August 27, 2025 • 22 mins
With next year being the 250th anniversary of the founding of this country, I think it’s fitting for us to make a trip back to Virginia. Our 10th state hosted so many historically important events in the timeline of the United States. From some of the first colonies to pivotal battles in the Revolutionary and Civil War, Virginia has been front and center for so much of our history.
But there’s more than history in Virginia. There’s theme parks, outdoor recreation, breweries, delicious food and so many opportunities for fun. This week we are heading to the Williamsburg area. I say area because my guest today not only represents Williamsburg, which is a pretty popular tourist attraction already, but he also represents some of the surrounding areas.
With me this week is Edward Harris. He’s the President and CEO of Visit Williamsburg
But there’s more than history in Virginia. There’s theme parks, outdoor recreation, breweries, delicious food and so many opportunities for fun. This week we are heading to the Williamsburg area. I say area because my guest today not only represents Williamsburg, which is a pretty popular tourist attraction already, but he also represents some of the surrounding areas.
With me this week is Edward Harris. He’s the President and CEO of Visit Williamsburg
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, what's up everyone. Welcome to you Delightful Destinations. My
name is Jeff Saint Pierre. This is episode forty. This
is your first time check out the program. Thank you
so much for taking some of your time out of
your day to join us. Delightful Destinations is a show
that I created so I could talk to representatives from
different locations around the country and learn more about these
beautiful places that are just all around us. I'm always
(00:21):
looking for an excuse to get away from home and
try something new, and I hope this show will help
inspire you the next time you're looking to escape the
daily grind. So quick business note for all of you
who listen to this show regularly. First of all, I
appreciate you taking time out of your day to listen
to these conversations. It just means so much that we've
had so many of you listening. This is going to
be the last episode of Delightful Destinations, at least for
(00:42):
a little bit. Some things behind the scenes here have changed,
so we're going to have to hit pause on it
for a little while. I'm hopeful that we can bring
the show back in the future. I just don't know
when that future will be so this is kind of
bittersweet being our fortieth episode and also potentially our last
for a bit, But again, thank you so much for listening,
and I hope that you enjoy this coming episode. On
(01:02):
this week's episode, With next year being the two hundred
and fiftieth anniversary of the founding of this country, I
think it's fitting for us to make a trip back
to Virginia. Our tenth state, hosted so many historically important
events in the timeline of the United States, from some
of the first colonies to pivotal battles and the Revolutionary
and Civil War. Virginia has been front and center for
(01:22):
so much of our history. But there's more than history
in Virginia. There's theme parks, there's outdoor recreation, brewery, delicious food,
and so many opportunities for fun. This week, we're heading
to the Williamsburg area. And I say area because my
guest today not only represents Williamsburg, which is a pretty
popular tourist attraction already, but he also represents some of
the surrounding areas as well. With me this week is
(01:43):
Edward Harris. He's the president and CEO of Visit Williamsburg.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I'm excited to be here. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
So this is kind of funny for me because a
couple of weeks ago I was interviewing somebody by the
name of Tom York, who I don't know if you're
a music fan, but Tom York is also the name
of the singer for Radiohead. And now I'm interviewing Ed Harris,
but not the actor Harris. I don't know what it
is with you travel folks. You seem to all have
the same names as other celebrities.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, I know, it's funny. And in one of my
earlier jobs, I worked closely with a gentleman named Steve Martin.
Oh wow, And so you know, not the comedian or actor,
but Steve Martin, who I worked with in the footwear
industry prior to coming to tourism. But yeah, at least
my name Ed Harris. It can be associated with a
pretty good actor. And I guess it could be worse, right, No.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
It definitely could be worse, for sure.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
And I find that we have, you know, sort of
similar pathways here as well, because if I'm not mistaken,
you spent some time living in Baltimore, which is where
I currently live and work.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
What were you doing here in Baltimore. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
So I spent fifteen years working for sneaker brands before
sliding over to tourism, and one of my chapters was
with under arm at their headquarters right there in Baltimore.
It was an awesome, awesome chapter of my career. Worked
with some really fun people, creative people, and I was
there during a period of hyper growth for the brand
(03:05):
of under Armour, and so I have a special spot
in my heart for Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
I did tell my boss that I wasn't sure I
could conduct this interview with you because you're a Saint
Joe's grad and as a Villanova wildcat, I'm not sure
if this is going to work out, but I think
we'll be okay.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Oh no, I hate to hear that. I mean, you're
on the other side of the Holy War, I know,
but it's all good. It's all good.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Well, you're you graduate. I'm just curious.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
I'm a two thousand and one graduate, okay, Saint Jo's
and wound up going back to school later to get
an MBA up at Boston College.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Okay, I'm an O three guy. So we were there
around the same time. I think Saint Jose was much
better than Villanova back then, so you definitely have the
edge basketball wise in that era.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Well, you guys had your own run for sure.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Well, that team has certainly found something.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Yeah, well listen to the national championship.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Yeah, that's fair. That's fair. Well, we don't have to
keep going down this lane.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
I do want to talk more about what you're doing
right now, which is working in Williamsburg, Virginia and visit Williamsburg.
