Spillian in Community
Spillian has a deep commitment to working in community. We believe that part of our role as a place of imagination and possibility is to help our region find ways to work together and build resiliency, resources, and opportunities in regenerative ways.
Several years ago, we hosted a gathering of some of the great fly-fishermen at Spilliian. We were inspired by their stories, and by the extraordinary history of the Catskills as the birthplace of American fly-fishing.
And they sparked an idea: to reach out into our regional community to see if we could begin to re-capture the excitement of the beginning of fishing season in the Catskills. Decades ago, anglers would line the creeks by the hundreds on opening day, bringing life to the Catskills in what has become a slow shoulder season.
Catskills Trout Tales
We envisioned this project as an open (and free, rather than pay-to-play) invitation to all organizations and businesses that intersect with recreational tourists: a chance to creatively connect into a regional branding and event campaign in the early spring in ways that would strengthen both the region and each participant. And we saw this as a way to invite recreational visitors to the Catskills by inviting them to see themselves as stewards, rather than simply consumers, so they could learn about how to love a wild place to life rather than loving it to death.
In 2017, we began to gather support, including local funding and a grant from Market NY/Empire State Development. In 2018, we launched Catskills Trout Tales: a season with over 65 partnering organizations, from local small businesses to regional nonprofits, and international fly fishing gear retailers. Together, we put together over 50 offerings in April and May, brought in an estimated 2600+ visitors to the region, and generated over $260,000 in revenues.
It was a grand experiment, and began to weave a story and an experience for visitors that echoed beyond its initial season. We began to search for the right nonprofit organization to grow it beyond its initial year.
In 2019, our partners at the Catskill Center generously agreed to take the project on, and dream Catskills Trout Tales forward into a truly Catskills-wide campaign. They continue to open it wider, in keeping with their work to support sustainable tourism development throughout the Catskills, and are planning the next season in 2020.
Sharing What Got Birthed
Please click the image to see a report on the beginnings of Catskills Trout Tales, detailing our vision, our goals, and our accomplishments. And please feel free to download it and share it if you’d like!
Please let us know if you’ve got any questions, and our deep thanks to you for reading, and most especially, to everyone who has helped to make this possible.
We are proud to be a part of the Catskills renaissance.
Sincerely,
Leigh Melander, PhD
Partner
Spillian: A Place to Revel
