Workshops on Developing Agritourism in Lewis County Planned

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Lewis County residents interested in rural tourism have the opportunity to attend four workshops in February and March to learn more about agritourism and the opportunity to develop the industry in the county.

Each workshop is six hours long and aims to bring together farmers, related stakeholders and elected officials to develop tourism products, businesses and a marketing strategy, according to a press release.

The workshops build on one another, so participation in all four is encouraged and all will include a locally-sourced lunch from Lewis County farms.

The workshops will be held on Feb. 27, March 5, March 12 and March 19.

The first three workshops will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. and will be held in the ground floor meeting room of the Lewis County Historic Courthouse.

The final workshop on March 19 will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the meeting room in the Vernetta Smith Chehalis Timberland Library.



The first workshop aims to build a foundation for the remaining workshops, create a regional identity and story for marketing and determine a vision for future years.

In the second workshop participants will learn about thematic storytelling and create products and itineraries.

The third workshop will consider strategies to connect to the tourism supply chain, learn about techniques for effective networking and discuss social media strategies.

In the final workshop attendees will create an action plan, develop a timeline to reach goals and outline steps for the community and stakeholders to take.

Interested stakeholders are asked to RSVP by Feb. 19 to Harry Bhagwandin, Lewis County agritourism project coordinator, at omroal@gmail.com or (360) 701-9932.