By Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Grayson Tourism director Lana Axtell said that the recent Lavenderfest was proof positive that there are no crazy ideas.
“When Pam Howard came to me about Lavenderfest I said let’s do it,” Axtell said. “I put together an advertising schedule and we advertised it. And it turned out fantastic.”.
“I can tell you at least three Grayson businesses reported a huge uptick in sales, including Walking on Sunshine and Antiques and Uniques,” she said. “And that’s not even including the independent vendors. So, I think that was a huge success, and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to partner with them.”
Axtell said that is what she is looking for, more people to come to her with ideas like Lavenderfest. “We want people to have things to do here,” she said. “That’s the goal of Tourism.”
Axtell said that her goal is to make Grayson a tourist destination that people want to visit from across the region and other states. She listed other area that have popular draws such as Jungle Jim’s in the Cincinnati area, and even attractions and businesses other cities close to Grayson have done such as Eriadnus Brewery in Russell, Kentucky.
“I’d love to have someone want to do something like that here in Grayson,” Axtell said.
Grayson has numerous events coming up that Axtell is excited about, she said Events like the Route 60 Yard Sale, and the final block party of the year on August 2 are on the horizon for Grayson, and she said she will start meeting in the coming week concerning Octoberfest. But Axtell said there is always room for more good ideas, and she is willing to hear them all.
“I’m really excited about Octoberfest,” Axtell said. “Some of the things on the table for that are a possible Octoberfest Pageant, an Octoberfest Parade, and hopefully what I like to call Ghost Walks. Ghost walks are where people walk a crowd through town and tell them different things. We are also going to partner with Danny Kelly who has a paranormal group for that event.”
Dustin Burchett is slated to be the headlining musical act for Octoberfest, and MCCU Street Rods are planning to put on a jeep show for the event as well.
On a less exciting note, Axtell said unforeseen circumstances have delayed the opening of the Grayson Welcome Center in the cabin near the city building. And she also wanted to address confusion created by an unfortunate event.
“I have been getting a lot of phone calls about the tourism situation,” Axtell said. “That was Carter County Tourism and not Grayson Tourism. But our full support is with, and we totally believe in Chris Perry and Carter County Tourism. We hope he will get things cleared up and we are confident they will do the right thing.”
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
