VisitPITTSBURGH Unveils KidsBURGH®, a gamified savings pass with Bandwango.
An extension of “Only in Pittsburgh,” the kid appeal promotion will run through September to target families with children ages 3-17 in key drive markets including: Baltimore, Buffalo, Cleveland, Columbus, Erie, Harrisburg, Johnston/Altoona, Morgantown, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
No kidding, no app needed. Visitors who sign up for the pass and check into five KidsBURGH attractions through the end of 2021 are entered to win a KidsBURGH getaway including a two-night stay and four passes to the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History, Carnegie Science Center, Gateway Clipper Fleet, National Aviary, Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, Sandcastle Waterpark, and the Senator John Heinz History Center. Press release here.
Columbus, Ohio is going all-in with Museums For All. How long will it last? Forever!
Six museums are joining forces to offer significant discounts to admission ranging from free to $3.45 per person: Columbus Museum of Art, COSI, Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, National Veterans Memorial and Museum, Ohio History Center and Ohio Village and the Wexner Center for the Arts.
Museums for All is a national program focused on removing barriers to visiting museums and cultural centers by finding a way to make museum visits low or no cost for people that get food assistance. Columbus museums are making a commitment to become one of a few Museums for All Hub Cities. Each museum made a pledge to dig deeper to understand the additional barriers that prevent people from visiting museums.
Visit Spokane has announced two interesting transportation-related initiatives.
1) Spokane is the only airport in the world that offers complimentary car washes to people who park in the parking garage.
2) Double-decker buses are promoting the 2021 Leisure Campaign strategy emphasizing wide-open outdoor spaces. Notice the child-friendly character illustrations that set the branding apart from traditional campaigns while showcasing Spokane places.
In San Francisco, the signature cable cars are coming back after 16 months, and they’re plying the crazy hills for free through the month of August.
And a pandemic silver lining: Thanks to an unanimous vote by city supervisors, SF’s beloved sidewalk-adjacent parklets that popped up everywhere (before there was a shortage of lumber), spilling out onto the pavements and into parking spaces, are now going to be a permanent fixture.
San Diego is doing a Candlelight Concert Series of classical music in magical, intimate locations, modeling on success in places like Paris, Barcelona, and New York. The concerts run throughout 2021 at spaces like San Diego’s Seaport Village; Chapel by Liberty Station Park; and J11, San Diego’s Premier East Village event space.
What You Will Enjoy
🕯️ An intimate ambience in a beautiful venue bathed in candlelight
🎻 A talented string quartet performing classical pieces by Vivaldi
⛪ The stunning architecture of the iconic chapel
✔️ A safe, comfortable and socially-distanced event
Chicago is re-launching the Year of Chicago Music. Originally set for 2020, the ‘extension’ includes a first-ever Chicago in Tune festival beginning mid-August, a genre-hopping, month-long event featuring free and ticketed shows throughout the city. Other events include music festival Lollapalooza starting July 29, plus the classical Grant Park Music Festival in August.
Related: Steal This Idea? DMO Initiatives
“On the border between Louisiana and the Lone Star State, Beaumont is a little bit Cajun, a lot Texan, and 100% unique for the South.” — Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau organized a one-day summer event, the Beaulympics, in partnership with 40+ local partners and the United Way. The five rings represent the major travel themes that best exemplify Beaumont with events in the categories of food/drink, kid-friendly, active/adventure, art, and Cajun culture. The event is expected to morph into a summer field day of sorts next year.
Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau of Southwest Illinois launched a new multi-media paid advertising campaign, “Greatness Around Every Turn” running through Labor Day. The bureau partnered with Shift Agency to create videos highlighting active lifestyles and road trip adventures, plus ‘Live Like A Local’ themes focusing on the growing craft brewery and distillery culture, for example. The targeted campaign runs on Connected TV, social, and digital channels throughout the summer, targeting potential leisure travelers within in a four-plus-hour drive.
Oklahoma is hosting The Thunderbird Drone Festival, a first-and-only event on Aug. 13-14, 2021 in Woodward, OK to showcase drone filmmakers from all over the world. There are FPV drone races, a 48-hour scavenger hunt contest from the air, and a drone technology expo at the in-person event taking place in a restored century-old arts theatre plus a 50,000-square-foot industrial warehouse.
