By Tina Coleman, Southern Delaware Tourism

Southern Delaware Tourism (SDT) is collaborating with Sussex County arts and entertainment and history and heritage tourism partners to promote Arts Around Our Towns and Fall for History, a three-month celebration of Sussex County’s vibrant arts and history offerings to take place this September, October and November.

These promotions are aimed at encouraging visitors to extend their fall weekend stays in order to take advantage of the many arts- and history-focused festivals and events, tours and attractions during the autumn months.

Southern Delaware’s natural beauty and laid-back vibe have attracted a large and very talented population of artists, artisans, crafters and performers for decades, ensuring that the visual and performing arts flourish here throughout multiple venues across the county – from the Atlantic Ocean to the Nanticoke River – all year round.

“Our area has long been a hotbed for artists of all kinds and that’s abundantly evident from the quality and quantity of arts and entertainment options available here year-round,” said Scott Thomas, Southern Delaware Tourism’s executive director. “This promotion gives us the opportunity to highlight our partners’ incredible work and to encourage visitors to include the arts when they’re making their Southern Delaware travel plans.”

Southern Delaware museums, attractions, events and tours spotlight Native American, agricultural, maritime and military, natural, industrial, architectural, social, aviation and railroad history.

Sussex County’s charming towns each have their own fascinating tales – war stories, tales of political intrigue, stories of pirates and shipwrecks and buried booty, and even some tales that listeners might prefer not to hear after dark.

“Our area has a rich history dating back to well before the colonial period that visitors and even many locals are not aware of. Our Fall for History promotion gives us the opportunity to work with our partners to highlight this history and all of the heritage assets that we’re so fortunate to enjoy throughout Sussex County,” said Thomas.

In conjunction with tourism partners, SDT has consolidated arts and entertainment-related events and history-related events scheduled for the fall months onto their Arts Around Our Towns and Fall for History webpages allowing visitors to mix and match festivals, concerts, events, performances, tours and more when planning their visits. The webpages can be found at visitsoutherndelaware.com/arts-around-our-towns and visitsoutherndelaware.com/fall-for-history.

“This is a great way to remind our visitors and local residents that fabulous arts and entertainment and fascinating history are always in reach,” said Thomas.