Published: October 01, 2008 06:16 pm      

GLYNN: Five counties join in tourismcampaign

For years the area tourism leaders have preached about the need for a “regional approach” to promoting attractions.

Now they’re doing it with five Western New York counties through a collaborative effort to promote fall happenings in the region.

The partners trying to extend the tourist season through the special promotion “Harvest and Haunts” include the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp., the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau, Orleans County Tourism and the Wyoming County Tourist Promotion Agency.

The overall goal has merit: to impact the local economies through day-trip business, to generate an awareness of the region’s fall activities, and to support marketing efforts for local festivals.

“These tourism agencies recognize the common thread of fall happenings in our region and they’re working together to broaden our appeal to potential visitors,” said John Percy, president and chief executive officer of the NTCC. “The shoulder seasons (spring and fall) are still very impactful for our destinations and this promotion focuses our efforts on those day trip visitors.”

The $40,000 program includes an advertising campaign targeting TV, radio and online media in Western New York, Rochester and the Finger Lakes markets.

You can find lots of information on the Web site: www.visitniagarathisfall.com or by calling 1-800-622-2686.

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OFF THE PRESS: Sandy Allen, the world’s tallest woman, who died recently, is the subject of a new novel by Rita Rose, a longtime writer and editor of The Indianapolis Star.

Allen worked eight years as “a live attraction” at the Guinness Book of World Records Museum on Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls, Ont.

Rose notes that Allen, who was 7 feet, 7.25 inches, lived through years of being mocked and taunted but redeemed those years with school visits to teach children the lessons of tolerance.

The book is “World’s Tallest Woman: The Giantess of Shelbyville High (Hawthorne Publishing, hardcover, 160 pages).

It will be available at book stores in late October.

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OUT OF THE PAST: The old Buffalo Memorial Auditorium that closed in 1996 attracted countless Ontario residents over the years. It is being eyed for a major commercial development close to the Buffalo waterfront.

In downtown Toronto, almost 10 years after the Maple Leafs left their old home at Carleton and Church streets, there is little evidence that the new owner, Loblaws Companies Ltd., is preparing to convert the site into its flagship store.

Last year, when the company obtained all the necessary permits and approvals, a spokesman said the interior cleanup was ready to start.

Meanwhile, the City of Buffalo planS to auction off several thousand of the “blue section” seats from the arena in November.