Training on creating cultural heritage tourism project set for April 22

LEXINGTON, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension specialists and Lexington community leaders will offer training on how to create a cultural heritage tourism project on April 22.

Lexington volunteers and MU faculty worked in partnership for two years to create an audio tour of the town’s history and architecture, “The Legends of Lexington.”

MU Extension community arts specialist Lee Ann Woolery says the hands-on training will show how to increase tourism by linking history, culture, art and economic development.

“Participants will benefit from the best practices and guidelines for creating and producing audio and digital heritage tourism projects with stories at their core,” Woolery says.

Speakers include community volunteers Marsha Corbin, Liz Fenner and Abigail Tempel; theater professional Hughston Walkinshaw; former Lexington tourism director Dan Cambridge; Mizzou New Music Initiative managing director Billy Lackey; Justin Pounds, MU student music composition scholar; professional storyteller Milbre Burch; Katina Bitsicas, assistant teaching professor for MU’s Digital Storytelling Program; Gary Kremer, director of the State Historical Society of Missouri; and Lee Ann Woolery and Gregory “Gk” Callahan of MU Extension’s Community Arts Program.

Topics include:

• How stories and storytelling can be the foundation for heritage tourism initiatives.

• Cultivating place-based narratives derived from history.

• Adding digital storytelling to your heritage tourism initiative.

The event runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Lexington Auditorium and Civic Center, 111 S. 11^th St., Lexington. The $25 fee includes lunch and materials. Discounts are given for groups of five or more from the same organization or community.

More information and a downloadable registration form are available at http://extension.missouri.edu/communityarts/stories-at-the-core.aspx.

The MU Extension Community Arts Program, Missouri Humanities Council, St. Louis Storytelling Festival and the Lexington Auditorium and Civic Center sponsor the event.

For more information, contact Woolery at [email protected] or 573-884-9025. For information about MU Extension’s Community Arts Program, go to http://extension.missouri.edu/communityarts.