You know, about a couple months ago, I spoke with somebody,
I think his name is Tom loftis from visit Richmond,
and he was talking about the Richmond region and all
the amazing things there, and Williamsburg kind of got brought
up a little bit in that conversation. But you also
don't just work for Williamsburg. You have sort of a
region that you work with.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Yeah, that's right. So here at Visit Williamsburg, we promote
the entire historic Triangle. And if you're not familiar with
what is that, well, that includes Jamestown, which is the
site of the first settlement. It includes Yorktown, Virginia as well,
which of course is where the final battle was won,
which leads to our independence. And so with Williamsburg serving
(04:45):
as the revolutionary think tank of the day. All three
give us the right to say that this is where
America's journey begins, and that's something we're proud of in
terms of our historical roots.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
When I was growing up, I grew up in New Hampshire.
When I was growing up, the vacation my family would
do would be every two or three years, we'd make
a trip down to Orlando and do a trip to Disney.
But I feel like my parents would sometimes use Williamsburg
as a threat to us. You know, this goes back
many years ago, and I don't mean that in like
a negative way, but like when you're a kid and
your options are Disney or Williamsburg, your your first impression is, well,
(05:24):
of course Disney. But now that I've become an adult
and I've learned more about when there is so much
in Williamsburg for the entire family, I mean, there's a
lot of exciting stuff there that people should experience.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Yeah, and I think the word experience that you just
mentioned is key because Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement, Yorktown Battlefield,
they're all experiential. And what I mean by that is
these interpreters that you can meet at these sites. You
can have a conversation and they are in character. They
(05:55):
are historians, and you can really learn about history through dialogue.
When you come to a place like the Historic Triangle,
it's like being in a time machine or in the
middle of a history book, but it all comes to life.
But if you're not a history buff, there is so
much more to do. When you think about Bush Gardens,
(06:17):
Busch Gardens introduced the very popular new roller coaster this summer.
It's called the Big Bad Wolf, the Wolf's Revenge, which
has become really popular this summer. We've become a very
popular brewery winery scene here. Our food scene has really improved,
and of course being in the Virginia Peninsula area, there's
(06:41):
lots of water sports, boating opportunities. There's really something for everyone.
And that's a cliche that a lot of destinations say,
but I really believe that about this area in terms
of if you want to learn about our rich American history,
you can do that. If you want thrills, you can
(07:01):
go to ride roller coasters, the food, the wine, the beer,
the trails, and the boating and there's just there's so
much to do here.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Over the last year since we started this podcast, I've
done about forty ish episodes, give or take. I can't
remember the exact number, but I've been astounded at how
many people have been bragging about their food scene. And
I guess I just didn't realize how much food can
bring people into an area, you know what I mean,
Like it can be a deal breaker, right, Like if
you've got to tie, we can go one place or
(07:32):
the other, but the food is better somewhere that could
be there, or people are traveling just to experience food.
So I think it's so interesting to hear folks like
yourself talk about the vibrant food scene in there, and
I think that's awesome that that's been a thing that's
driving people to come check out areas.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Yeah, you're spot on, and in the year twenty twenty five,
if you're going to be a leading tourist destination, you've
got to have some great restaurants. And we're fortunate we've
got a wide variety of restaurants and we have a
very unique side to Williamsburg when it comes to pancake houses.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
I want to touch on this, so I'm glad you're
bringing this up. This is good.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Yeah. So, you know, we have an unusual number of
pancake houses here in Williamsburg, and we're actually gonna celebrate
that in September on National Pancake Day. This year, we're
gonna brand ourselves as the Pancake Capital of the world,
bring our pancake houses out for a big event. We're
gonna have an eating contest, there's gonna be prizes, you
(08:32):
can win, live music, and we know the whole community
is going to come out to support those small businesses.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
And you have like a pancake trail, correct, we do, well,
we will, Okay, so it's okay.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Launching on September first, which is the month of National
Pancake Day, we're gonna have a virtual mobile pass that
you can download very easily from visit Williamsburg dot com.
And as you accumulate points throughout the month when you
visit our collection of pancake houses, you'll earn points that
(09:08):
can be redeemed for some cool prizes. And so we're
going to be launching that out quickly here in the
next couple of weeks, and we're really excited about it.
