Burchetta Press Releases - Wlmington NC Appreciation Day Sunday, March 1 2009

Tour your hometown, Sunday, March 1

Supplied photo courtesy of WrightsvilleBeach Magazine archives
Boating on Banks Channel, depicted by this vintage postcard published by E.C. Moore & Co. of Wilmington, is one of hundreds of attractions to Wrightsville Beach.

by Marimar McNaughtonThursday, February 26, 2009

Each year on the first Sunday in March, many area attractions suspend their admission fees for one free, preseason spring fling dedicated to the whim of the hometown tourist. Garden gates will open, museum docents will welcome, battle fields and the battleship subject to interpretation and the downtown historic district discovered during one of many specialized walking tours.

In Wrightsville Beach, the freshly refurbished museum of history on West Salisbury Street on the John Nesbitt Loop will be open from 1-5 p.m.

Nature lovers will have their pick of gardens: the camellias are in bloom in Airlie Gardens, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with guided tours at 1 and 3 p.m., the New Hanover County Arboretum on Oleander Drive will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. offering self-guided tours of its six-acre oasis; and campus tours at the University of North Carolina Wilmington include the Bluethenthal Wildflower Nature Preserve.

New to the hometown tourist itinerary this year is the Burchetta Glassblowing Studio and Gallery on Red Cross Street in Wilmington, and the Greenfield Grind skate park on Burnett Boulevard.

“Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool,” said Kim Hufham of the New Hanover County Tourism Development Authority. “Local citizens are our most valuable tourism ambassadors. With the summer travel season just around the corner, it’s important for residents to experience our tourism assets firsthand so that they can tell their friends, family and visitors about all there is to see and do.”

More than 30 venues are participating this year in cooperation with the Wilmington/Cape Fear Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau, which will stage its public reception from 1-3 p.m. at the Historic Courthouse on Third Street featuring special guests: Salty Dawg from the Wilmington Sea Dawgs basketball team; Sharky from the Wilmington Sharks baseball team; and Sledge from the Wilmington Hammerheads soccer team. Azalea Belles will represent the 56th annual Cape Fear Garden Club Azalea Garden Tour, and the Fort Fisher Aquarium’s new mobile classroom will be on exhibit. Refreshments will be served, and public restrooms will be open. With a combined attendance of nearly 15,000 visitors last year, expect some crowds.

If you decide to sit this one out, you still might be one of six lucky receivers of a canvas
tote bag filled with gift certificates, admission tickets, promotional items, giveaways and discount coupons donated by area tour operators, cruise directors, restaurants and retailers. Register to win at www.capefearcoast.com/hometown.