on location: midwest ❖ dyllic Main Street communities filled with craft and gift shops....heaping helpings of fried chicken and freshbaked bread....Clip-clopping horse buggies clattering down country roads where Amish farm families have lived the simple life for generations. Northern Indiana’s Amish Country seems to be custom-made for group tours, offering hearty meals, fun shopping and loads of nostalgia. But since 2008 the patchwork of small towns has been stitching together another crowdpleaser—the Quilt Gardens Tour. Designated an American Bus Association Top 100 Event for the third year in a row, the driving tour is one of a kind. Though the Quilt Gardens Tour spotlights a wide variety of gardens, it’s hardly your garden variety tour. There’s nothing like it anywhere else. From Memorial Day to Oct. 1, seven communities will be showing off 18 all new gardens patterned after Amish and contemporary quilt designs. The patchwork quilt, perhaps more than anything else, symbolizes Amish craftsmanship. In addition to large gardens featuring a total of 100,000-plus blooms, the tour features 18 super-sized quilt murals at 12 locations, many at garden sites. It follows Elkhart County’s 90-mile, selfguided Heritage Trail Driving Tour. “The Quilt Gardens along the Heritage Trail is a boon for tour operators looking to reach new audiences—people who may never have considered taking a group tour, people who share a common interest,” said Sonya Nash, CTP, travel trade manager of the Elkhart County Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It’s not the cookie cutter group experience. It’s a
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ONLINE EXCLUSIVE See Randy Mink’s article on four of Indiana Amish Country’s best heritage attractions. Log on to http://leisuregrouptravel.com/?p=22875.
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Color-splashed displays of floral artistry blanket Northern Indiana’s Amish Country The quilt garden is a special treat for shoppers at the Old Bag Factory in Goshen (above), a former factory filled with antique, art and craft shops.
platform for like-minded people to come together and have a terrific time pursuing their passion for hobbies such as gardening, quilting or photography. And just as the gardens are all different, the Quilt Gardens experience allows each tour to be different from the rest, tailored to meet special wants.” The Quilt Gardens Tour has sparked tourism in this part of Indiana, a rural area only two hours east of Chicago and not far from the Michigan border. Karleen Richter, of Elkhart-based Down the Road Tours, says the flower displays have brought buses into communities like Wakarusa, where groups not only see the quilt garden and mural but also visit the old-fashioned dime and hardware stores. Now in its fourth year, the Quilt Gardens Tour continues to blossom as communities recognize its pulling power.
Hand-painted outdoor murals are part of the Quilt Gardens Tour.
Richter said, “More people are getting on the bandwagon—they know it’s bringing people in the door.” Richter’s Down the Road Tours is a receptive operator that offers tours and step-on service. Tour members get out LeisureGroupTravel.com
and walk to the gardens or just admire them from the bus. In order for travelers to view the patterns, gardens must be planted on a slant, not flat. These official quilt gardens must meet other standards set by a committee, which approves all designs. Gardens have to be a minimum size, accessible to the public and be maintained all season.
who developed a thornless rose, boasts structures and plantings from the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. In Shipshewana, Menno-Hof, a barn-like museum that tells the story of the Amish and Mennonites, features a quilt garden and mural. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays from May through October, tour groups can explore the
The flowers, all annuals that start from seed at local nurseries, range from petunias and zinnias to marigolds and dahlias; 80 percent of the space must be live plant material. Volunteers are responsible for planting and upkeep. Admission to all gardens is free. Richter said the gardens “are looking really pretty by the end of June,” with the peak period late July and early August. Her guides tell the story of each garden’s design and who planted it. A sign at the garden has the same information. Most of the gardens are located at points of tourist interest, such as Amish Acres in Nappanee, an historic Amish farmstead with exhibits, a theater, shops and a restaurant. Another is in Middlebury at Das Dutchman Essenhaus dining/shopping/lodging complex, where The Quilt Shop offers hands-on classes for tour groups. Das Dutchman Essenhaus, Indiana’s largest family-style restaurant, serves all-you-can-eat, Amish-style feasts and has a must-visit bakery. Krider Garden in Middlebury, started by a man
Shipshewana Flea Market, the Midwest’s largest flea market. At the Old Bag Factory in Goshen, a bag factory turned artisan shopping mecca, groups visit the log cabin shop of Quilt Designs, where Dave and Shirley Shenk can give a talk on the art of quilting. Shirley designs the adjacent quilt garden and mural. The new “Whirlwind Flag” quilt garden at the Elkhart County Courthouse in downtown Goshen gives
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Tour members admire the quilt garden in downtown Elkhart’s Central Park.
groups a chance to browse along Main Street and pop into shops and cafes. Across from the courthouse, a red-andwhite-striped awning marks the Olympia Soda Shop, an old-fashioned soda fountain complete with counter and straight-backed wooden booths. Attractions with quilt gardens in the city of Elkhart include Ruthmere, a 1910 mansion, and Wellfleet Botanic Gardens, a landscaped city park on the site of a former water treatment plant. Linton’s Enchanted Gardens is a garden shop with a quilt garden and themed display gardens. Classes in landscaping, garden care and flower arranging are available for groups. In Bristol groups can see the new “Flower Basket” quilt garden at the Elkhart County Historical Museum, then tour the museum, have a catered box lunch, and enjoy the “Stitches of Devotion” hands-on quilt program and a presentation by professional storytellers. The Elkhart County CVB has suggested quilt- and garden-themed itineraries for groups. The three-night “Quilt Gardens along the Heritage Trail” features gardens and murals, shopping stops, meetings with quilt experts, quilting and pretzel-making lessons, a theater performance and dinner with a cooking class on an Amish farm. Offering a palette of colors and palate-pleasing meals, Northern Indiana’s Amish Country is as cozy and comforting as snuggling under a country quilt. For tour planners, bringing groups there can easily become a pattern. For information, contact the Elkhart County CVB, 800-262-8161, quiltgardenstour.com or amishcountrytours.org. Email: sonya@amishcountry.org. LGT Obtain Indiana visitor guides and itineraries – and contact groupfriendly suppliers directly – at leisuregrouptravel.com/instant-info April 2011 43