Tourism in Genesee County, Michigan Genesee County is filled with a variety of fun, family-friendly, educational activities that attract thousands of participants each year. A tourist is able to go to any of three Welcome Centers to find out what to do and where to go to have fun in Genesee County. These are located at Bishop Airport, the Flint Famers’ Market, and the Flint and Genesee Chamber of Commerce. Once there, visitors can get a copy of the Visitors’ Guide & Community Profile, event and attraction brochures, maps, and information on hotels. The Flint and Genesee Chamber has the same information on its website, located at flintandgenesee.org Tourist spending in Genesee County has increased every year since 2012, and Genesee County generated $133 million in tourism spending in 2017. However, for Genesee County in 2016, Travel MI calculated $454 million in overall tourism spending. This number included direct spending along with related costs. Related costs include items such as food, gasoline, and airport, among others. The following is a small sample of what residents and tourists can enjoy in Genesee County with its urban and rural settings. Crim Festival of Races Each August, downtown Flint hosts the Crim Festival of Races, which attracts about 55,000 visitors. There are several different races and ways to participate in this event. In 2018, there were about 12,000 registered racers. This is Flint’s biggest event—it takes nearly 3,000 volunteers each year to put on the Crim Festival of Races! Go to crim.org for more information.
Agritourism Genesee County has many agritourism destinations. These are defined as any agriculturally-based activity that brings visitors to places such as a farm, farmers’ market, brewery, winery, honey farm, orchard, butcher shop, cider mill, tree farm, natural foods/organic grocery, or plant nursery. The map to the right indicates the variety of agritourism locations in Genesee County. To get more details on the locations shown on the map, go to i-69thumbregion.org/agritourism-directory Back to the Bricks happens every August as downtown Flint is turned into a showplace for classic, unusual, and antique cars of all types. Over 500,000 car enthusiasts attend this event each year. There is music, family-friendly events, food, and a national Corvette reunion. Go to backtothebricks.org for more information. Bikes on the Bricks This three-day event includes a motorcycle show, a police skills competition, a biker fashion show, a police-escorted ride, special guests, food, and thirty-three merchandise vendors in downtown Flint. Bikes on the Bricks donates the proceeds from this event to charitable organizations here in Genesee County. Go to bikesonthebricks.com for more information. The Flint Cultural Center The Flint Cultural Center campus is close to downtown Flint and includes the Flint Institute of Arts, the Flint Institute of Music, the Flint Repertory Theatre, the Longway Planetarium, the Sloan Museum, and the Whiting, a professional performing arts venue. Each one of these is described below. Go to flintculturalcenter.com for more information.
The Flint Institute of Arts (part of Flint Cultural Center) is Michigan’s second largest art museum and is one of the largest museum art schools in the United States. More than 160,000 people visit FIA galleries and participate in FIA programs and services each year. Go to flintarts.org for more information.
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The Flint Institute of Music (part of Flint Cultural Center) includes the Flint Symphony Orchestra and Flint School of Performing Arts (FSPA). The FSPA has more than 3,500 students. This makes it the largest community school of the arts in Michigan, and it is also one of the largest in the United States. Go to thefim.org for more information. The Flint Repertory Theatre (The Rep--part of Flint Cultural Center) offers college and university apprenticeships, professional fellowships, and adult classes. The Flint Youth Theatre is now under the banner of The Rep, and will provide educational classes, camps, and workshops for every grade level. Go to flintrep.org for more information. The Longway Planetarium (part of Flint Cultural Center) is the largest planetarium in Michigan. Every day of the week, it presents educational and entertaining shows. Genesee County residents passed an Arts Millage in 2018, so now residents will get a 50% discount on show admission. The Longway Planetarium is named after Robert T. Longway, a Vice-President of Buick and a president of the Board of Regents of General Motors Institute. Go to sloanlongway.org for more information. The Sloan Museum (part of Flint Cultural Center) presents exhibits on regional history, historic automobiles and hands-on science. It includes the Buick Automotive Gallery which features vehicles built in Flint. Sloan Museum is named for Alfred P. Sloan, a longtime President and Chairman of General Motors. Go to sloanlongway.org for more information. The Whiting (part of Flint Cultural Center) presents Broadway, music, dance, theatre, comedy, guest artists from around the world and more in its 2,000-seat venue. The Whiting is named in honor of James H. Whiting, an early pioneer of the auto industry. Go to thewhiting.com for more information. The Flint Farmers’ Market The Flint Farmers’ Market located in downtown Flint has more than 50 year-round vendors indoors and approximately 20 vendors in the outdoor pavilion during the
growing season. There are produce vendors, a meat market, poultry, baked goods, wine, cheese, a café, an art gallery, gifts, cooking demonstrations, and Mexican and Middle Eastern groceries. There is a venture called Flint Food Works, which is a culinary business incubator, helping entrepreneurs get started. Go to flintfarmersmarket.com for more information. The Capitol Theatre The Capitol Theatre in downtown Flint has an exterior design in the 15th-century Hispano-Italian style, with an Atmospheric style auditorium that resembles a Roman courtyard. The Capitol Theatre was closed to movies in 1976, but it hosted concerts till around 1996 and then was unused for 20 years. In mid-2016 the Capitol Theatre underwent an extensive renovation, but all the historically significant architecture was preserved and restored. The theatre seats 1,600. Go to facebook.com/TheCapitolTheatreFlint/ for more information.