We know that having a mobile pass will get people
around the area to discover businesses that otherwise they may
not have learned about or thought about.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Yeah, it feels like every area has their own you know, trails,
their own mobile passes, and most of them, I find
tend to tie into beer or wine, right because breweries
and wineries have become much more popular over the last
ten ten years or so. But I just was talking
again to your colleague down in Richmond and they have
a Mosa trail, which I was like, well, that's interesting,
Mosa trail. You don't hear a lot of places that
(09:49):
have something like that, and here you are with the
Pancake Trail. I love the creativity going on in Virginia
right now.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah, I think these passes make it fun, right, you know,
you know nationwide, there's been this trend of what they
call gamification for a while now with just the advanced
video games, and you know, video games are played by
lots of different ages in this day and age, and
whenever we can make it fun for people to discover
(10:14):
the area with a trail that's you know, tied back
to your phone where you can collect points and have
fun with it, We're going to be doing more of
those things going forward.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
I think the era of the relaxing vacation is over right,
Like I think every vacation now people want to see
the unique things where they're going to be. They want
to experience, to use that word again, they want to
experience the region. I mean, I think back to being younger,
and you know, if you went to the beach, what
you did was you went to the beach and that
was it. You sat on the beach all day long,
(10:45):
you got sunburnt, you went back to the hotel, you
came back and did it again. But now it feels
like when you're going somewhere, it's okay, I want to
check this place off, or I saw a unique speakeasy,
or I saw that there's like all these different things.
And I really enjoy that because I think it's bringing
people into the unities and bringing them into small businesses
and getting them to check out things they wouldn't otherwise
have done before.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Yeah, I totally agree with that, and that's what I
love about moving here and living here. It's just just
the wide variety of things you could fill up your
day with. But at the same time, if you're looking
to relax, many of our golf courses also have spas.
We have a few awesome resorts here, and so if
you're looking to kind of just relax or play around
(11:28):
a golf we've become known for that too. So yes,
there's enough to fill a jam packed itinerary for a
week here. But if you need some downtime to kind
of chill out, there's that too.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
You mentioned Yorktown earlier, and Yorktown obviously plays a massive
part in the history of this country, and I know
ken Burns has been working on something for Yorktown. You've
got some big stuff planned for.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
That, absolutely, ken Burns. He's releasing his new twelve hour,
six part series which is all about the American Revolution,
and what a perfect time to be launching that ahead
of the two hundred and fiftieth Commemoration of the United States.
Yorktown is going to be one of those places where
(12:13):
you can see a sneak peak of that documentary, which
will officially roll out across the nation in November. Also
in Yorktown, though, if people are interested in planning and visit,
they will be one of the hosts of the Tall
Ships Festival, which is going to bring in these massive
(12:33):
older ships that you can watch tour throughout Harbor's on
the East Coast during the commemoration year of twenty twenty six.
They'll be in Yorktown in June of next year, so
Yorktown is very excited about that as well. But yeah,
coming up in September Ken Burns the documentary, you're gonna
be able to see some of that in Yorktown.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
That's amazing. I will say.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Living in Baltimore being a harbor town, we've had the
tall ships roll through here before, So anyone who's listening
that maybe has not experienced that before, it really is
something to see. I mean, it's it's a remarkable experience
to go check those out. So yeah, I mean, if
you can make it to Yorktown next year in June
of twenty twenty six to witness that, I mean, it's
definitely something to put on the calendar. Let's go back
into history a little bit too, because most of the
(13:19):
people that I've spoken with from a tourism standpoint have
tended to be along the mid Atlantic and East Coast
just based on where I live and the people that
we've connected with, And there is just so much history
on this side of the country because this is where
the first people really came and this is where the
country was founded. But Virginia, my gosh, I mean, there's
just it's a million thing. Everywhere you turn, there's another
(13:41):
historical landmark that you could be a part of. And
as you mentioned, we're coming up on the two hundred
and fiftieth anniversary here.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Absolutely, And I'm a native Philadelphian and so when I
first moved here a year ago and people found out
I was from Pennsylvania, more than one person was quick
to remind me that for out of the first five
US presidents are from Virginia, of course, and then I
should always remember that. And so history is taken very
(14:08):
seriously here, not only in Williamsburg, but across the state,
and it's special, it's important. I'm proud to be able
to represent a destination that has so so many rich
historical roots for our nation.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
I would imagine that you all have and you don't
have to give me specific events right now, but that
you have events pretty much all year long next year
to celebrate this.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Yeah, you can come to our our website at visit
Williamsburg dot com and we've got a great lineup of
things every month throughout the historic Triangle. So whether you're
here in Williamsburg or you want to pop over to
Jamestown or Yorktown, it's going to be a big celebratory
year for sure.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
I saw something else here that I was kind of
intrigued by. I should have clicked the link to learn
more about it, but I want to hear from you
the visit Williamsburg American Birthday Quilt project tell me more
about that.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Yeah, this is an exciting one. We are inviting people
from across the country to participate in the Great American
Birthday Quilt, and it's relatively simple. We're looking for twelve
by twelve squares designed by people that reflects their American journey,
and it spans the entire country. These squares are going
(15:24):
to be stitched together into a two hundred and fifty
foot Birthday quilt that will be on display here in
the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center next summer. And we're already
receiving all kinds of interesting creative squares that are coming
in and some of them have stories attached to that
(15:46):
are fascinating. And so to have a quilt that weaves
together personal stories of Americans from across the country is
a really cool and fun project to be working on.
