Brown County Visitors Center: The True Hub of All Things Brown County
Rarely is a visitors center considered as much the genuine central hub of community, cultural and artistic life as is the Brown County Visitors Center in Brown County, Indiana. The Brown County Visitors Center, founded and operated by the Brown County Convention and Visitors Bureau, was created to promote and develop the meetings and tourism industries of Brown County, where the artist enclave of Nashville is located.
It makes sense: The travel and convention services industries in Brown County produce more than $125 million in direct tourism spending each year, not to mention more than 2,000 jobs for locals.
The visitors center, located in the heart of Nashville at the corner of State Road 135 and Van Buren Street, is a comfortable, country-like setting with computer access, free Wi-Fi, memorabilia and brochures galore. When first walking into the center, a visitor is overwhelmed by the detailed layout of each square foot of the facility – an arts information center in one corner, specialty T-shirt hanging neatly in another, brochure racks on beautiful hand-carved wooden containers in the middle, and a fully stocked and staffed information desk in the back. The center’s knowledgeable staff is ready and willing to provide information about both Nashville and the entire county.
In addition, the center provides free visitor maps, wheelchair and stroller rentals, event ticket sales, a comprehensive dining guide, trip-planning assistance and even a local courtesy telephone. It also occasionally houses local artistic exhibits to help promote the work of painters, sculptors, and even glass blowers. And its patio setting provides local musical entertainment when the weather gets warm enough.
The center is open Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hours occasionally vary during warmer weather months.
If you’re looking for discounts, the Brown County Visitors Center is the place to start. The Brown County “Valued Visitors” discount membership program offers pricing breaks on accommodations, eating, shopping, entertainment options of all kinds and, if you can believe it, even discounts on artists’ works. For a one-time $12 fee, Value Visitors get discounts at more than 165 participating Brown County businesses.
Included in the membership is a membership card with a key ring card; a directory that lists participating businesses; a “getaway guide” for the county; a visitors’ map; and a free “memories” shopping bag. The discount card is good through the end of the calendar year in which it was purchased.
For additional information, go to the Brown County visitors website, which offers detailed information on the center and all of the varied points of interests for tourists and residents alike.
Posted on Apr 5, 2011 by Jim Brown
