Golden Raven cultural attractions have got local history in the bag.
And now they've got it on the bag, too.
The 10 facilities around the Prince George region that operate under the Golden Raven partnership are receiving their shipments this week of unique shopping bags. The bags are adorned with images of the facilities themselves.
It's the second year that handbags have been used as promotional items, but these are an improvement on last year's model.
"At Huble we are running out of our supply of smaller [2012 edition] Golden Raven bags, and are looking forward to these new big ones," said Krystal Leason, operations manager for the Historic Huble Homestead. "They will get handed out with purchases in the general store, so they will be available for the rest of the year and probably next year too, and they are just gorgeous. The store has a lot of great new items in it so visitors shouldn't have too much trouble filling it."
The Golden Raven program is a five-year pilot project by the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George. It started with eight of the region's best known museums and galleries, and was later joined by Fort St. James and Barkerville national historic sites.
"All 10 sites will receive a certain number of these shopping bags, and they can use them any way they choose," said regional district spokesman Jeff Elder. "The first time we tried this, the response was good but the attractions let us know that bigger ones would be helpful, so this year we got to do more with them."
With a larger display area, the graphics staff at Concept Design were able to showcase this year's two chosen locations: the Two Rivers Art Gallery in Prince George on one side and the Valley Museum and Archives / Whistle Stop Gallery in McBride on the other.
"It's the 100th anniversary of the railway in the Robson Valley, so that's why it was important for the Golden Raven group to feature McBride this year," said Elder. "I think it's a keepsake."
Leason said she is looking forward to the conversations and goodwill the decorative shopping bags will create. The Golden Raven partners are aggressive in their commitment "to promote the great art and culture that is available in north-central B.C., so we market together and do promotions across all 10 sites," she said.
Elder said the plan, now at its halfway point, seems to be working. "We do track the stats and visitation at the Golden Raven attractions last year was up about 16 per cent."
The 10 member facilities are the Huble Homestead, Exploration Place, Two Rivers Art Gallery, Central BC Railway and Forestry Museum, Valley Museum and Archives in McBride, Whistle Stop Gallery in McBride, Valemount Museum, Mackenzie and District Museum, Fort St. James National Historic Site and Barkerville National Historic Site.
