by Amy K. Lavender
Registration is now open for the West Georgia Textile Heritage Trail 2016 Regional Meeting Series in Carrollton and Rome, sponsored by the Center for Public History at the University of West Georgia.
“We’ve designed these meetings to bring together those interested in telling their textile stories in these regions – tourism industry professionals; staff and volunteers at historical societies, archives, and museums; economic development specialists, those involved in the textile industry in some way; and any others who want to tell this story,” said Dr. Ann McCleary, co-director of the Center for Public History.
The West Georgia Textile Heritage Trail is a heritage tourism initiative that explores the rich heritage of the textile industry in west and northwest Georgia, from Columbus to Dalton. Following along the U.S. Highway 27 corridor, the trail highlights historic communities that played a vital role in the cotton, hosiery, apparel, chenille, and carpet industries.
Each meeting in the series will include a storytelling session, marketing panel, networking lunch, and roundtable to exchange textile-related community events and program ideas. Registration includes refreshments, an on-site lunch, and a post-meeting tour at a nearby museum or historic site. Activities start at 9:15 a.m. and conclude with an optional area tour at 2 p.m.
The meetings will welcome different speakers from each corresponding region. Check the website at westgatextiletrail.com/conferences to see who will be featured at each location.
The next meeting will be held at the Depot on Bradley in Carrollton for the central region on February 19. Registration is due by February 17. For the final meeting on March 5 at the Chieftains Museum in Rome, Georgia, registration is due by March 3. On-site registration will be open only as space is available.
Registration is $10 for Textile Trail members, representatives, volunteers, and students. Non-trail member registration is $25. To register, print out the form found at westgatextiletrail.com and mail fees to the Center for Public History, History Department, 1601 Maple Street, Carrollton, Georgia, 30118. For more information, check the website or call 678-839-6141.
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