TV Ads Invite Visitors to "Pure Michigan"

A $2.8 million advertising campaign for Michigan tourism uses the catch phrase "Pure Michigan." Scenes of our many waterways with a voiceover by actor Tim Allen (from Home Improvement fame) will soon be playing to potential tourists in Milwaukee, Cincinnati and Southern Ontario. These are areas we already receive tourists from and the hope is to greatly increase that number with a series of ads. Will idyllic pictures of Michigan's coastlines, sunrises over Detroit, and hiking trails be enough to entice out-of-state visitors to Michigan? I just don't know. Living in southwest Michigan I see ads for Indiana (Indianapolis) and Illinois (Chicago) and I have yet to hop in the car to visit or vacation there because of a commercial. But, that is just me. Not exactly a full-fledged marketing study of the target demographic, but my opinion nonetheless. :)

Via The Detroit News

Huge Auction of Old Farm Equipment and Tools in Buckley

Elmer Pavlis was a farmer who embraced any and all equipment that helped him do his job better and easier. He hated to see any tools or equipment go to waste and over the years collected around 6,000 different pieces. The tools and equipment became a museum, This Ole Farm Museum, in Buckley. Elmer passed away last fall at the age of 86 and his only living child, Jeanie English, decided the best route would be an "auction to end all auctions." The auction will being run by Humphrey's Auction Service June 15-17. There will be an open house to preview items June 10 from 4-7 pm and on June 11 from 1-4 pm with a $10 charge.

Check out the items on the web at www.humphreysauctionservice.com.

Via the Detroit Free Press

Michigan Barn Preservation Network

Growing up in the country it is always sad to see grand old barns in disrepair when I am traveling around Michigan. There are numerous sagging and collapsing barns that are mere shadows of their former selves everywhere you look. Some are merely skeletons with all of the planking and roofing salvaged for other construction projects. Those new-fangled pole barns with their steel roofs and siding sure are functional, but they aren't much for looks. They just don't compare to the rough-hewn beams and thick pine planks of the barns from yesterday. The Michigan Barn Preservation Network (MBPN) is working toward changing that one barn at a time.

The MBPN is a non-profit organization that seeks to restore and preserve Michigan's barns. Their mission statement is as follows -

Promoting appreciation, preservation and rehabilitation of Michigan Barns, farmsteads and rural communities.

CNN Recommends a Visit to Michigan's West Coast

I was at cnn.com this morning looking for more info on the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (al-Qaida's leader in Iraq) when I saw a mention of Michigan in the travel section. They cover Michigan's west coast towns from New Buffalo on up to Ludington. The article is packed with glowing recommendations of things to do along Michigan's west coast and there is just too much to include even a brief snippet. It is great to see an "outsider" have such a high opinion of places to see and things to do in Michigan. The only beef I have is that they include Grand Rapids in Michigan's west coast, but they go no further north than Ludington. What about Manistee, Frankfort, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Traverse City, Charlevoix, Petoskey, and the numerous other great stops along our west coast?

Anyway, read the whole article here.

They also have an article on Mackinac Island in reference to the annual Lilac Festival that runs June 9 through June 18. The article is titled, "Wander the fragrant streets of Mackinac Island." I assume they are thinking of the fragrant lilacs, but with all of those horse-drawn carriages there is another prevailing odor that adds its own unique fragrance to Mackinac Island's streets.

Don't get me wrong, I love Mackinac Island. I proposed to my wife there and we honeymooned there as well. I just think that people ought to know that there are three dominant things you smell when you depart the ferries. Lilacs, horse dung, and fudge.

The heat of summer melts them all together into a single scent that wafts on the cool island breezes. Bet you won't read that in a travel brochure :).

Michigan Gas Prices Week of 6/5/06

Regular unleaded will cost you $2.884 on average across Michigan this week. It is up almost $.10 from last week's average of $2.797. A year ago you could fill up for $2.13 on average in Michigan. We just came back from the Sleeping Bear Dunes area over the weekend and saw prices anywhere from $2.799 to $2.999. Gas prices courtesy of AAA's Fuel Gauge Report