There’s a website dedicated to “national holidays” of a somewhat honorary nature, and I find this amusing. For example, we’ve got Fresh Squeezed Juice Week in January. I affirm my support of fresh squeezed juice in any month. Jell-O Week is in February. I’m fine with this unless someone tries to pass off Jell-O as a dessert, which it is not. Procrastination Week in March; do procrastinators really need an entire week of encouragement? Library Week is in April; libraries are awesome.
This brings us to May, with National Travel and Tourism Week. This is good, because in general people have fun while being tourists. Fun is good. Green County Tourism is wrapping up this special week in style, with a new episode airing on Discover Wisconsin TV on May 11.
The episode is called SWISS-consin, but it’s essentially a CHEESE + BEER + SWISS show. After all, we’re talking about a county that has more cows than people, more master cheesemakers than anywhere in the state, an outstanding variety of craft beers to pair up with all that cheese and a distinct layer of Swiss heritage adding flavor to just about everything we do.
I worked with Discover Wisconsin producer Jessica Murphy to select filming locations and to fine-tune a script showcasing some key flavors of Green County. The show is loaded with fun moments and local personalities, like cheesemakers, brewers, musicians, business owners and historians. More than 600,000 Discover Wisconsin viewers will watch the show. As director for Green County Tourism, my goal of buying into a Discover Wisconsin show is to bring visitors here based on our tourism-related assets. Viewers will see places they can tour, buy local products, enjoy local tastes and gain an understanding of the history that shaped our past and present.
One of my favorite moments in the show is seeing Ben Workman light up the screen when he talks about making cheese with his dad Bruce at Edelweiss Cheese Factory. He’s great on camera, and it’s exciting to see the next generation of cheesemakers coming on board. I also enjoyed hearing owner Chuck Bigler share the story of Puempel’s Olde Tavern and how his historic pub is the ideal setting for encouraging the lost art of simply talking with each other. It was fun to see Discover Wisconsin host Mariah attempting to pin down Deb and Dan Carey on divulging their favorite beer at New Glarus Brewing Company, and hear host Eric trying to yodel for Tony Zgraggen at Alp and Dell Cheese Store. Included with the promotional package for the TV show is access to Discover Wisconsin’s statewide radio network, so throughout the year I’ll be able to publicize other Green County attractions, festivals and events. Discover Wisconsin will also be covering Green County in some news releases and their popular blog.
The SWISS-consin episode is just one aspect of Green County Tourism’s marketing plans for the year. There will also be TV and radio spots, print ads — including Midwest Living and Silent Sports magazines — billboards, online and social, as well as cooperative advertising with the Wisconsin Department of Tourism.
You can catch the half-hour show at 6:30 PM on Saturday, May 11 on WKOW Channel 27 (Madison) or WIFR Channel 23 (Rockford). Learn more at discoverwisconsin.com.
— Noreen Rueckert is director for Green County Tourism, executive director for Green County Cheese Days, and co-chair of Main Street Monroe’s Concerts on the Square. She refuses to name her favorite cheese, but it is rumored to be Feta. She has the best office in the county – overlooking Monroe’s downtown Square from the tower of the Historic Green County Courthouse. She dabbles in photography and graphic design, adores cats and coffee, and secretly loves the Cheese Days Song.
