Your town probably has one: an empty church building. I’ve seen several converted to private homes, but I hadn’t seen one used as camping or lodging until this: champing, or camping in churches. ‘Champing’™ is the ultimate ‘slow tourism’ escape, with England’s historic churches offering their own unique havens of tranquility, a peaceful night’s sleep interrupted only […]
How we got a filmmaking crew to tell our small town’s story
Guest post by Deb Brown We had filmmakers from San Francisco in our town this month making a movie about us. They are telling the story of Webster City, Iowa, and how we’ve bounced back from the loss of a major manufacturer and the hundreds of jobs they took with them. It’s a big deal […]
Hygge: A cozy small town tourism trend
It’s a fad you’ll be hearing about everywhere. It’s all about comfort, coziness and connectedness. It’s the subject of a rush of new books. It’s a fad, and it won’t last forever. But it’s also connected to larger trends in society that are good for rural. If we can just figure out how to say it. […]
How to attract location-independent workers to small towns
My friend Paul Chaney asked me this, and I thought you might be thinking about it, too. “Hi, Becky. I’m working with a group here in Natchez that is focused on figuring out ways to make it attractive to location-independent workers (that’s one group anyway; also, artisans, makers, the creative community). Also, interested to know […]
