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 Over
the years that we have been running Wagon Trains RV
Tours, we have received many letters from small communities
asking us to bring a caravan or rally to their town.
One such town was Fort Stockton, Texas.
We took our winter rally there, and stayed at the
Fort Stockton KOA. We planned many of the events with
the KOA owners. The town was so happy to have us come
that they supplied a shuttle bus to bring our rally
guests into town to shop, and held a gala welcome
party for us. We also enjoyed a wine tour, cave tour,
a Texas dinner, breakfast, and many other events and
activities. This rally lasted five days and by the
time the dust had settled, the town informed us that
our group spent more than $10,000 there. Boy, can
those women shop!
Great rallies like that can easily
become annual events. For six years, we held an annual
rally in Southampton, Ontario on the weekend after
Labour Day. The town was looking for ways to extend
its tourist season and some members of the local business
committee, who happened to be campers, suggested hosting
an RV rally. The town subsequently contacted Wagon
Trains. We met with the town officials and began planning
the event, electing to park on the grounds that the
fair uses when it comes to town.
 Our
first rally was a big success – so big in fact that
the town of Southampton gave us more room the next
year to bring in more RVs. By our third year, we had
expanded from a weekend to four days, and had more
than 100 RVs in attendance.
The Southampton rally enjoyed such
success because of thorough planning and great local
facilities. The town made the local arena available
to us for our events, which was a big plus. But perhaps
even more importantly, our parking area was right
in town and only about three blocks from the downtown
core. This proximity to the shops and restaurants
made it enjoyable for our guests to simply stroll
down the street when they felt like going for an ice
cream, taking a shopping trip, or spending time sightseeing.
It was a neat arrangement that pleased rally guests
and local businesses alike...
(Read full story in the magazine)
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