Step into Bear River Vineyards and enter a cooly authentic ambiance replete with stone walls, an old world feel and a warm welcome from co-owner Peggy Hawes, who will proudly show you around her winery. Its distinctly European feel is combined with an emphasis on "green" energy techniques, including a gravity fed winemaking process, photo voltaic solar panels and home made bio-diesel fuel. They even offer "Greener Energy Workshops"! Of course, no visit would be complete without a taste of their  2008 Black Fly Pinot Noir, which won a bronze at the Professional Sommeliers Atlantic Chapter Awards. Another regional gem! Check out the winery's unique green practices at: http://www.wine.travel/green_energy.html. They are located at 133 Chute Road in Bear River.

Annapolis Highland Vineyards' retail outlet in Bear River East is a delight. Artfully decorated in terra cotta tones, it features not only their gold medal wines, but a fine selection of Nova Scotia condiments, craft items and collectables. Karen or Brendan Enright will be happy to take you on a tour their winery, which has produced vintages that were awarded 2 golds, a silver and a bronze at the All-Canadian Wine Championships earlier this year, a first for an Atlantic Canadian Winery! The winery and its wines are regional gems, not to be missed by ourselves and our visitors. They are located at 2635 Clementsvale Road. Preview the experience here.

In every mall, shopping centre or community, there is generally a business designated as the  "anchor tenant", which serves as the entity's main attraction or "anchor". You will note that every mall has a Sobeys, Sears, Superstore or Zellers to attract customers. From there, buyers fan out to other stores to complete their shopping experience. 

For Bear River, consultant Roger Brooks states that the anchor tenant is the renowned gallery, Flight of Fancy. Brooks went so far as to say that it is one of the finest commercial galleries he has ever visited, and coming from someone who makes their living traveling the world assessing tourism destinations, that's saying a lot.   

Recently I checked out the gallery's new arrivals, and was awe-struck, as always. On display were works by a Bear River area artist specializing in elegant carved wooden shoes less than 2 inches high, each crafted from one perfect piece of yew. Meticulously laquered and laced, an individually framed set of nine pieces forms an incredibly sophisticated arrangement. World class offerings, courtesy of a Bear River business.  

During his presentation last year, one of the things Roger Brooks kept telling us we needed to do was "take it up a notch". By so doing, we would put ourselves on the same tier as provincial icons known for their successful beautification, such as Mahone Bay.  

Myrtle & Rosie's Shoppe in Bear River was one of the businesses mentioned in the Brooks Report, in which he said of them, "Great job. Good sign". Many businesses would have been content to receive such praise and would have left it at that. But Myrtle & Rosie's Shoppe took it up a notch (or two!), as you can see in their 2010 photo as compared to 2009. More planters and the addition of two delightful, welcoming wooden figures in period costume add to the business' charm and increase "curb appeal". Well done! 

A few buildings in Bear River have recently been transformed from drab to fab! The Cherry Brook Grocery looks shiny and new thanks to a paintjob and some planters. The Rusted Bucket now welcomes patrons with attractive signage and welcoming flags. Kudos to these businesses for helping to make the Village of Bear River a more beautiful place to live, work and visit.

Back in mid-May, the much beloved Bear River Windmill was demolished due to safety concerns. Regrets were more than sentimental. After all, the windmill had housed the Bear River Visitor Information Centre, and the 2010 summer season was fast approaching. Another venue had to be found and prepared, and quickly.

Volunteers stepped up to the plate. A portion of the Oakdene Centre was renovated to house the new VIC. Inside, an impressive counter area was constructed from recycled old doors, a small gallery area featuring local art and handicraft items was created, a display featuring Native Mi'kmaq items has pride of place in the centre of the VIC,  and attractive stands for brochures and rack cards were installed. This is an amazing story of successful community adaptation, and a lesson in what can quickly happen when committed volunteers work together. 

Buried in the Woods, Sawmill Ghost Towns of Nova Scotia is a new book by Bear River native Mike Parker. It explores the fates of towns which thrived during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as centres of the then-booming lumber and shipbuilding industries. Towns such as Minudie, Conquerall, Coote Cove and Lake Jolly may indeed be "buried in the woods" and forgotten, but not another thriving town from that era when wood was king - Bear River.

Bear River is one of those few sawmill towns which successfully reinvented itself, and continues to do so today. An artists' haven for decades, this industry sector continues through good times and bad. In the past several years, vineyards and wineries have sprung up, taking advantage of the area's unique terroir. The new farmers' market is giving the village another opportunity for economic growth. The past several weeks have witnessed streetscape improvements and beautification not seen for some time. Bravo, Bear River! You have shown that your conception as a "Sawmill Town" was only the beginning. And the story continues...

Chip Madera calls himself a “motivation and performance strategist”. Based in the fortuitously named community of Celebration, Florida, his tagline is “Radical Leadership, Radical Change”. He works with organizations to develop “radical leaders equipped for radical change”. As keynote speaker at the Annual General Meeting of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia (TIANS) recently held at Digby Pines Resort, Chip positively impacted perspectives in an industry facing significant challenges.

He reminded us that the tourism industry is no longer offering “products”; that went out with the 1970s. We aren’t even offering “services” anymore; that is so 20^th century! What the industry needs to offer to stay competitive are “experiences”; compelling, authentic and memorable, these are experiences in which visitors’ desires should be anticipated and met.

From his perspective, the challenges we face as a result of loss of the “CAT” ferry, the strong Canadian $, and a changing economy are an opportunity to evaluate, regroup and upgrade our offerings so that we become a more competitive destination. Easy words, yes, but many who have adopted this philosophy are seeing positive results. Chip says, “You cannot become who you need to be by remaining who you are”. Hard to argue with that!

The Tourism Economic Impact Model (TEIM) previously discussed will be available for general use by the end of the year. Although registration is required, use of the tool will be free to any tourism related group or organization. Its usefulness lies in its standardization across the province and in some of its elements, across the nation. So funders and others will truly be able to compare apples with apples, so to speak.

The beta version shown at NS Tourism’s Research session and at the TIANS Annual General Meeting looks clean and relatively straightforward, although it does require users to input a fairly significant amount of data to get the model to compute accurate results; this is fair. It also has functionality so that data can be sensitized or changed. For example, users can put in data to ascertain how many dollars “X-number” of visitors would have to spend to create a desired economic impact. It does not, however, eliminate the need for plenty of standard surveys to be taken of event attendees. We can’t escape the grunt work, but TEIM will cut down on time spent analyzing economic impact and will bring much needed standardization to the industry.

Why do people travel? Why would they want to come to Annapolis Digby? The answer lies not just in our attractions and experiences, but within the traveler’s mind. This was explained to us at Product Development Day by Prof. Frederic Dimanche of UNB. People wish to want to release tension through an ESCAPE, or seek some form of arousal through an ADVENTURE (or sometimes both!) Motivations include escape from mundane routine, relaxation, seeking prestige, reliving childhood or other memories, enhancement of family ties, facilitate social interaction, education or simply for the novelty of the trip.

This points out a number of marketing and product development opportunities. For example, marketing attractions/experiences to locals who have moved to Alberta, or facilitating family reunions. Our artists, artisans and musicians have opportunity to develop educational workshops and work with accommodations providers to create packages. Prestige does not necessarily mean spending gobs of money; it means having bragging rights about having done something unique that no one else in your social circle has ever experienced! Anyone who has attended Hooking by the Sea Retreat’s Wild and Wooly Weekend ( http://www.hookingbythesearetreats.com) has certainly gone home with bragging rights! Same for anyone who has gone out with Fundy Adventures http://fundyadventures.com/