 Outdoor Summer Camp-out that teaches outdoor skills, survival instruction, canoeing, and many other activities. Kids and parents are invited. Please call ahead of time or bring tent. Location: Pleasant Grove Road, Independence, VA. $10 per person, tents can be provided. Please call AWCI at 336-372-2944 to sign up. You can also contact Joe Flowers at joeflowersnc@gmail.com for further information.
AWCI will again provide the two weeks of Summer Kids Camp. WEEK 1 SESSION: June 27 thru July 1, and WEEK 2 SESSION: July 18-22. Maximum sign up per camp session: 15. Hours 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. Cost per Session: $150.00 per child, $135 for each additional child in immediate family. Age group 6 – 13. Call AWCI at 336-372-2944 to sign up.
Music in the Park presents JAM kids: This coming Saturday's Music in Crouse Park will feature some of our own JAM youngsters from 5 to 7 p. The Junior Appalachian Musician program began right here in Sparta and has been replicated in some 15 or more schools in North Carolina and Virginia. Come out and see why this program has been so successful. This is a free concert and the Watermelon Man will be handing our free slices. Free music in Crouse Park every Saturday during June and July except during the Fiddlers Convention, July 23, and is part of Summer Jamboree 2011. Summer Jamboree events list. Last Saturday's Music in the Park featured Dr. Mark Handy and the Mountain Park Old Time Band pictured at the right.
Yikes! Snakes Alive in Black Building. One of the most popular programs that the Alleghany Library offers is Ron Cromer's "Snakes Alive!" Cromer preaches that knowledge about snakes, particularly how to tell poisonous from non-poisonous, is the best way to avoid being harmed. I guess a lot of folks like his message because he attracts a crowd. Check out these photos from last Saturday's event on our Facebook page. There are also photos from the recent Bookfest and some video of yours truly tripping the light fantastic with a pretty lady!
Chamber Member Restaurants: We need your menus! We have a notebook of the menus of Chamber members and it is woefully out of date. Please send (PO Box 1237, Sparta), email (pdf preferred) or drop off a current menu. If you drop it off while we are closed, there's a slot just left of the front door that you can deposit it. You can fax it -- 372-8251 -- but fax copies aren't nearly as attractive. This goes in an standard notebook (8.5 by 11 inch paper). Anything larger will have to be reduced. Carry out menus work well.
QUICK EDITORIAL: I don't like to brag, but someone accused this office of just "sitting around and jawing with tourists." In these tight times and the scrutiny it brings, I feel it's important to set the record straight. The largest source of Chamber revenue is not the County, not the Town, not membership dues, not the occupancy tax we receive, it is money generated by this office through fundraisers, Mountain Heritage Festival, SPARTA Magazine, map sales, etc. This year the Chamber worked hard to generate $48,210 in revenue, 32% of our budget!
In 2009 – the last year there are figures for – the State reported that visitors spent $19.5 million in Alleghany, accounted for $3.7 million in payroll and supported 190 jobs. That’s Alleghany’s tourism industry. This industry hasn’t always been as big. In the past 5 years, tourism has grown 17% across the state, 5% in neighboring Ashe County, and 27% in Alleghany. Only 5 of the state’s 100 counties have posted a larger gain. In 2009, we were one of only 6 counties to show positive growth in travel and tourism. NC as a whole saw a 7.4% decline.
Credit goes to the long hours and hard work our businesses put in. But the Chamber played a part in this growth. We work hard to make Sparta and Alleghany County stand out among the larger counties competing for tourism dollars and the state figures seem to show that working together with businesses generates results.
Annually we produce 50,000 brochures, magazines and events calendars that are distributed at welcome centers, though local businesses and real estate agencies, and mail around 2,500 packets of information each year to individuals who want to learn what Alleghany has to offer. That is in addition to the other services to local business members.
If someone tries to tell you we sit around this office and just wile away the day talking to visitors, please set them straight.
~ Bob Bamberg
Weather permitting, there's still lots to do in our community. Where provided, click on the links for more information.
The Library features Dr. Suzanne Mellow Irwin discussing her experiences publishing A Stratford Oaks Tale.
>> Alleghany Jubilee: Come to listen or come to dance to the blue grass and old time musicians who play on Tuesday beginning at 7p and Saturday at 8p. Admission $4. The Jubilee is located on North Main Street, across from the courthouse. 336-372-4591
>> Crouse House Pickers: Local blue grass and old time musicians jam each Monday, 2 blocks north of the Courthouse at the Crouse House in Crouse Park, beginning at 6p. Come and play or just listen. No charge, but a donation is appreciated. 336-372-5473
>> Alleghany Farmers' Market: Held Thursday from 3:30 to 5:30p and Saturday from 10a to 2p, drop by for produce, transplants for your garden and local crafts. Support these vendors and watch their numbers grow. Held in the Farmers' Hardware parking lot.
GREAT ACTIVITIES TO DO ANYTIME
>>Barn Quilt Trails: Barns and other structures throughout Alleghany County are adorned with large squares illustrating quilt patterns and add interest to a driving tour of the countryside. Drop by Alleghany Chamber of Commerce and Visitors' Center for a brochure. We are in the rock building with the green awning (58 South Main Street, Sparta). Our foyer is always open and a brochure is always available.
>>Driving Loops: Brochures for three driving loops of the Alleghany countryside are available at the Alleghany Chamber of Commerce and Visitors' Center. Each loop is about a leisurely hour's drive and includes information on historic points along the way. The Chamber office is in the rock building with the green awning (58 South Main Street, Sparta). Our foyer is always open and a brochure is always available.
>> Alleghany Historical Museum is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Stop by to experience local history and to see the new displays, 7 North Main Street, Sparta.
Check our calendar for upcoming events: On our website are listings for our Calendar. Check them often and let us know if your activity is not listed.
Bob Bamberg
Executive Director
Alleghany Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 1237 Sparta, NC 28675
336-372-5473
Director@Sparta-NC.com
Sparta-NC.com
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