By: Stephanie Reynolds
“That sounds like an article SOMEONE should write…,” Stan, the horse carriage guy and a friend of mine, said to me pointedly in his classic drawl.
“Huh? What did I say?” Apparently in my heady Friday, ready-to-get-the-party-started haze, I actually had made a salient point and totally missed it. How bad is it that I wasn’t even paying attention to what I was saying?
“That ‘we are blessed to have so many things going on…’”
Oh…OH! Yes! I remember now!
We were talking about our “Be A Tourist In Your Own Hometown” event held back in May. He and the fabulous Chelsea shared a table at our vendor space. After he teased me about being so daring as to expose a bit of my ankle whilst wearing my antebellum dress (scandalous!), the conversation turned to how to make the event bigger and better for next year. Everyone had a blast but we had the storms that morning, it was Memorial Day weekend, and Decatur was having their gorgeous balloon festival.
“We need to plan a little better next time,” I said.
“Yeah but it’s impossible to find a time when nothing else is going on,” he said sagely.
“Yep. But what a blessing it is that the community is so engaged and there is SO much going on that we can’t find a free time,” I said.
(Aha, there was my moment of almost brilliance.)
I have been working in tourism a whole 9 months now and am really getting a feel for the pulse and beat of our county and the surrounding area. I LOVE seeing what Morgan and Madison Counties are doing. I LOVE seeing Chamber’s ribbon cutting announcements and Main Street’s parties and tours. I love that there is always, ALWAYS something to see, taste, learn, or participate in. And so much of it is free!
So why do we, like kids in summer, sometimes think there’s nothing to do? Is it that there is actually nothing going on? I can tell you as an Official Tourism Professional, no.
I wonder if it’s not that there is “nothing to do” but actually there’s so much, it just isn’t easy or automatic. I mean, scrolling on the phone is easy and automatic. Binge watching k-dramas (ifkyk) is easy and automatic. But getting on our website or Facebook page (hint, hint) and looking up local events, then deciding to go to one, then getting into actual clothes and into the actual car can be wearying.
I get that. As an introvert’s introvert (no, really!), I know how thinking about doing can make one tired.
But are we going to watch other people live their lives or do we want a life of our own? When the clock winds down, are we going to be SO glad for all the time we spent on our phones or TVs? And yet screens are easy and automatic.
I think a great idea is to ease into it like getting into a still cool pool on the first hot day of summer — gingerly, determinedly — knowing it’ll be soothing and refreshing once we get up to our shoulders in it.
So first: Decide on a day that you would like to try something different. Don’t build it up too much, this is not that big of a deal. Just decide, “Saturday afternoon is a great time to try a new thing or go to a new place.”
Second: Pick something. Anything. Go to our events page on our website — we try to keep that updated as much as possible. But also check the Facebook pages of other places in the county as there are always events, festivals, carnivals, classes, picnics, etc. Write each one down on a piece of paper. Add in stores, trails, museums, and restaurants. Put all the ideas in a jar and pull one out. There ya go. Decision made.
Third: Don’t second guess yourself. Don’t think about the crowds or the hassle. You can always bail early, but don’t sabotage yourself before you even get there.
Then go! Maybe start a vlog or an IG about your adventures or just treasure them yourself. Maybe get a nifty journal and write a bit about your quests.
If nothing else, your diary will have more to say than, “I watched 7 straight episodes of Today’s Webtoon.”
I’ll even help with the first few ideas:
Free Family Movie Night: Kung Fu Panda
Fri. July 19, 8:00 – 9:30 p.m.
Athens State University, 300 N Beaty St., Athens, AL
Adult Color and Coffee
Fri. July 26, 9 a.m. – noon
Athens – Limestone Public Library, 603 S Jefferson St.
Come join us as we drink coffee, color, and CHILL! (Every 4th Friday)
Fridays After Five
Fri July 26, 5-8:30 p.m.
Eastside Steps of the Limestone County Courthouse, 150 S Marion St.
Athens Farmers Market
2024 Saturday Markets – June 1 through September 28, from 8 a.m. to noon.
2024 Tuesday Markets – May 7 through August 27, from 3 to 6 p.m. 409 W. Green St.
Native Fruit Seminar – free event
Thurs., August 1, from 5 to 7 p.m. Limestone County Extension Office, 1109 Market St. W Suite A. Registration is required for this free event/seminar. Topic is “Growing and Foraging Native Fruits.”
There really isn’t enough time (or article space!) to list everything there is to do around our fabulous county, but what a blessing that is!
By: Stephanie Reynolds, Athens-Limestone Tourism Association
September 6, 2024
