Domestic and international visitors to and within Bladen County spent $51.57 million in 2022. The data comes from an annual study commissioned by Visit North Carolina, a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.

According to Terri Dennison, Executive Director of the Elizabethtown – White Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, while this amount is 9.4% lower that expenditures from 2021, when Bladen County saw a drastic 54% increase from the prior year; it still represents a 14% increase over pre-pandemic numbers.

READ MORE>>

Brown's Creek Bike Park and Nature Trail is drawing a lot of attention as one of the best mountain bike parks in North Carolina, Dave Ellegood, former president of Cape Fear SORBA, told the crowd gathered for the August Chamber Member Breakfast Meeting. SORBA in partnership with the Town of Elizabethtown has expanded the park to 17 miles of trail and hopes to add 2 more miles of beginners' trail by the end of the year. The park also hosts 2 races within the CCORS race series; the first of which coincides with Elizabethtown's 250th Anniversary on September 23.  Ellegood said not only does the Park have an economic benefit of bringing lots of riders to our area that spend money at our stores; it has also been proven that access to trails helps to boost property values of their host communities.

READ BLADEN ON-LINE ARTICLE >>

For many years, we have been working with NC DOT to place Logo signs at the HWY 701 interchange on the 87 Bypass. AND they are ready to make that happen. Application forms will be available shortly. These signs will promote food, lodging, gas and attractions. To find our more, plan to attend the informational meeting on Tuesday, September 24 at the 9AM in the Farmers Market.