Local attractions featured in tourism booklets

By Staff
Jason Cannon
Tourism in Franklin County will get a major boost this year as four local attractions will be listed in the 2008 Alabama Vacation Guide, which hit welcome centers earlier this month.
Bear Creek Lakes, Dismals Canyon, Redmont Recreation Club and Twin Pines Country Club were all recognized as trip-worthy stops that coincide with Gov. Bob Riley's designation of 2008 as the Year for Alabama Sports.
A photo of Dismals Canyon is also featured on the cover of the guide. There are three different covers of the magazine, with the other two being the lobby of the Battle House Hotel in Mobile and the beach at Gulf State Park.
"I think something like that can increase attendance greatly," Phil Campbell Mayor Jerry Mays said of being the magazine's featured artwork.
"It's an unknown," he said. "To the rest of the state, it's a secret, but it's one of the prettiest places in the State of Alabama."
Mays said there were no attendance records for the number of visitors in years past, but he anticipated they could handle a few more sightseers.
"The more the merrier," he said.
A companion publication, the 2008 Alabama Calendar of Events, also lists three events in the county.
The events, which are not sports related, are Phil Campbell's Hoe Down, the Franklin County Watermelon Festival and Red Bay's Founder's Fest.
To obtain a free copy of the Alabama Vacation Guide and the Alabama Calendar of Events, call 334-242-4169 or go to www.alabama.travel.
They may also be found at any of the state's Welcome Centers.