We're going to be having some activations come up this
fall in places like Washington, D C. And Philadelphia to
generate more squares from people to finish out the quilt.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
Because you need plenty of squares if you're going to
make it two and fifty square feet.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Is that what you were saying. I mean, that's right.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Two hundred and fifty feet long is the quill. And
everybody seems to be participating in the early going, everything
from you know, middle schoolers to senior homes. People want
to be involved with this creative project.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
If you want to find out more details or if
you want to submit something, where should people go to
find that?
Speaker 2 (16:35):
So people should come to visit Williamsburg dot com. In
the search bar, you can search for America's Birthday Quilt.
If you're interested in the Pancake festival, you can search
for pancakes. But we have a great website. It's constantly
being refreshed. Our Calendar of events page is always being
updated on a daily basis, and there's always something happening
(16:56):
that's fun to do in the Historic Triangle.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
I was spending some I'm on your website actually and
I need to ask you one question here. Your helper
on the website is bo Shington. It looks like a
sheep and it's dressed like what would be George Washington,
sort of closed, but it's a sheep, so it's Boshington.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Can you tell me more about this?
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Yeah? Sure. So our marketing team is always coming up
with creative ideas, and if you were to visit a
place like colonial Williamsburg in town, you would see you know, sheep,
you would see baby sheep. And they've become sort of
a mascot locally because there are a bunch of them
(17:36):
and they're really cute animals to look at too, And
so we're having fun by adopting that that idea and
bringing it into the virtual world with our website and
our chatbot to give it a little bit of personality.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Before we speak to people.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
I always try to do a little bit of research
on the areas myself, just to have a little understanding,
especially if it's an area I've never been to before,
kind of like the Williamsburg region. And I saw something
pop up from Travel and Leisure that said it was
the most underrated travel gem in the US, and I
think that's an interesting title to have.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
What are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Well, of course I'm going to agree with that one.
But but we've got, like I was talking about earlier,
we've got such a variety of things to do here
beyond the history, which is special. I mean when you
talk about bush gardens and like I said, the trails,
the water sports. We're also a college town. William and
Mary is here. It's the second oldest college in the
(18:31):
United States, right behind Harvard, So it's got this young
vibe to it throughout the school year, very creative place
to spend time, and year round, there's there's things, there's
things to do. I mean, there's great things that experience
around the holiday season where the whole area transforms into
a Hallmark commercial with candle light windows and authentic natural
(18:55):
wreaths that are made that are placed on all the doors.
In Colonial Williamsburg. We have our ghost tours, which has
become very popular in September and October at night, walking
around Colonial Williamsburg and taking in those ghost tours is
an awesome experience. I mentioned the golf which is very
popular year round, and it's just I'm just so excited
(19:17):
that I get to represent a place like this.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
You've been I guess lucky enough in your time as
an adult to work in a lot of different places
and for a lot of different companies. You've been in
this role for about a year. You think you're staying
here for a while.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
I do, yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
I mean, this place is so special and the future
is so bright here. I mean, not only are we
going to celebrate the two hundred and fiftieth commemoration next year,
but we have a two hundred thousand square foot indoor
sports and events center which is also going to open
next year, and that will be transformational too, as families
(19:57):
come in for volleyball tournament's, football, soccer, etc. And discover
or rediscover all that this area has to offer.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
There are usually about two types of people that I
speak to from your position. One is the person that
grew up in the area that they are representing, so
they have this love for that area that they just
want to get out there to the world. And I
have others that have transplanted to take a really good
job opportunity. But I can hear it in your voice
how much you're kind of a combo of both. Despite
the fact that you did not grow up in the
(20:28):
Williamsburg area. I can hear the passion, I can hear
the love that you have for that area and just
the way that you tell the story and the way
that you talk about the things. And I feel like
Williamsburg is very lucky to have a person like you
representing them.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Well, thank you, I appreciate that. But I really am
the lucky one to get to steer this organization and
be able to, you know, put out the kind of
storytelling that we can in terms of our history and
fun things to do and the wide variety of you know,
food and beverage options, et cetera. We have so much
(21:03):
cool stuff here. And to be the leader of the
group that gets to tell that story through advertising, our
social media channels all those things every day, it's one
of the it's the best shob in the world.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Really well and listen, it's been an absolute pleasure talking
to you and learning more about Williamsburg in the region
that you represent. Can you tell me one more time
where people go if they want to find out information
or if they want to start planning their trip.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Yeah, definitely, come to visit Williamsburg dot com and look
for us on Facebook. Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Pinterest. I
think I covered them all. Follow us on our YouTube channel.
