By Daimon Duggar
Correspondent
Next month, visitors from around the Southeast will descend on the tiny Alabama towns of Fort Payne and Ider for what local officials are calling September in DeKalb County.
The premier events of next month’s celebration of all things DeKalb are Ider’s Mule Day and Fort Payne’s Boom Days. They are, however, not the only attractions in this North Alabama county, where the tourism industry accounts for $67 million a year.
“DeKalb County is a tourist destination for sure,” said John Dersham, executive director of the DeKalb County Tourist Association. “The leisure tourist we get here, we’ve been getting for 100 years, when people from Birmingham would stay in cabins along Lookout Mountain for the cooler weather.
“Today, we have 150 rental cabins, nine bed and breakfasts and seven hotels,” Dersham continued, “and our scenic parkway – which runs along the 71 miles of Lookout that is in Alabama – is listed in Reader’s Digest and National Geographic. Of all of the North Alabama counties, we have one of the strongest draws for tourists.”
In addition to this September’s events, a new regional agricultural center recently was completed, and, according to Dersham, already is heavily booked.
“The agri-center seats 5,500 and we will be able to use it for a number of events, from horse shows to live music,” he said. “We’ve already booked 17 events there, and hope it will help bring in some brand-new tourism.”
Boom Days, DeKalb County’s largest single annual event, is in its fifth year. Attendance, which averages 6,000 to 7,000, is expected to rebound after last year’s dismal showing because of heavy rains.
“We do draw attendees from around the region,” said Collins Kirby, a Boom Days Committee member. “We scour the South to find a wide variety of musical acts and artists, and as a result we get folks from North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. We have a lot of activities for the kids, both recreational and educational, and we have good food. But the highlight is the quality of the art and music we bring to Boom Days.”
The Boom Days Heritage Celebration is set for Sept. 18 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. CDT in downtown Fort Payne.
Ider Mule Day will be at Ider Town Park on Sept. 6 from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. CDT.
For more information on September in DeKalb County, visit www.discoverlookoutmountain.com or call the DeKalb County Tourist Association at 1-888-805-4740.
Daimon Duggar is based in South Pittsburg, Tenn. E-mail him at daimon.duggar@gmail.com