Dale's Tourist Attracting Gimmicks and Events for a Farm/Park/Campground

a restaurant

Set up various craft and skill demos. Shearing sheep all the way to finished wool hats. Broom making. Basket weaving. Soap making. Milking (surprisingly scary how many adults think milk comes from the store).

R Scott wrote:Set up various craft and skill demos. Shearing sheep all the way to finished wool hats. Broom making. Basket weaving. Soap making. Milking (surprisingly scary how many adults think milk comes from the store).

Yes, I think that all of those things are viable. I won't personally learn all of those skills but will invite others who have something to sell to practice their craft at my place. For things requiring workshop space and storage, I'll charge a little rent. I expect to take product in trade for those with more product than money and to market those things to my customers. Since I'm off the beaten path, I can't count on walk by traffic. I could see partnering with craftspeople who need a spot to host workshops. I would pick up participants with the bus and provide food. That sort of thing would probably be a 50/50 deal. If they bring the people and feed them. the split might be 80/20 in their favour.

The #1 way for me to court this market will be to charge nothing if the event is a bust. I've been to flea markets that failed to draw a crowd but the vendors still had to pay full price for their space. Many crafters simply don't have the margins needed to absorb such losses. If the weather fails or the customers just don't show up, we'll dust ourselves off and try again. What I'm offering is mostly outdoor space and picnic shelters, so it costs me nothing if the event doesn't work. I won't book the bus unless participants have paid in advance but even with that there will often be a no rain guarantee for outdoor events.

Here's three more threads relating to the development of the property.found giant, natural hugelkultur on my property https://permies.com/t/10357/permaculture/giant-natural-hugelkultur-property

And another - Building RMH long before the house is finished https://permies.com/t/10037/stoves/Building-RMH-long-house-finished

Moving into greenhouse-potting shed first , House later https://permies.com/t/10898/green-building/Moving-greenhouse-potting-shed-House

broom and hearth whisks go over very well, and little competition with chinese goods.

a very viable one is telescope parties. if you put in cabins, they will come if you keep light pollution very low.
when putting in walkway lights, consider using red and amber only. they are cheap , cuz everyone wants bright white.

shield all lights from windows, and have it in rental agreement that all south facing shades drawn at 8 pm or so.

Morgan Morrigan wrote:broom and hearth whisks go over very well, and little competition with chinese goods.

a very viable one is telescope parties. if you put in cabins, they will come if you keep light pollution very low.
when putting in walkway lights, consider using red and amber only. they are cheap , cuz everyone wants bright white.

shield all lights from windows, and have it in rental agreement that all south facing shades drawn at 8 pm or so.

Anything to do with crafty products will be left to tenants or guests in a workshop setting. I like the telescope idea. I could see building a cupola on top of the nature house and a few other buildings which could serve as cabins with a view. Most of the Island's population live within 2 miles of the ocean and at a lower elevation where the night sky is often misty. I get some really clear nights in summer. Morgan wins a free weekend in one of these currently non existent buildings.

The culinary farm - you provide cooking environment and knowledge when needed.
Catering is not cheap. But if you have the right setup one can work with client on menu and make sure everything they need to buy, store, prepare, cook, and serve are available.


Scenario

1) client has a event that they need a place to hold it.
2) they work with you on recipes and what they want to serve. You also define event setup and any special needs for event that you cannot provide.
3) you put the shopping list together. Could use Kroger Clicklist to order online and pickup.
4) Clients spend time before event learning to use pizza oven, etc. if needed.
5) food and supplies are picked up and put away properly for customer (your are a form of Uber).
6) You setup kitchen, cooking area, dinning area, etc.
7) Part of the event is picking fresh herbs and vegetables from onsite garden.
Clients arrive and harvest bean, herbs, peppers, etc.
9) Clients prep food with help as needed.
10) Clients cook food with help as needed.
11) Client serves food
12) You get to do all the cleanup