Bigfork is an idyllic summer town – lake and river access, unique restaurants and a friendly, laid-back atmosphere. The warm months bring in tourists, and, just as importantly, tourists’ money.
Now, in an effort to capitalize on shoulder-season opportunities, several organizations in the village – including the Bigfork Area Chamber of Commerce and Community Foundation for a Better Bigfork – are seeking to market Bigfork as a four-season destination.
“It’s so people can understand that there’s more here than just summertime on the lake,” Bruce Solberg, chamber spokesman, said. “It would be just a real, real advantage for almost all businesses in Bigfork.”
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The efforts include a push to rebrand Bigfork with a new logo, tagline and website. After months of meetings on a new slogan, the Chamber eventually chose, “Where Flathead Lake Begins.”
It makes the town’s tagline specific to Bigfork, Solberg said. The previous motto, “Far from the common place,” could apply to almost any town, he said, so Bigfork chose to point out its unique location on the Flathead and Swan rivers as they entered the lake.
One of the chamber’s rebranding committees also came up with a new logo for the village, highlighting Bigfork’s environment.
Solberg noted that this effort took a while, but the chamber members wanted to get it right. The resulting logo will go on the signage directing people to the village and on directional signs to some of Bigfork’s attractions, such as Sliter Park and the Swan River Nature Trail.
Paul Mutascio, president of the Community Foundation for a Better Bigfork, said local businesses will be encouraged to license the logo as a way to raise money for the chamber.
“We’re trying to get people excited about Bigfork as a place to come in the winter,” Mutascio said. “Most communities are trying to identify themselves as unique places and expand tourism.”
Tourism plays a key role in the village’s economy in the summer and shoulder seasons, he said, adding that it is likely the top money-earning industry in Bigfork.
Recognizing this, Solberg said the chamber converted its advertising committee into a marketing committee, which is tasked with finding more ways to actively promote the area.
This includes new features for the chamber’s website that will bring more attention to the village’s businesses as well as highlight its best qualities, Solberg said. It will be more a Bigfork site instead of a Chamber of Commerce site, he added.
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Part of Bigfork’s rebranding effort is bringing more acts to the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts and promoting shoulder-season events. |
There will also be a new video about Bigfork on the site, which will include still photos from such events as decorating Electric Avenue for Christmas and aerial footage showing the rivers’ paths to the lake, Solberg said.
The Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts will also provide another facet of the winter marketing plan, Solberg said, but this was more of a coincidence than an outright plan.
Walter Kuhn, president of the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts Foundation, said last February’s Elvis tribute concert provided the BCPA with the boost it needed to expand its programs.
Rather than relying solely on its stage productions, which are still the center’s mainstay, the winter schedule includes concerts such as “All You Need is Love,” a Beatles tribute by Imagine and a night with singer and songwriter Richie Havens.
There will also be comedy acts and a magic show, which takes place on Nov. 20 and features mentalist Paul Draper and magician Jason Andrews, from Las Vegas.
“We would have been doing this regardless of the rebranding of Bigfork; to bring more events in what would be otherwise the slow season in Bigfork,” Kuhn said.
The chamber hopes to capitalize on the village’s winter events, Solberg said, including the traditional gathering of the Bigfork Elves to decorate downtown and the Christmas tree lighting. There are also additional plans to present outdoor recreation options, such as cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, he said.
Mutascio said the CFBB, which is responsible for many infrastructure projects in the village and also provides rent-free space for several organizations, will also install more antique streetlights downtown. This will provide for safer lighting and a walking path people can take through the village in the evening, he said.
He noted that the Bigfork Chamber led the charge on the rebranding effort, and plenty of people donated their time, talent and energy for the project in what he described as “a lot of concerned people with the same commitment.”
“We are behind it 100 percent,” Mutascio said. “Bigfork is, by its own nature, becoming more and more of a year-round resort.”
For more information on the Bigfork Area Chamber of Commerce, visit www.bigfork.org.