This column is the third in a series devoted to promoting cultural tourism in coastal Georgia. They will be published weekly in the Tribune & Georgian newspaper in Kingsland, GA. This column appears Friday (September 9, 2005).
Recognizing and celebrating common community heritage in a unique and positive manner is one form of cultural tourism that has become an economic and public relations engine. This column will explore an example of an instance that attracted tourists, dollars and encouraged community rejuvenation and growth.
A decade and a half ago, Colquitt, Georgia, was a sleepy Southern town suffering under the load of double-digit unemployment, the complete absence of an industrial base, and the continued exodus of most of the young people out of town. Farming, the community’s chief industry seemed every summer to suffer from drought or flood. For people here, theater either meant a 45-minute drive to Tallahassee, Florida, or a trip to Albany, GA, the largest neighboring town, for a visit to the multiplex. This hot, dusty corner of Georgia, just north of the Florida line, held little promise of offering the world a musical comedy/drama so unique—and successful—that it could transform the concept of local theater and bring a new meaning to economic development.
The efforts of interested community members created an offering called Swamp Gravy, named after a local concoction using whatever ingredients are at hand and thrown into a pot to stretch a meal for growing families. This stage production has been presented in dozens of cities throughout the South and performed for sell-out audiences at Atlanta. It was named Georgia’s Official Folk Life Play and won several awards during performances at the 1996 Atlantic Olympics. That same year, Swamp Gravy performers wowed an audience at D.C.’s Kennedy Center and were featured in USA Today. During its run, Swamp Gravy has attracted more than half a million dollars in grants from corporate contributors. More importantly to residents, Swamp Gravy has become a source of $1 million in annual revenues through ticket sales and the injection of tourist dollars into the local economy.
All of this is impressive for a production that began with a simple idea: to collect stories from the community and transform them into theater. The resulting play would tell stories the locals already knew, but would do it in an entertaining manner, and just maybe a few out-of-towners would drop in. More than 15 years later, not only have the locals developed an affinity for their “Gravy,” tourists and aficionados have lauded it and continued to attend, bringing money, fame and new business to Colquitt. Today, the Swamp Gravy site is a renovated cotton mill, and it is surrounded by business spawned by this new cultural tourist attraction: museums, learning centers, shops and restaurants. All of these establishments provide income for operators, jobs for residents and revenue for local governments.
Karen Kimbrel, a Swamp Gravy musical composer, found the play to be a great tool of economic development in a region that has few. “Not only has this play put our little community on the map, but it is lifting the spirits of us all,” she says. “Teachers here will tell you that the school children who perform in Swamp Gravy are better students. This play is giving all of us a sense of pride and a better understanding of each other. It has also made us an important part of the Southern cultural scene. And we did it all in spite of difficult obstacles and challenges. For us, theater has become an awakening to the potential that rests in the human spirit.”
What a tribute to the power of ideas, the arts and community.
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