There's a lot of awesome content you can find on
those those platforms.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Edward Harris, President and CEO of Visit Williamsburg, thank you
so much for your time.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
Big thank you to Ed Harris for his time. Again.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
You can find out more about Williamsburg, Virginia at visit
Williamsburg dot com. And that's it for this episode of
delightful Destinations. Until next time, be well,
Hey, what's up everyone. Welcome to you Delightful Destinations. My
name is Jeff Saint Pierre. This is episode forty. This
is your first time check out the program. Thank you
so much for taking some of your time out of
your day to join us. Delightful Destinations is a show
that I created so I could talk to representatives from
different locations around the country and learn more about these
beautiful places that are just all around us. I'm always
(00:21):
looking for an excuse to get away from home and
try something new, and I hope this show will help
inspire you the next time you're looking to escape the
daily grind. So quick business note for all of you
who listen to this show regularly. First of all, I
appreciate you taking time out of your day to listen
to these conversations. It just means so much that we've
had so many of you listening. This is going to
be the last episode of Delightful Destinations, at least for
(00:42):
a little bit. Some things behind the scenes here have changed,
so we're going to have to hit pause on it
for a little while. I'm hopeful that we can bring
the show back in the future. I just don't know
when that future will be so this is kind of
bittersweet being our fortieth episode and also potentially our last
for a bit, But again, thank you so much for listening,
and I hope that you enjoy this coming episode. On
(01:02):
this week's episode, With next year being the two hundred
and fiftieth anniversary of the founding of this country, I
think it's fitting for us to make a trip back
to Virginia. Our tenth state, hosted so many historically important
events in the timeline of the United States, from some
of the first colonies to pivotal battles and the Revolutionary
and Civil War. Virginia has been front and center for
(01:22):
so much of our history. But there's more than history
in Virginia. There's theme parks, there's outdoor recreation, brewery, delicious food,
and so many opportunities for fun. This week, we're heading
to the Williamsburg area. And I say area because my
guest today not only represents Williamsburg, which is a pretty
popular tourist attraction already, but he also represents some of
the surrounding areas as well. With me this week is
(01:43):
Edward Harris. He's the president and CEO of Visit Williamsburg.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I'm excited to be here. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
So this is kind of funny for me because a
couple of weeks ago I was interviewing somebody by the
name of Tom York, who I don't know if you're
a music fan, but Tom York is also the name
of the singer for Radiohead. And now I'm interviewing Ed Harris,
but not the actor Harris. I don't know what it
is with you travel folks. You seem to all have
the same names as other celebrities.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, I know, it's funny. And in one of my
earlier jobs, I worked closely with a gentleman named Steve Martin.
Oh wow, And so you know, not the comedian or actor,
but Steve Martin, who I worked with in the footwear
industry prior to coming to tourism. But yeah, at least
my name Ed Harris. It can be associated with a
pretty good actor. And I guess it could be worse, right, No.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
It definitely could be worse, for sure.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
And I find that we have, you know, sort of
similar pathways here as well, because if I'm not mistaken,
you spent some time living in Baltimore, which is where
I currently live and work.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
What were you doing here in Baltimore. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
So I spent fifteen years working for sneaker brands before
sliding over to tourism, and one of my chapters was
with under arm at their headquarters right there in Baltimore.
It was an awesome, awesome chapter of my career. Worked
with some really fun people, creative people, and I was
there during a period of hyper growth for the brand
(03:05):
of under Armour, and so I have a special spot
in my heart for Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
I did tell my boss that I wasn't sure I
could conduct this interview with you because you're a Saint
Joe's grad and as a Villanova wildcat, I'm not sure
if this is going to work out, but I think
we'll be okay.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Oh no, I hate to hear that. I mean, you're
on the other side of the Holy War, I know,
but it's all good. It's all good.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Well, you're you graduate. I'm just curious.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
I'm a two thousand and one graduate, okay, Saint Jo's
and wound up going back to school later to get
an MBA up at Boston College.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Okay, I'm an O three guy. So we were there
around the same time. I think Saint Jose was much
better than Villanova back then, so you definitely have the
edge basketball wise in that era.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Well, you guys had your own run for sure.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Well, that team has certainly found something.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Yeah, well listen to the national championship.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Yeah, that's fair. That's fair. Well, we don't have to
keep going down this lane.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
I do want to talk more about what you're doing
right now, which is working in Williamsburg, Virginia and visit Williamsburg.
