Our destinations in the media Dec. 1, 2014: The Traveling Type, ‘Downton Abbey’ Fans Get a Holiday Gift in Lake Placid, New York The Traveling Type, a Travel Channel blog, previews the Downton Abbey-inspired holiday gala that is part of Lake Placid's Holiday Village Stroll. READ THE ARTICLE

The annual Wilmington Mountain Music Fest is returning for its third year, taking place on Saturday, July 27, at Wilmington Ball Park. Gates open at 1:30 p.m., with music beginning at 2:00 p.m. Advance tickets are available, beginning at $20, with family and VIP packages also available for purchase by visiting whitefaceregion.com/events/wilmington-mountain-music-fest. The festival has expanded this year with additional stages, a wide variety of musical acts and entertainment, and an increased number of food and beverage vendors. Musical acts span genres that should appeal to a broad audience, with a lineup that features regional artists as well as national performers. The festival aims to celebrate the community spirit of Wilmington, offering an experience residents, visitors, couples, and families can all enjoy together. This year’s music lineup is headlined by Completely Unchained, a Van Halen tribute band, and Don Jovi, playing tribute to Bon Jovi. Together they are positioned as a one-of-a-kind “Legends of Rock Show”. Other artists scheduled to take the stage include Merle Jam, Midnight Stargazers, and Taylor LaValley. Bands will be providing entertainment throughout the afternoon and evening, ending at approximately 10:30 p.m.Attendees will also be treated to a performance by The Smoke Show Fire Dancers, specializing in fire-eating and choreographed performances, taking the stage at 8:30 p.m.Michelle Preston, director of the Whiteface Visitors Bureau, explained that the event is quickly becoming one of the most popular events in Wilmington. “The festival is a highlight of the summer season,” she said. “It offers a family-friendly atmosphere, a diverse lineup of performances, and plenty of fun activities. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs, blankets, umbrellas, and pop-up canopies so that they can relax and enjoy the day. Whether you’re a local resident or a visitor, the Wilmington Mountain Music Fest is an event not to be missed.”Advance tickets can be purchased online at a discounted rate of $20 per person. Pre-purchase also offers the options of a couples package for $75 or a family package for $150. Pre-order your music fest T-shirts online; limited supply available on the day of the show. Live music is a highlight of summer in the Whiteface Region. In addition to the Wilmington Mountain Music Fest, the Wilmington Town Beach hosts free concerts every Thursday in the summer and a wide variety of artists can be found performing at restaurants and bars in Wilmington and surrounding communities. Visit WhitefaceRegion.com/Events for more information on upcoming performances.

Picture this: a room full of about 300 people sitting at tables, watching, listening to, and laughing with a speaker on stage. All of the attendees have at least two electronic devices in front of them; many are monitoring and operating a laptop, tablet AND smartphone. All are simultaneously watching the screens adjacent to the speaker that scroll the real-time conversation on Twitter about the speech currently in progress. These are my people. Sheila Scarborough of Tourism Currents included one of the LakePlacid.com blogs as an example of good content in her presentation at SoMeT in Nashville in November 2014. I was recently privileged to attend the SoMeT marketing conference in Nashville, which had an agenda aimed specifically at Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) professionals. Given the fact that our markets’ travel decisions are made online, the content of the sessions was of course all about digital marketing, content development and social media. It was a great opportunity to learn, but more importantly it was a great forum for networking with people from all over the world who do what I do and face the same challenges that I face in today’s communications landscape. Dominating those challenges is time management in the context of the noisy distraction of managing 30+ social media accounts while still engaging with traditional media and our marketing partners. Though there were many takeaways for implementation in our region’s destination marketing efforts, I also ran across a blog from one of the conference organizer’s strategists that I wish I had written, and thought would be of great interest to our marketing partners. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Please read the short post at your leisure, and then come back here and leave us a comment with any thoughts or questions you might have! 6 Things Tourism Businesses Should Know About Their DMO - BY WILLIAM BAKKER of DESTINATION THINK! Thanks! - Kim Rielly, director of communications, ROOST

LAKE PLACID — A fun scavenger hunt is underway that is meant to get Lake Placid’s front-line employees more familiar with all the village has to offer. Between Dec. 1 and 11, employees can collect names and observations from the 21 participating businesses throughout town. The names and observations are recorded on a scavenger hunt entry form. When an employee finishes at least 20, they can drop the sheet off at any participating business, and they are then eligible to win more than $500 in great prizes. Winners will be drawn at the opening reception for the Holiday Village Stroll at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12, at the Conference Center at Lake Placid. “This hunt is a great way to help your front desk staff, concierges, sales force or any other staff in a customer service position answer your customer’s questions; ultimately supporting the small businesses of our community,” says the Lake Placid Business Association, which organized the scavenger hunt. “We encourage you to have them bring a note pad on their hunt to collect additional information that can be referred to later.” If the event is successful, the LPBA hopes to repeat it twice a year, just before the both the winter and summer seasons.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will host its Annual Children’s Holiday Party from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19, in the lobby of the DEC Regional Office in Ray Brook. This event is held for the enjoyment of children in the community. Santa Claus and Smokey Bear will be featured at the festivities. Santa will listen to wishes and give out presents to area children. Santa’s elves will give out treats and do face painting. All will be entertained by live and recorded performances of holiday music. If you have any questions or would like additional information, call the DEC at 518-897-1213.