Oak Ridge has won two awards for promoting tourism in middle East Tennessee, an area that includes the Knoxville metropolitan area.
The Oak Ridge Lavender Festival was awarded the 2022 Best Annual Festival or Event Award, a press release said.
Explore Oak Ridge was awarded the Excellence in Tourism Award for Best Advertising or Marketing Campaign for the “Katie the Calutron Girl” marketing promotion.
The 2022 awards were presented by the Middle East Tennessee Tourism Council in a December 1 ceremony. The METTC promotes tourism activities and represents a 16-county region including Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Cooke, Grainger, Hamblen, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Morgan, Roane, Scott, Sevier, and Union counties.
“There are five awards given annually for excellence in promoting tourism within the METTC region, and this year, two Oak Ridge organizations received two of those awards,” Explore Oak Ridge President Katy Watt said. “We are so proud of our city for making such a big impact!”
2022 Best Annual Festival or Event Award—Lavender Festival
Beginning in 1999, the Oak Ridge Lavender Festival has grown larger and more popular each year, the press release said. With more than 100 artisans, live music, children’s activities, speakers, and demonstrations, its Nine Lakes wine tasting, a Friday herb luncheon, and a new tour of gardens, it is the longest running festival of its kind in the Southeast and the only Lavender Festival in Tennessee.
“The 2022 festival, which took place in Jackson Square on June 18, brought in 22,000 people!” the press release said.
Watt said this unique festival has become one of the must-see summer events in the METTC region. The award was accepted by Barbara Ferrell and Rebecca Williams.
Excellence in Tourism Award for Best Advertising or Marketing Campaign—Explore Oak Ridge and “Katie the Calutron Girl” marketing promotion
As part of Explore Oak Ridge’s “Sharing Our Secrets” marketing campaign, “Katie the Calutron Girl” appears in a series of short videos taking the viewer to various attractions in the Secret City such as the X-10 Graphite Reactor, Historic Jackson Square, American Museum of Science and Energy, Building 9731 at Y-12 and Chapel on the Hill, to name just a few.
“Appearing on Explore Oak Ridge’s various social media channels and website, it invites visitors to come explore all that can be experienced in the Secret City,” the press release said.
Recently, the National Park Service selected the video series to be incorporated into its educational programming and lesson plans for teachers to use when teaching about the Manhattan Project and the science behind the development of the project. The videos are a joint project between Explore Oak Ridge and New Frame Creative, and they feature Kadi Brazil as “Katie the Calutron Girl.” If you haven’t seen the videos, you can see them at www.exploreoakridge.com, the press release said. The award was accepted by Explore Oak Ridge President Katy Watt.
The press release said tourism is the second largest industry in the state of Tennessee, and in 2021, tourists visiting the area spent $159.4 million in Anderson County.
“That means visitors directly generated $12.9 million in state and local taxes, which represents a $417 tax savings for every household in Anderson County,” the press release said.
Tourism promotion in Oak Ridge and Anderson County is funded by taxes paid by visitors staying in local hotels, in the form of an occupancy tax.
“So, the tourism promotion of the area is paid for by people visiting the area and not out of tax dollars paid by local residents,” the press release said.
For additional information, contact Watt at (865) 659-0117 or send an email to [email protected]
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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