You know, about a couple months ago, I spoke with somebody,
I think his name is Tom loftis from visit Richmond,
and he was talking about the Richmond region and all
the amazing things there, and Williamsburg kind of got brought
up a little bit in that conversation. But you also
don't just work for Williamsburg. You have sort of a
region that you work with.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Yeah, that's right. So here at Visit Williamsburg, we promote
the entire historic Triangle. And if you're not familiar with
what is that, well, that includes Jamestown, which is the
site of the first settlement. It includes Yorktown, Virginia as well,
which of course is where the final battle was won,
which leads to our independence. And so with Williamsburg serving
(04:45):
as the revolutionary think tank of the day. All three
give us the right to say that this is where
America's journey begins, and that's something we're proud of in
terms of our historical roots.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
When I was growing up, I grew up in New Hampshire.
When I was growing up, the vacation my family would
do would be every two or three years, we'd make
a trip down to Orlando and do a trip to Disney.
But I feel like my parents would sometimes use Williamsburg
as a threat to us. You know, this goes back
many years ago, and I don't mean that in like
a negative way, but like when you're a kid and
your options are Disney or Williamsburg, your your first impression is, well,
(05:24):
of course Disney. But now that I've become an adult
and I've learned more about when there is so much
in Williamsburg for the entire family, I mean, there's a
lot of exciting stuff there that people should experience.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Yeah, and I think the word experience that you just
mentioned is key because Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement, Yorktown Battlefield,
they're all experiential. And what I mean by that is
these interpreters that you can meet at these sites. You
can have a conversation and they are in character. They
(05:55):
are historians, and you can really learn about history through dialogue.
When you come to a place like the Historic Triangle,
it's like being in a time machine or in the
middle of a history book, but it all comes to life.
But if you're not a history buff, there is so
much more to do. When you think about Bush Gardens,
(06:17):
Busch Gardens introduced the very popular new roller coaster this summer.
It's called the Big Bad Wolf, the Wolf's Revenge, which
has become really popular this summer. We've become a very
popular brewery winery scene here. Our food scene has really improved,
and of course being in the Virginia Peninsula area, there's
(06:41):
lots of water sports, boating opportunities. There's really something for everyone.
And that's a cliche that a lot of destinations say,
but I really believe that about this area in terms
of if you want to learn about our rich American history,
you can do that. If you want thrills, you can
(07:01):
go to ride roller coasters, the food, the wine, the beer,
the trails, and the boating and there's just there's so
much to do here.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Over the last year since we started this podcast, I've
done about forty ish episodes, give or take. I can't
remember the exact number, but I've been astounded at how
many people have been bragging about their food scene. And
I guess I just didn't realize how much food can
bring people into an area, you know what I mean,
Like it can be a deal breaker, right, Like if
you've got to tie, we can go one place or
(07:32):
the other, but the food is better somewhere that could
be there, or people are traveling just to experience food.
So I think it's so interesting to hear folks like
yourself talk about the vibrant food scene in there, and
I think that's awesome that that's been a thing that's
driving people to come check out areas.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Yeah, you're spot on, and in the year twenty twenty five,
if you're going to be a leading tourist destination, you've
got to have some great restaurants. And we're fortunate we've
got a wide variety of restaurants and we have a
very unique side to Williamsburg when it comes to pancake houses.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
I want to touch on this, so I'm glad you're
bringing this up. This is good.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Yeah. So, you know, we have an unusual number of
pancake houses here in Williamsburg, and we're actually gonna celebrate
that in September on National Pancake Day. This year, we're
gonna brand ourselves as the Pancake Capital of the world,
bring our pancake houses out for a big event. We're
gonna have an eating contest, there's gonna be prizes, you
(08:32):
can win, live music, and we know the whole community
is going to come out to support those small businesses.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
And you have like a pancake trail, correct, we do, well,
we will, Okay, so it's okay.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Launching on September first, which is the month of National
Pancake Day, we're gonna have a virtual mobile pass that
you can download very easily from visit Williamsburg dot com.
And as you accumulate points throughout the month when you
visit our collection of pancake houses, you'll earn points that
(09:08):
can be redeemed for some cool prizes. And so we're
going to be launching that out quickly here in the
next couple of weeks, and we're really excited about it.
We know that having a mobile pass will get people
around the area to discover businesses that otherwise they may
not have learned about or thought about.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Yeah, it feels like every area has their own you know, trails,
their own mobile passes, and most of them, I find
tend to tie into beer or wine, right because breweries
and wineries have become much more popular over the last
ten ten years or so. But I just was talking
again to your colleague down in Richmond and they have
a Mosa trail, which I was like, well, that's interesting,
Mosa trail. You don't hear a lot of places that
(09:49):
have something like that, and here you are with the
Pancake Trail. I love the creativity going on in Virginia
right now.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah, I think these passes make it fun, right, you know,
you know nationwide, there's been this trend of what they
call gamification for a while now with just the advanced
video games, and you know, video games are played by
lots of different ages in this day and age, and
whenever we can make it fun for people to discover
(10:14):
the area with a trail that's you know, tied back
to your phone where you can collect points and have
fun with it, We're going to be doing more of
those things going forward.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
I think the era of the relaxing vacation is over right,
Like I think every vacation now people want to see
the unique things where they're going to be. They want
to experience, to use that word again, they want to
experience the region. I mean, I think back to being younger,
and you know, if you went to the beach, what
you did was you went to the beach and that
was it. You sat on the beach all day long,
(10:45):
you got sunburnt, you went back to the hotel, you
came back and did it again. But now it feels
like when you're going somewhere, it's okay, I want to
check this place off, or I saw a unique speakeasy,
or I saw that there's like all these different things.
