Pat Coldiron of Liberty House Bed and Breakfast stamps a passport. Liberty House and the Red Path Gallery and Tasting Room, both in Seward, are both featured on this summer’s passport tours, developed by the Nebraska Tourism Commission.
Two local businesses are featured on this year’s Nebraska Passport, a program designed by the Nebraska Tourism Commission (NTC) to bring visitors to sites around the state.
Liberty House Bed and Breakfast and the Red Path Gallery and Tasting Room, both in Seward, are featured this year.
Pat Coldiron, owner of Liberty House, described being on the passport as a perfect opportunity to bring people to Seward. The bed and breakfast is on the Chill and Chat tour. As the owner, one of her tasks is to share the history of her business and the house it occupies with her guests.
“You have to be genuine, and you have to like it,” she said. “It’s such an opportunity.
“We have some who come just to stay and see the town.”
When Liberty House was part of the tour last summer, Coldiron said, she saw an increase in visitors because of the passport program.
“Kudos to the department for putting it together,” Coldiron said.
This summer is also Jeanne Wiemer’s second time on the passport. Her first time was as the proprietor of Innermaker Bed and Breakfast.
She’s excited to be on the passport again with the Red Path Gallery and bring people to Seward. The gallery is part of the I Love Art tour.
As a lifelong resident of Seward, Wiemer loves being able to share her town with everyone. Visitors to the gallery will be able to see the local artwork on display, as well as learn about the business. There are also chances to meet the artists themselves, she said.
“The gallery is a place to share creativity,” she said.
With two stops in Seward on the tours, Wiemer said the passport program shows that Seward is pretty active in bringing people to town.
Hundreds of Nebraska businesses apply to be included on the passport, said Angela White of the NTC. An internal committee then narrows the applicants to 80 and creates tour themes based around the businesses.
Sometimes the theme grows out of the applications. For example, one of last year’s tours dealt with children’s attractions because there were so many related applicants.
White said the NTC tries to include some sort of history in its tours.
She said some applications come from places the NTC staff has never heard of, which makes things more interesting for them. Before putting a site on a tour, though, a member of the NTC staff visits to see what it is.
“We put a lot of effort in this,” she said.
This year’s tours are Play Nice, I Love Art, One of a Kind, Yummy Tummy, Chill and Chat, Sauce and Cycles, Crazy Confections, Only in Nebraska, Happy Heart and Nebraska Legends.
White said they try to include different businesses each year, although some, like the state capitol, are regulars.
Now in its sixth year, the passport program is an unusual tourism draw.
“There are not a lot of states that do it or to the level that we do,” White said.
This year, the NTC is adding an app for smart phones.
More than 19,000 people participate during the program, which runs from May through September.
Passports are available for free at both Liberty House and Red Path.
