Visitors trek to Michigan’s Upper Great Lakes
region for excellent canoeing, hiking,
camping, and other rugged outdoor
activities in a scenic setting. But what
about the culture of the region, the history of
the human experience in the Michigan wilderness? Together, nature
and heritage would make a
complete northwoods adventure. With limited
budgets, however, most public campgrounds can
ill afford cultural entertainment. An innovative
plan spearheaded by the Michigan Humanities
Council brings performers and interpreters to
campers for an enriching experience.
Campers, come settle down. Come close your eyes and listen to
the early night sounds. Hear water lapping gently at the shore,
owls’ awakening hoots high in the trees, wolves singing
plaintively, and the crackling of seasoned tree limbs feeding
the campfire’s flames. Now listen more closely. There!
It’s the soft sloshing of a canoe gliding through the water.
Now hear the faint echo of a foghorn
riding on the mist that creeps quietly toward shore. Music wafts
across the air. It’s a fiddle, a banjo, a squeezebox. It’s
a brass band.
It’s Native American flute music and French waltzes. A
voice emerges through the distant music to tell the story of
a lumberjack’s
life in 1870. Another rises to tell of the native traditions
of living in unity with the land. Then comes the story of early
northwoods trappers and fur-traders.
It was this kind of interactive, evocative, interpretive program
that the rural campgrounds, parks, and forests in Michigan’s
Great Lakes region were seeking in the 1990s to fulfill directives
from their governing agencies to make the tourist experience
more complete.
But, thanks to a decade of deep budget and personnel cuts at
local, state, and federal levels, the reality was that campsite
evening entertainment was mostly of the bring-your-own variety.
Most arts-related agencies also felt the pinch in those days—agencies
like the Michigan Humanities Council and the Michigan Council
for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA), whose mandates include
the tasks of reclaiming and perpetuating that spirited
northwoods heritage. These organizations were supposed to be
delivering cultural programs to remote sections of the state
for
residents and visitors, but repeatedly encountered the problems
of limited funds, few personnel, and scanty audiences.
According to Nancy Mathews of the Humanities Council, “Most
of the rural places in the north don’t have the economy
to
support many cultural efforts, but it doesn’t mean there
isn’t the desire for or interest in them. The trick was
figuring out how to
most effectively get the programs to the people.”
These were the dilemmas: Should the natural resource agencies
just give up on
providing cultural interpretation? Should the humanities and
arts councils produce
the usual kind of programs in outlying places that so often attract
mere trickles of
visitors? Or should these agencies with similar missions consider
a collaborative
effort that would fulfill everyone’s goals?
“We have watched with admiration
as Mrs. Nathiri and her dedicated colleagues
have built that first small local festival into an internationally
recognized celebration of ...the arts and humanities. And
we have frequently partnered with the association by awarding
grants to bring renowned international scholars of African
American history, literature, and culture to Eatonville.” — Francine Curro Cary, executive director, Florida Humanities Council
What Happened Next
The first and most significant step taken to remedy the problems
came in 1997 with the decision by the Michigan Humanities Council
to take cultural programming to the people, instead of letting
them come to it. It seemed a logical decision, especially given
the outcome of a 1997 study by the Travel Industry Association.
The study made clear the strong connection between culture and
outdoor adventures when it profiled cultural and heritage travelers,
and found that they rank visiting state
and national parks as high priorities when traveling.
So Mathews and the Humanities Council staff scoured their lists
of private contractors who perform live educational and cultural
programs and hired two people—a role-player and a folk
musician—to conduct one program each at six outdoor venues.
Selecting isolated yet popular vacation spots where lack of competition
from other
cultural activities made campers a captive audience, planners
sent performers out for one week in August. This pilot program
was deemed a success in providing a vivid picture that connects
the wilderness to the people who lived, worked, and died there,
and plans were laid to expand the program the following year.
In the summer of 1998, the first full-fledged Great Outdoors
Culture Tour put 85 programs in state parks, national parks and
forests, historical museums, community parks, and children’s
summer camps. With MCACA on board as a funding sponsor,
it was possible to expand the program. Eighteen storytellers,
musicians, historical role-players, dancers, and other cultural
interpreters toured individually, presenting between three and
five programs each for six weeks from July through mid-August.
The local host (i.e. park, forest, or campground administrator)
is responsible for identifying the kind of program best suited
to their site. “Because of the incredible diversity of
performers the tour provides,” says Gregg Bruff, chief
of interpretation at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, “we
are able to choose interpretive themes
specific to our park and we get a far greater selection than
we would be able to attract on our own.”
Hosts also provide a performance location and promote the program
locally. The goal is to attract visitors and local residents
who, combined, would compose a substantial audience of between
50 and 100 people.