And I really enjoy that because I think it's bringing
people into the unities and bringing them into small businesses
and getting them to check out things they wouldn't otherwise
have done before.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Yeah, I totally agree with that, and that's what I
love about moving here and living here. It's just just
the wide variety of things you could fill up your
day with. But at the same time, if you're looking
to relax, many of our golf courses also have spas.
We have a few awesome resorts here, and so if
you're looking to kind of just relax or play around
(11:28):
a golf we've become known for that too. So yes,
there's enough to fill a jam packed itinerary for a
week here. But if you need some downtime to kind
of chill out, there's that too.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
You mentioned Yorktown earlier, and Yorktown obviously plays a massive
part in the history of this country, and I know
ken Burns has been working on something for Yorktown. You've
got some big stuff planned for.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
That, absolutely, ken Burns. He's releasing his new twelve hour,
six part series which is all about the American Revolution,
and what a perfect time to be launching that ahead
of the two hundred and fiftieth Commemoration of the United States.
Yorktown is going to be one of those places where
(12:13):
you can see a sneak peak of that documentary, which
will officially roll out across the nation in November. Also
in Yorktown, though, if people are interested in planning and visit,
they will be one of the hosts of the Tall
Ships Festival, which is going to bring in these massive
(12:33):
older ships that you can watch tour throughout Harbor's on
the East Coast during the commemoration year of twenty twenty six.
They'll be in Yorktown in June of next year, so
Yorktown is very excited about that as well. But yeah,
coming up in September Ken Burns the documentary, you're gonna
be able to see some of that in Yorktown.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
That's amazing. I will say.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Living in Baltimore being a harbor town, we've had the
tall ships roll through here before, So anyone who's listening
that maybe has not experienced that before, it really is
something to see. I mean, it's it's a remarkable experience
to go check those out. So yeah, I mean, if
you can make it to Yorktown next year in June
of twenty twenty six to witness that, I mean, it's
definitely something to put on the calendar. Let's go back
into history a little bit too, because most of the
(13:19):
people that I've spoken with from a tourism standpoint have
tended to be along the mid Atlantic and East Coast
just based on where I live and the people that
we've connected with, And there is just so much history
on this side of the country because this is where
the first people really came and this is where the
country was founded. But Virginia, my gosh, I mean, there's
just it's a million thing. Everywhere you turn, there's another
(13:41):
historical landmark that you could be a part of. And
as you mentioned, we're coming up on the two hundred
and fiftieth anniversary here.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Absolutely, And I'm a native Philadelphian and so when I
first moved here a year ago and people found out
I was from Pennsylvania, more than one person was quick
to remind me that for out of the first five
US presidents are from Virginia, of course, and then I
should always remember that. And so history is taken very
(14:08):
seriously here, not only in Williamsburg, but across the state,
and it's special, it's important. I'm proud to be able
to represent a destination that has so so many rich
historical roots for our nation.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
I would imagine that you all have and you don't
have to give me specific events right now, but that
you have events pretty much all year long next year
to celebrate this.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Yeah, you can come to our our website at visit
Williamsburg dot com and we've got a great lineup of
things every month throughout the historic Triangle. So whether you're
here in Williamsburg or you want to pop over to
Jamestown or Yorktown, it's going to be a big celebratory
year for sure.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
I saw something else here that I was kind of
intrigued by. I should have clicked the link to learn
more about it, but I want to hear from you
the visit Williamsburg American Birthday Quilt project tell me more
about that.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Yeah, this is an exciting one. We are inviting people
from across the country to participate in the Great American
Birthday Quilt, and it's relatively simple. We're looking for twelve
by twelve squares designed by people that reflects their American journey,
and it spans the entire country. These squares are going
(15:24):
to be stitched together into a two hundred and fifty
foot Birthday quilt that will be on display here in
the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center next summer. And we're already
receiving all kinds of interesting creative squares that are coming
in and some of them have stories attached to that
(15:46):
are fascinating. And so to have a quilt that weaves
together personal stories of Americans from across the country is
a really cool and fun project to be working on.
