Our project list is always a growing one! Here is some information on some of the things we will be doing over the coming months for tourism businesses in the Yorkshire Dales.
FESTIVALS:
The Festivals are really taking off now and we have had such a successful Dark Skies Festival #DarkSkies19 with the majority of business who put on events selling out. This was due to the businesses really putting the effort in to making their events unique and interesting and promoting them well and also to the great social media publicity that we had. We are now focusing on #DarkSkies20 so if you would like to put on an event for the Festival please can you let us know and we will be happy to promote and share your event for you. We already have some events booked in, so it is great that we will be able to promote your events from October 2019 this year.
We are currently working on the cheese festival, celebrating local produce #CheeseFest19 which will take place on the 14th and 15th September 2019 at the Wensleydale Creamery and for the following week we will be focussing on celebrating everything local until the 21st September 2019.
The week long “Yorkshire Dales Cheese Festival, celebrating local produce” is now in its 3rd year and as with the dark skies festival, it has grown and developed year on year, it is such a fantastic opportunity to showcase your business while promoting the natural beauty, wildlife, local produce and cultural heritage of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale AONB..
We would really like to be able to help promote your businesses this year by offering you the opportunity to do something unique and different as part of the Festival, which we can promote for you during the week, to celebrate local produce. This can be absolutely anything;
- Farm Visits
- Walks from your business
- Guided Walks
- Cookery demonstrations – explaining the use of local produce and the benefits of using local
- Open door experience – to see behind the scenes of your business
- Unique and special menu’s for the week
- A special cake/pie for the week – using a special recipe, with a story behind it
- A day of Yoga and relaxation – health and wellbeing day in the Yorkshire Dales to promote the beauty, peace, calm and tranquillity of the Dales.
- Utilise local produce to its full extent for the week of the celebration, learn about the local produce and teach your staff so they all have the knowledge to talk to visitors about the products they are serving
- Pairing evenings
- Tasting evening
- Local music and food night
- Film nights and delicious food
- Fusion Food – Take amazing and unique dishes from across the world and give it a Yorkshire twist
- Local quiz
- Work with other local businesses, farmers, producers to create a unique evening experience –
- Farm to Folk – work with your local farmer to present and taste local produce
- The history and understanding of “Game” in the area
- The importance of land management presentation
- A year in the life of a local farmer
- Mini Farmers market
- Runs
- Bike rides
- Forest schools
- Open farm experiences
- Fishing experience – Catch and cook
- Work with local businesses to do a joint experience and events
Please remember visitors and people living in the area, are now looking for unique experiences, something that little bit different which they may not get the opportunity to do elsewhere. The choices and options for this festival are endless, it can be something small or something big, anything goes and we will be happy to promote your event for you under this established brand.
The promotion which we offer not only promotes your event, but it also promotes your business locally and nationally. We try and use as many different outlets as possible, and if you do create a unique event, you may be fortunate enough to be promoted in the national papers as well as the local news, or you may get a camera crew to your event - as we did with some of our dark skies events this year.
DAIRY DAYS:
Dairying has been at the heart of the Wensleydale economy since records began and is still thriving today. The legacy of this dairying heritage is all around, from barns and milk churn stands to cheese press stones and dairies. Evidence from prehistoric farmsteads and field boundaries hints at the farming of cattle since at least the Iron Age.
Visitors come from all over the world to enjoy Wensleydale’s beautiful scenery and also sample the products of the famous local dairying industry, from the eponymous cheese through to ice creams, cream teas; curd tarts and locally churned butter.
The Dairy Days project aims to research and share the story of the industry that helped shaped Wensleydale’s landscape and which still plays such an important part in the local economy. The project is funded by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority with a generous grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Follow the Dairy Days blog to find out how we get on and how you can get involved. There is currently an opportunity for you as a tourism business to share this information with your visitors who might be interested in the stories, - through different forms of interpretation in your businesses. This could be via micro interpretation such as beer mats, or macro interpretation, for example if numerous businesses wanted to come together to create a town trail/walk depicting the history of Dairy making in the village they are in. There are so many options and it will be interesting to hear your thoughts and ideas on what you feel would be most suitable to your business.
The Food Business Tool Kit:
We are currently working with the North York Moors on a food businesses tool kit giving guidance and advice to local businesses about the importance of local produce and local ingredients for your business. We have identified that A unique and authentic food and drink cultural experience can play a significant role in attracting visitors and making their stay all the more memorable. We are creating a toolkit for hospitality, local produce and retail businesses to share some of the ideas of how local food and drink can add to the bottom line and to the quality of your business
This toolkit will include the following:
* Why local produce?
* Hints and tips of how to use and promote local produce in your business
* What’s the story? – A profile of local produce from our protected landscapes
* The importance of Local.
The Three Peaks
The Three Peaks area is one of the most well known and most walked places within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. If you want to work with us as a friend of the Three Peaks there are opportunities such as featuring on the Three Peaks App, profit share on retailing Three Peaks souvenirs, opportunities for volunteering for practical work with the Three Peaks ranger as well as showing your support for the work to improve the rights of way in the area.
