(April 14, 2016) Snow Hill and Laurel, Delaware will join this fall for a new two-state event that has been dubbed Delmarva Paddling Weekend.
The watersports happening is being modeled after the successful Delmarva Birding Weekend, April 21-24, which includes activities along the Chesapeake and Delaware bays and their tributaries as well as the coastal bays of both states.
Snow Hill Economic Development Director Michael Day said he and other organizers have attended several meetings in Laurel, and that a delegation from that town will visit Snow Hill on Tuesday, May 3.
“There’s so many similarities between Snow Hill and Laurel,” Day said. “They’re trying to do a paddling town, and they’ve just done a branding. We’ve just got money to do the same thing here in Snow Hill.”
Snow Hill sits on the Pocomoke River, while Laurel benefits from Broad Creek, the Nanticoke River and more than 10 mill ponds.
“The idea here is to try to make this a weekend event and publicize it,” Day said. “People will be able to come to Snow Hill for the day, paddle, eat, drink and be merry, and then they can go to Laurel and do the same thing.”
Day said the weekend would likely include as many as 20 guided trips in both towns. In Snow Hill, visitors could stay in about 30 rooms in three different inns, he said. Other guests, Day suggested, could end up in hotels in West Ocean City or Salisbury.
Jim Rapp, from Conservation Community Consulting LLC, has helped develop and run Delmarva Birding weekend for more than two decades. He said that event, according to the most recent study, has an annual impact of about $100,000.
He said Delmarva Paddling Weekend should produce similar economic returns, and would introduce new people to both towns. Rapp said attendees have come from as far away as Mexico to Delmarva Birding Weekend, and estimated as much as 60 percent of the event’s paddling enthusiasts would come from outside of the immediate area.
“It’s like window shopping. Let us show you the thing first, and if you really like us, come back,” he said. “I think we can build a whole social thing into this, going to local breweries at night, having a little get together and maybe campfires at the campgrounds. If we can get people down here for a weekend of fun things, I think they’ll want to come back.”
Organizers purchased a website, DelmarvaPaddling.com, which is scheduled to go live by Memorial Day weekend. In the meantime, a Facebook page, Snow Hill Outdoors, will provide information on upcoming events. The town also operates SnowHillOutdoors.com.
Delmarva Paddling Weekend will run Sept. 30, through Oct. 2.
The watersports happening is being modeled after the successful Delmarva Birding Weekend, April 21-24, which includes activities along the Chesapeake and Delaware bays and their tributaries as well as the coastal bays of both states.
Snow Hill Economic Development Director Michael Day said he and other organizers have attended several meetings in Laurel, and that a delegation from that town will visit Snow Hill on Tuesday, May 3.
“There’s so many similarities between Snow Hill and Laurel,” Day said. “They’re trying to do a paddling town, and they’ve just done a branding. We’ve just got money to do the same thing here in Snow Hill.”
Snow Hill sits on the Pocomoke River, while Laurel benefits from Broad Creek, the Nanticoke River and more than 10 mill ponds.
“The idea here is to try to make this a weekend event and publicize it,” Day said. “People will be able to come to Snow Hill for the day, paddle, eat, drink and be merry, and then they can go to Laurel and do the same thing.”
Day said the weekend would likely include as many as 20 guided trips in both towns. In Snow Hill, visitors could stay in about 30 rooms in three different inns, he said. Other guests, Day suggested, could end up in hotels in West Ocean City or Salisbury.
Jim Rapp, from Conservation Community Consulting LLC, has helped develop and run Delmarva Birding weekend for more than two decades. He said that event, according to the most recent study, has an annual impact of about $100,000.
He said Delmarva Paddling Weekend should produce similar economic returns, and would introduce new people to both towns. Rapp said attendees have come from as far away as Mexico to Delmarva Birding Weekend, and estimated as much as 60 percent of the event’s paddling enthusiasts would come from outside of the immediate area.
“It’s like window shopping. Let us show you the thing first, and if you really like us, come back,” he said. “I think we can build a whole social thing into this, going to local breweries at night, having a little get together and maybe campfires at the campgrounds. If we can get people down here for a weekend of fun things, I think they’ll want to come back.”
Organizers purchased a website, DelmarvaPaddling.com, which is scheduled to go live by Memorial Day weekend. In the meantime, a Facebook page, Snow Hill Outdoors, will provide information on upcoming events. The town also operates SnowHillOutdoors.com.
Delmarva Paddling Weekend will run Sept. 30, through Oct. 2.