Down East group unveils ‘lure brochure’

CHERRYFIELD – “Not too far, but a world away” is how Washington and Hancock counties position themselves in the ongoing effort to lure more tourists to Maine.

The Downeast and Acadia Regional Tourism group – representing one of the state’s eight regions working alongside the Maine Tourism Commission – is set to launch its new “lure brochure” Tuesday at the Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Augusta.

It was unveiled to the group at its quarterly meeting on Friday at the offices of the Down East Resource Conservation and Development council, which supports DART’s work.

“Come celebrate lobsters, wild blueberries, salmon, moose, lighthouses and Native American culture,” the brochure reads. “Indulge your passion for antiques, birding, music or folk art. Explore islands by kayak, go whale watching, take a puffin tour and enjoy some of the best fishing in the world.”

In the works for the last year, the brochure with a fold-out map is the newest way that the group hopes to interest more of the visitors to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park to Washington County. Figures from the latest studies commissioned by the state show that while 24 percent of the state’s tourists head for Acadia, just 2 percent are drawn to Washington County.

They are missing, according to the new brochure, places as diverse as the Milbridge Historical Museum, the Roque Bluffs State Park beach, Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge and the Downeast Heritage Museum.

“Down East” may get more exposure anyway because of the just-announced name for the new replacement bridge over the Penobscot – the Downeast Gateway Bridge.

Amid local debate where Down East actually begins, whether at the Washington County line or indeed farther west, the DART group considers “Down East” the area “from Bucksport to Eastport.”

“Down East now can officially begin at the bridge,” said Alvion Kimball of Orland, who is involved with planning the bridge’s grand opening events in October.

He told the group that a few dates are tentatively set for celebratory occasions. The bridge itself won’t actually be open to vehicular traffic until, at the earliest, December.

A ceremonial dedication is penciled in for Monday, Oct. 9, when politicians and others will make remarks. Fireworks – and a chance for the public to walk across the bridge en masse – will probably take place on Saturday, Oct. 14.

The new brochure for Down East and Acadia touts Fort Knox, which is located within sight of the bridge, as “one of the best-preserved seacoast fortifications in the U.S.” On the far end of the region, the brochure directs visitors across the bridge at Lubec to see the Roosevelt Campobello International Park, home of the 1897 Roosevelt “summer cottage.”

The brochure will be distributed Tuesday to hundreds of tourism industry representatives at the governor’s tourism conference in Augusta.