Case Study: Pinehurst Barbecue Festival
The Situation
Pinehurst Resort is looking to expand their demographic reach beyond the social golf and meetings market. This has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic that halted business travel in 2020. At the same time, Tarheel Communications Solutions and its sister company Tarheel Festivals were looking for new events due to the extended pause in their daily business and client activities.
The Opportunity
The opportunity was there to create new partnered events that would assist Pinehurst as a client with generating new business/”heads-in-beds,” and create event opportunities for Tarheel Festivals. The focus is on building unique multi-day events that could be hosted outdoors, operated safely as required by government health regulators, that could route to the various Pinehurst Resort and Village of Pinehurst properties.
The Solution
Tarheel Communications Solutions and Tarheel Festivals launched the Pinehurst Barbecue Festival, which is scheduled for Labor Day weekend 2021. The event, which is a celebration of taste and tradition will generate room nights at the resort during a historically slow weekend and attract a different demographic customer to the area. The event will be owned and operated by Tarheel Festivals, which currently operates the Festival D’Avion at the Moore County Airport in April. Tarheel Festivals will use this new event as an opportunity to partner with the Pinehurst-Southern Pines-Aberdeen Area Convention & Visitors Bureau as their preferred community event agency.
The Pinehurst Barbeque Festival will be a three-day event offering a unique collection of special events/activities, vendor displays, food and beverage options and entertainment for the entire family to enjoy. The event will feature the best of North Carolina barbecue from “Pitmaster to Plate,” highlighting the perpetual battle of Eastern and Western styles of tradition and flavor.