COVERED BRIDGE PASSPORT PROGRAM
The Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau is pleased to announce a brand new mobile passport initiative featuring the historic covered bridges of Columbia & Montour Counties. The passport program is free to sign up and encourages both visitors from outside the region and locals alike to get out and experience the area’s 25 covered bridges. Once signed up, program participants will be emailed a customized link that will grant them access to the passport dashboard. No mobile app or download is needed; the program operates in a mobile friendly web-based platform. The passport program was created to encourage a continued appreciation of the area’s wooden treasures. “When considering we have one-eighth of Pennsylvania’s remaining covered bridges right here in our two county region, it’s pretty impressive”, remarked Shane Kiefer, Director of Marketing for the Columbia- Montour Visitors Bureau. “People certainly will think of going to Lancaster County to see Pennsylvania covered bridges, but with twenty-five bridges in our area, we have the third-most in the United States, just slightly behind Lancaster County and Parke County, Indiana.” Coveredbridges are symbols of simpler days, andof quiet time spent in the countryside. Sometimes known as “kissing bridges”, covered bridges were often a location for courting couples to meet. Many adults who grew up near a covered bridge will also fondly recall memories of days spent fishing under the bridge’s wooden planks, or long summer days with their childhood friends playing in the stream. “These bridges are quite simply a fond memory for many people, and we wanted to remind everyone of just how special it is to have so many preserved bridges in our backyard,” Kiefer said. Finding a fond memory on the journey isn’t the only benefit of completing the new passport trail’s check-in
stops, however; travelers who score at least 13 check-ins will bemailed a free embroidered patch commemorating their journey in the counties. And for those enterprising users, a completed passport with 25 check-ins will get them an entry into a year-end grand prize drawing for a $750 gift card to the Inn, Farmhouse, & Brewing Company at Turkey Hill in Bloomsburg. Another added benefit will be the knowledge that participants’ visits will be counting toward continued preservation of the bridges. After a milestone goal is hit with check-ins, the Visitors Bureau plans to coordinate a $50,000 donation to the Columbia County Covered Bridge Association in 2022 to make significant restorations on the Stillwater Covered Bridge. To begin a journey using the new passport, interested participants should visit: iTourColumbiaMontour.com/cb-passport to find more details about the new passport, see which bridges are on the trail, and get signed up. After receiving the email, travelers can begin their adventure to the various covered bridges throughout the counties. Once nearby one of the included bridges, users will select that bridge from the dashboard menu
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