During the summer of 2000, the touring schedule grew to 94 programs
by 20 presenters. MCACA provided a third year of funding through
a partnership grant with the Humanities Council. Venues included
all national parks and forests in Michigan and 19 state parks.
In planning future tours, Mathews believes a goal of 40 presenters
(180-185 programs) per season is doable. To that end, the organizers
cycle different performers into the mix each year, so that by
the time the tour is up to full capacity, there will be a complete
stable of veteran performers who know
the tour, the venues, and the types of
programs that work best.
To sustain an effective program, hosts
and presenters meet in late September at the close of the tour
season. They review program
evaluations submitted by all hosts and presenters, assess the
program, and exchange ideas for improving it.
Program marketing continues each year with a newly designed
Culture Tour bro-
chure, the primary vehicle for publicizing the summertime program.
Brochures are distributed through convention and visitors bureaus,
regional lodging, and host parks and recreation areas. Thanks
to Travel Michigan, the brochure is also distributed at state
welcome centers. In addition, the tour schedule is posted on
Travel Michigan’s and the sponsoring organizations’ websites.
Funding is just as much a collaboration. “It’s novel
that everyone pitches in,” says Nancy Mathews. “This
program has wonderful buy-in by hosts with in-kind and cash contributions,
making it easy for all parties to be involved.” Plans are
in the works for a new funding technique, providing opportunities
for audiences to make cash contributions through on-site donations
or preprinted envelopes to send to the Humanities Council. “When
the audience donates cash,” says Mathews, “the public,
in effect, becomes a partner.”
“I tell stories all the time
to kids in libraries or adults in museums. But the reward
of entertaining whole families—sometimes three generations
at the same time—in a family camping environment
is a new and particularly satisfying experience for me.” — Jenifer Ivinskas Strauss, Michigan storyteller
Making the Most of Opportunities
Collaborate: Michigan’s
Great Outdoors Culture Tour has found a unique cul-tural tourism
niche in which partner organizations
overcome the individual challenges of limited funding and personnel,
a brief tourism season, and
difficulty in reaching isolated and
nontraditional groups. They accomplish this by sharing resources
ranging from the programs themselves to sites, funding, centralized
programming, and
marketing.
Find
the Fit between the Community and Tourism: This outreach
effort to rural audiences benefits all players. The host site
receives increased visibility, community relations, and income.
Sponsors reach new audiences in new ways.
Visitors are given added value for their vacation dollars and
increased awareness of local history and culture. Local citizens
gain the spin-off effect of an improved economy through more
and returning vacationers, not to mention the intangible but
important benefit of a boost in pride for their local history
and culture. Frequently after a program, when presenters and
audience members interact informally, residents bring up anecdotes
about the local history that have provided presenters with new
material for their repertoires.
Make
Sites and Programs Come Alive: This is the very essence
of the Culture Tour program. Artists, storytellers, musicians,
dancers, and historical role-players literally recreate the past
for today’s visitors and cultural interpreters highlight
continuing local traditions.
Focus
on Quality and Authenticity: All performers are carefully
screened by the Michigan Humanities Council to ensure that the
content of their programs accurately reflects the period or culture
they are representing. Interpreters are urged to go to the source.
For example, historical role-player Michael Deren developed
a program about the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps by conducting
research with residents who had served in that organization.
Preserve
and Protect Resources: Many of the stories of the
areas’ people,
culture, and heritage are obscure and often unknown even to locals.
One benefit
of the Culture Tour program has been the reawakening of residents
to their
heritage through these stories and
presentations.
Results
Attendance at the Great Outdoors Culture Tour is growing.
In 2000, the
programs attracted 8,500 people—a 42
percent increase from the first full year of the program in 1998.
The program creatively supports arts and humanities
presenters in Michigan. The
performers and interpreters receive publicity to further their
careers and at the same time find the tour experience enriching
for their repertoires.
Enthusiastic support and response to the programs by
visitors includes inquiries about the Humanities and Arts Councils’ other
services and programs. The councils thus fulfill their missions
to broaden their reach and visibility.
Cultural affairs agencies in Wisconsin, working with
the Michigan Humanities Council and their parks and national
forests to adopt the concept, are collaborating on their own
pilot culture tour for the summer of 2001.
In the fall of 2000, Michigan’s Great Outdoors
Culture Tour received the 2000 “Windows on the Past” national
heritage award for excellence from the Chief of the Forest Service "for
innovative work ... to showcase natural and cultural heritage."
Planners of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial are looking
at this concept as a model for their observances in 2003-2006.
The recreation and heritage program staff in national forests
in the eastern region of the Forest Service are looking at this
program as a model for their observance of the agency’s
100th anniversary in 2005.
