Tourism Committee Reports To Snowflake Town Council

By Naomi Hatch
   “Come for the charm…stay for the fun,” suggests the visitsnowflaketaylor.com Web site.
   “Come for the history…stay for the food” will be another message on the soon to be unveiled Snowflake-Taylor Tourism Committee Web site.
   “Come for the sunset…stay for the stars” reads a Web ad for the Star Party.
   Brad Solomon, a member of the Tourism Committee, created the Web site, and Nerita Flake donated many of the pictures that show a variety of activities in Snowflake and Taylor.
   Solomon made a report to the Snowflake Town Council June 9 on behalf of the Tourism Committee.
   “The idea is to work in concert with different Web sites,” noted Solomon, explaining that this site won’t replace the Snowflake-Taylor Chamber of Commerce or the town’s Web sites. In response to a question posed by Mayor Kelly Willis, Solomon said that if you enter Snowflake or Taylor on an Internet search engine, the Web site will come up.
   He further reported that along with the Web site, there is a print marketing campaign.
   “We have the Web site that is kind of a focal point, it coalesces things that we have, activities, places to stay, things to do,” Solomon explained. “Some things don’t exist yet, but as the market coalesces here, people are filling in with things. We have a smorgasbord of possibilities.”
   The Web site also offers banner advertising, which is a way to make additional money, and has already drawn some interest from Cellular One and Summit Health Care.
   The Web site, www.visitsnowflaketaylor.com, “is completely directed to the tourists,” said Solomon, as opposed to the chamber Web site that is directed to businesses.
   Solomon advised the council that he attended an Arizona Highways Travel Show last week with Chamber Executive Director Greg Hudson. “It was very successful,” said Solomon, who reported that thousands of people came to their booth, which promoted Snowflake and Taylor. Solomon said approximately one-third of the people knew about Snowflake and actually knew the history, including the naming of Snowflake, with another third having heard of the community at some time and another third that had never heard of either town.
   “We are working on tourism activities to fill in some of the blanks,” said Solomon.
   A Farmer’s Market is one of the activities of the Tourism Committee. It has been initiated by Debbie Yordt, owner of Celebrations, and Theresa Rodgers, who will soon open Beads and Fudge. They plan to begin the Farmer’s Market the end of June or first of July and it will go through October, weather permitting. “It’s not just a Farmer’s Market if we do what we plan,” said Solomon. “It’s going to be an entertainment venue.” He noted that they are working on doing re-enactments on the hour in the afternoon. There will be musicians performing, as well as arts and crafts, and the Tourism Committee is working with the Silver Creek Little Theater on a melodrama/dinner theater. Solomon explained that they have the Flea Market at the Our Lady of Snow Catholic Church, which will complement the Farmers Market. Main Street businesses will be encouraged to put tables with specials out for the weekend.
   In Snowflake, the Farmer’s Market will be at Heritage Square, and on Center Street between Main and First Street West, pending town approval to close the street. In Taylor, they will locate near the Taylor Museum and possibly across the street at the log cabin.
   Solomon reported that there has been quite a bit of interest shown from ads in the newspaper.
   “We want to do charming, classy without being snobby,” he said.
   There will be another Star Party in September. “Next time we’ll go wide advertising in Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff,” said Solomon. He said they will put the word out in magazines and on the Internet. Of the Star Party held over the Memorial Day weekend he said, “The Star Party was great even though it rained. We did have people out there, which shows the level of interest.”
   Mayor Willis said, “We appreciate you coming. It looks like you’ve done a lot of work.” He went on to say that as Solomon talked, “a million things go through my mind, as I’m sure they do in the committee.”