We're going to be having some activations come up this
fall in places like Washington, D C. And Philadelphia to
generate more squares from people to finish out the quilt.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
Because you need plenty of squares if you're going to
make it two and fifty square feet.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Is that what you were saying. I mean, that's right.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Two hundred and fifty feet long is the quill. And
everybody seems to be participating in the early going, everything
from you know, middle schoolers to senior homes. People want
to be involved with this creative project.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
If you want to find out more details or if
you want to submit something, where should people go to
find that?
Speaker 2 (16:35):
So people should come to visit Williamsburg dot com. In
the search bar, you can search for America's Birthday Quilt.
If you're interested in the Pancake festival, you can search
for pancakes. But we have a great website. It's constantly
being refreshed. Our Calendar of events page is always being
updated on a daily basis, and there's always something happening
(16:56):
that's fun to do in the Historic Triangle.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
I was spending some I'm on your website actually and
I need to ask you one question here. Your helper
on the website is bo Shington. It looks like a
sheep and it's dressed like what would be George Washington,
sort of closed, but it's a sheep, so it's Boshington.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Can you tell me more about this?
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Yeah? Sure. So our marketing team is always coming up
with creative ideas, and if you were to visit a
place like colonial Williamsburg in town, you would see you know, sheep,
you would see baby sheep. And they've become sort of
a mascot locally because there are a bunch of them
(17:36):
and they're really cute animals to look at too, And
so we're having fun by adopting that that idea and
bringing it into the virtual world with our website and
our chatbot to give it a little bit of personality.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Before we speak to people.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
I always try to do a little bit of research
on the areas myself, just to have a little understanding,
especially if it's an area I've never been to before,
kind of like the Williamsburg region. And I saw something
pop up from Travel and Leisure that said it was
the most underrated travel gem in the US, and I
think that's an interesting title to have.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
What are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Well, of course I'm going to agree with that one.
But but we've got, like I was talking about earlier,
we've got such a variety of things to do here
beyond the history, which is special. I mean when you
talk about bush gardens and like I said, the trails,
the water sports. We're also a college town. William and
Mary is here. It's the second oldest college in the
(18:31):
United States, right behind Harvard, So it's got this young
vibe to it throughout the school year, very creative place
to spend time, and year round, there's there's things, there's
things to do. I mean, there's great things that experience
around the holiday season where the whole area transforms into
a Hallmark commercial with candle light windows and authentic natural
(18:55):
wreaths that are made that are placed on all the doors.
In Colonial Williamsburg. We have our ghost tours, which has
become very popular in September and October at night, walking
around Colonial Williamsburg and taking in those ghost tours is
an awesome experience. I mentioned the golf which is very
popular year round, and it's just I'm just so excited
(19:17):
that I get to represent a place like this.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
You've been I guess lucky enough in your time as
an adult to work in a lot of different places
and for a lot of different companies. You've been in
this role for about a year. You think you're staying
here for a while.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
I do, yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
I mean, this place is so special and the future
is so bright here. I mean, not only are we
going to celebrate the two hundred and fiftieth commemoration next year,
but we have a two hundred thousand square foot indoor
sports and events center which is also going to open
next year, and that will be transformational too, as families
(19:57):
come in for volleyball tournament's, football, soccer, etc. And discover
or rediscover all that this area has to offer.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
There are usually about two types of people that I
speak to from your position. One is the person that
grew up in the area that they are representing, so
they have this love for that area that they just
want to get out there to the world. And I
have others that have transplanted to take a really good
job opportunity. But I can hear it in your voice
how much you're kind of a combo of both. Despite
the fact that you did not grow up in the
(20:28):
Williamsburg area. I can hear the passion, I can hear
the love that you have for that area and just
the way that you tell the story and the way
that you talk about the things. And I feel like
Williamsburg is very lucky to have a person like you
representing them.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Well, thank you, I appreciate that. But I really am
the lucky one to get to steer this organization and
be able to, you know, put out the kind of
storytelling that we can in terms of our history and
fun things to do and the wide variety of you know,
food and beverage options, et cetera. We have so much
(21:03):
cool stuff here. And to be the leader of the
group that gets to tell that story through advertising, our
social media channels all those things every day, it's one
of the it's the best shob in the world.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Really well and listen, it's been an absolute pleasure talking
to you and learning more about Williamsburg in the region
that you represent. Can you tell me one more time
where people go if they want to find out information
or if they want to start planning their trip.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Yeah, definitely, come to visit Williamsburg dot com and look
for us on Facebook. Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Pinterest. I
think I covered them all. Follow us on our YouTube channel.
There's a lot of awesome content you can find on
those those platforms.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Edward Harris, President and CEO of Visit Williamsburg, thank you
so much for your time.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
Big thank you to Ed Harris for his time. Again.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
You can find out more about Williamsburg, Virginia at visit
Williamsburg dot com. And that's it for this episode of
delightful Destinations. Until next time, be well,
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