“When people see that it’s
the Great Outdoors Culture Tour doing the presentations,
they know they’re getting a
professional quality program.
It’s developed quite a following.” — Gregg Bruff, chief of interpretation,
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Munising, MI
Visitors trek to Michigan’s Upper Great Lakes
region for excellent canoeing, hiking,
camping, and other rugged outdoor
activities in a scenic setting. But what
about the culture of the region, the history of
the human experience in the Michigan wilderness? Together, nature
and heritage would make a
complete northwoods adventure. With limited
budgets, however, most public campgrounds can
ill afford cultural entertainment. An innovative
plan spearheaded by the Michigan Humanities
Council brings performers and interpreters to
campers for an enriching experience.
Most arts-related agencies also felt the pinch in those days—agencies
like the Michigan Humanities Council and the Michigan Council
for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA), whose mandates include
the tasks of reclaiming and perpetuating that spirited
northwoods heritage. These organizations were supposed to be
delivering cultural programs to remote sections of the state
for
residents and visitors, but repeatedly encountered the problems
of limited funds, few personnel, and scanty audiences.
The first and most significant step taken to remedy the problems
came in 1997 with the decision by the Michigan Humanities Council
to take cultural programming to the people, instead of letting
them come to it. It seemed a logical decision, especially given
the outcome of a 1997 study by the Travel Industry Association.
The study made clear the strong connection between culture and
outdoor adventures when it profiled cultural and heritage travelers,
and found that they rank visiting state
and national parks as high priorities when traveling. 
In the summer of 1998, the first full-fledged Great Outdoors
Culture Tour put 85 programs in state parks, national parks and
forests, historical museums, community parks, and children’s
summer camps. With MCACA on board as a funding sponsor,
it was possible to expand the program. Eighteen storytellers,
musicians, historical role-players, dancers, and other cultural
interpreters toured individually, presenting between three and
five programs each for six weeks from July through mid-August.
During the summer of 2000, the touring schedule grew to 94 programs
by 20 presenters. MCACA provided a third year of funding through
a partnership grant with the Humanities Council. Venues included
all national parks and forests in Michigan and 19 state parks.
In planning future tours, Mathews believes a goal of 40 presenters
(180-185 programs) per season is doable. To that end, the organizers
cycle different performers into the mix each year, so that by
the time the tour is up to full capacity, there will be a complete
stable of veteran performers who know
the tour, the venues, and the types of
programs that work best.
Program marketing continues each year with a newly designed
Culture Tour bro-
chure, the primary vehicle for publicizing the summertime program.
Brochures are distributed through convention and visitors bureaus,
regional lodging, and host parks and recreation areas. Thanks
to Travel Michigan, the brochure is also distributed at state
welcome centers. In addition, the tour schedule is posted on
Travel Michigan’s and the sponsoring organizations’ websites. 
Collaborate: Michigan’s
Great Outdoors Culture Tour has found a unique cul-tural tourism
niche in which partner organizations
overcome the individual challenges of limited funding and personnel,
a brief tourism season, and
difficulty in reaching isolated and
nontraditional groups. They accomplish this by sharing resources
ranging from the programs themselves to sites, funding, centralized
programming, and
marketing. 
Find
the Fit between the Community and Tourism: This outreach
effort to rural audiences benefits all players. The host site
receives increased visibility, community relations, and income.
Sponsors reach new audiences in new ways.
Visitors are given added value for their vacation dollars and
increased awareness of local history and culture. Local citizens
gain the spin-off effect of an improved economy through more
and returning vacationers, not to mention the intangible but
important benefit of a boost in pride for their local history
and culture. Frequently after a program, when presenters and
audience members interact informally, residents bring up anecdotes
about the local history that have provided presenters with new
material for their repertoires. 
Make
Sites and Programs Come Alive: This is the very essence
of the Culture Tour program. Artists, storytellers, musicians,
dancers, and historical role-players literally recreate the past
for today’s visitors and cultural interpreters highlight
continuing local traditions.
Focus
on Quality and Authenticity: All performers are carefully
screened by the Michigan Humanities Council to ensure that the
content of their programs accurately reflects the period or culture
they are representing. Interpreters are urged to go to the source.
For example, historical role-player Michael Deren developed
a program about the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps by conducting
research with residents who had served in that organization. 
Preserve
and Protect Resources: Many of the stories of the
areas’ people,
culture, and heritage are obscure and often unknown even to locals.
One benefit
of the Culture Tour program has been the reawakening of residents
to their
heritage through these stories and
presentations.
The program creatively supports arts and humanities
presenters in Michigan. The
performers and interpreters receive publicity to further their
careers and at the same time find the tour experience enriching
for their repertoires. 