Besides all that, Genesee County offers Crossroads Village with its Huckleberry Railroad. Crossroads Village is a trip back in time, as visitors walk through this historic village with more than thirty restored structures. While there, visitors can take a ride on the Huckleberry Railroad, catch a show at the opera house, ride the carousel, and watch tradesmen and old-fashioned storekeepers. There are meadows, ponds, trails, an apiary, scenic bridges, community gardens, a hoop house, the tree display in the arboretum, and a sugar shack where maple tree sap is boiled down during March. For those visitors that like winter, there are also plenty of activities to do in the snow here in Genesee County. The park system offers miles of cross-county skiing along with snowmobile trails. There are also sledding hills for any skill level.
Genesee County Parks System The Genesee County Park System is the jewel of the county. It is the largest county park system in Michigan, having over 11,000 acres of trails, campgrounds, rivers and lakes. The map to the right illustrates the locations of park facilities. Genesee County has 45 miles of the beautiful Iron Belle Trail, which extends from Belle Isle in Detroit to Ironwood in the Upper Peninsula. Outdoor enthusiasts can go fishing, swimming, picnicking, hiking, relaxing on the beach, or riding their off- road vehicles. There are many pavilions, playgrounds, six boat launches and canoe launches. There is also the 383-acre For-Mar Nature Preserve & Arboretum, which includes a uniquely accessible treehouse by Kearsley Creek. The beautiful Genesee Belle is available for relaxed trips on the water.
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The Ally Challenge The Ally Challenge is an official event on the schedule of the PGA Tour Champions and is held at the Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club in Grand Blanc. This golf tournament features 78 PGA TOUR Champions competing for a purse of two million dollars. This event benefits local charities in the greater Flint area. PGA TOUR Champions is owned and operated by the Michigan non-profit corporation, Tournaments for Charity. The Golf Channel will internationally televise all three official rounds. In 2018, the Ally Challenge had 50,000 visitors and provided more than thirty million dollars in economic impact. Go to theallychallenge.com for more information.
Amtrak Amtrak has a train station with a waiting room located in Flint on South Dort Highway. This is an intermodal station so it also serves local and intercity bus lines. Amtrak service in Michigan has three main lines which are the Wolverine Service, the Blue Water, and the Pere Marquette. All three of these lines connect to Chicago. In 2016, Flint had 29,785 boardings and alightings, and in 2017 the annual station revenue was $1,073,331 with a ridership of 28,844.
flights at Bishop International Airport. While tourists are at the airport, they have access to amenities such as gift shops, restaurants, bars, onsite car rental, plug-in stations, a kids’ space where kids can be kids, a shoe-shine service, and a business center complete with conference rooms and a copier service. In 2018, Bishop Airport had approximately 361,000 passengers. Go to bishopairport.org for more information.
Tourism Statistics In May of 2018, many Michigan tourism officials and members of the Tourism Industry Coalition of Michigan (TICOM) met in Flint at the Capitol Theatre. This event was part of the annual National Travel and Tourism Week, which examines the economic impact of travel on Michigan communities. Travel impacts multiple facets of every-day life, such as jobs, the economy, health, and our transportation system. The Flint & Genesee Convention and Visitors Bureau has provided statistics that show how important tourism can be to Michigan. For example, in 2017, Genesee County generated approximately $133 million in tourism spending. Also, hospitality jobs (which includes food service and hotel accommodations) account for almost 10% of all jobs in Genesee County. More tourism statistics are available if you go to flintandgenesee.org, the site for the Flint and Genesee Chamber of Commerce. Staff will be mindful of the importance of tourism as we plan for transportation, housing, and solid waste improvements in Genesee County.
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Bishop International Airport Bishop International Airport is located one-half mile from the I75/US-23 and I-69 interchange in Flint, and is the third largest airport in Michigan. The airport offers low fares on non-stop flights to Florida, and offers connections to most global locations via Chicago and Atlanta. American, Delta, and United Airlines all have connecting
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