• Small Michigan Town Wins Bid to Host Worldwide 'History Prize': 100,000 visitors expected for first
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[QUOTE] Ludington made an impression on Mara MacKay and then on a panel of visitors, such an impression the team chose the community to be the host of a new venture — History Prize. Think ArtPrize but for history buffs, tens of thousands to potentially hundreds of thousands of history buffs. It is estimated 100,000 visitors will come to Ludington during the first 19-day event in June 2016. People from around the country will bring collections, re-enactments and fixed exhibits to compete for $150,000 in prize money — divided up into three prizes in each of three categories — in the first year, with the event held each year in Ludington, much like ArtPrize is held each year in Grand Rapids. MacKay, a Michigan history author from Hurley, Wisconsin/Ironwood, Michigan, said she was inspired by Rick DeVos, who started ArtPrize. She came up with the idea and brought it to the 2014 Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on Tourism, winning the Jump Start contest and $5,000 to get her started. More seed money has since been donated for a total of $30,000 so far, with a fundraising campaign goal of $1 million by December 2015. The money is expected to come from a variety of sources, corporate gifts, grants, clubs, merchandise sales and private donors. The Ludington Area Convention and Visitors Bureau has committed to give 3 percent of the total. [B]The prizes[/B] In the first year, there will be three prizes in three categories for a total of nine cash prizes totalling $150,000. The public will vote on their favorites. The categories are: Fixed Exhibits - a work of art, for instance Historical Collections - from tea cups to classic cars Living History - performances from Civil War re-enactments to “Grease” the movie, maybe someone will use the beach to re-enact the WWII landing at Normandy, MacKay noted. Prizes will be awarded in each category: 1st prize: $30,000 2nd prize: $15,000 3rd prize: $5,000 With such a big audience expected, the CVB will be reaching out to surrounding communities to help the area accommodate the crowds, building partnerships with establishments from here to Muskegon, a 60-mile radius. They’re talking up to 12,000 hotel room nights. The potential economic impact is estimated at $5 to 10 million to the region. One of the first steps to prepare will be to educate the community, the region, the state, the Midwest and history enthusiasts everywhere about the event. At the same time, the CVB will start working with potential venues, from stores to performances spaces to parks. “This is a new venture for our community,” Henderson said. “It’s an incredible opportunity. And change is good.” Planners will elect a governing board to complement a statewide advisory group of Michigan historians, directors of regional history centers and museums and the Historical Society of Michigan, artists and ArtPrize representatives. [B]Registration for exhibitors and venues is expected to open in the summer of 2015.[/B] [url]http://www.shorelinemedia.net/ludington_daily_news/news/local/article_54c9e726-5b88-11e4-bdb6-573e2f1bc037.html[/url] [/QUOTE] This is a ridiculous amount of people expected to be in my very small hometown. I'm actually worried about how our infrastructure will handle it. Even in the summer when the population influxes to around 20,000 driving is a real pain in the ass. Before anyone asks 'who cares' this is a big deal for Michigan, and an even bigger one for me because Ludington is a very unlikely candidate for a project like this. It will most likely put my town on the map and hopefully be a big boost to the state economy.
The cycle begins anew...
We should gather up all of the cars here at the county museum and head on up. It's a pretty impressive collection.
My town has 2,500 people in it so it's amusing when people refer to a 20,000 population as a "very small town".
In the winter months it gets down to about 5,000
My town has an official population of around 600. It's a very small town... actually we're a village.
A lot of coastal Michigan towns are pretty much tourist traps were the bulk of the summer population are out of towners. I grew up around St. Joseph and there were days where I could walk around downtown and not be able to find a Michigan license plate.
[QUOTE=Zareox7;46324841]My town has an official population of around 600. It's a very small town... actually we're a village.[/QUOTE] Maitland apparently has around 63,000.. this surprised me.
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