Attracting tourists.Visitors flocking to southeastern Indiana are finding more than gaming. Arts and entertainment venues are fueling local economies, too.With Hyatt's Grand Victoria drawing about 1.5 million people a year to Rising Sun, new visitor venues are cropping up. The latest is the Pendleton Arts Center, just certified See certification. as a nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. so it can expand its gallery offerings and artists' studios in a former Main Street hardware building. "The idea is arts are economics for Rising Sun," says Sherry Timms, executive director of the Rising Sun-Ohio County Convention, Tourism and Visitors Bureau. It's true in nearby Switzerland County, too, where the Switzerland County Historical Society is creating a living-history riverboat riv·er·boat n. A boat suitable for use on a river. museum. "Dow Coming has donated the property and work is beginning," says Judith Firth firth or frith, Scottish term applied to an arm of the sea, usually an estuary or strait. For Firth of Clyde, see Clyde; for Firth of Forth, see Forth. , executive director of the Switzerland County Economic Development Commission. In Decatur County Decatur County is the name of five counties in the United States, all named for Stephen Decatur:
n. An inn, restaurant, or nightclub located on a road outside a town or city. roadhouse Noun a pub or restaurant at the side of a road Noun 1. , an 800-seat auditorium, restaurant and lounge in Greensburg. "We had 17,000 people come to Greensburg for skydiving skydiving Sport of jumping from an airplane at a moderate altitude (e.g., 6,000 ft [1,800 m]) and executing various body maneuvers before pulling the rip cord of a parachute. Competitive events include jumping for style, landing with accuracy, and performing in teams (e.g. last year. This will give us nighttime entertainment," says Melanie Maxwell, tourism director for the Greensburg/Decatur County Chamber of Commerce. Also in the complex: Roadhouse Choppers, featuring customized Indian motorcycles. Industry also is getting a shot in the arm, as development plans for the public/private, 260-acre Greensburg Rail and Business Park proceeds, reports Mike Walker, executive director of the newly formed Economic Development Corp. of Greensburg/Decatur County. "We're assisting local businesses with retention and expansion as well as seeking new industries." In Switzerland County, growth is coming with Ohio-based BESI Inc.'s recent purchase of a building it had been leasing since it opened its Vevay plant in 2000. Currently employing about 25, the school bus seat-cover manufacturer expects to double that with an equipment expansion now under way, Firth reports. |
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