Voices DVD Wins Heritage Tourism Award

On Thursday, March 26, The Voices of Drayton Hall: An Interactive Landscape Tour on DVD received the South Carolina Historic Preservation Award for Heritage Tourism, given by The Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation, the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, and the Office of the Governor.  Executive Director George McDaniel and Director of Museum Interpretation Craig Tuminaro were on-hand at a ceremony in Columbia to receive the award.

(From L to R) Executive Director George McDaniel and Scott English, chief of staff for Governor Mark Sanford, hold Drayton Hall’s Heritage Tourism Award, with Director of Museum Interpretation Craig Tuminaro and Rodger Stroup, director of the SC Department of Archives and History.

The award was given to recognize the innovative method the Voices DVD uses to tell the story of Drayton Hall’s complex and in many ways, vanished, landscape, a challenge faced by many historic sites and communities.  The project was designed to serve as a model that those sites and towns could employ to tell their stories in an engaging and compelling manner without adding staff, building wayside panels, or through other more traditional ways.

Since its launch over a year ago, hundreds of people have taken the opportunity to learn more about Drayton Hall’s landscape through the Voices tour, and even more have taken the tour “from home.”  Click here to visit PreservationNation and see a clip of The Voices of Drayton Hall on YouTube.  You can also order a copy from Drayton Hall’s website.   Of course the best way to experience the program is through an on-site rental.  We would also love to hear what you think, if you have used the DVD on-site, or have ideas on other ways we could improve the way we tell the story of the landscape.  Just leave us a comment.

Also in the works– The Voices of Drayton Hall: The iPhone application. Stay tuned!