Southwest Virginia is a place chock full of historic locations, whether they be natural or man-made. Depending on where you’re from, you may already have a good bit of knowledge when it comes to the historic locales in your area. But many of our historic locations have fallen by the wayside, forgotten in favor of new, more contemporary locations.
The Town of Pulaski hopes to provide some answers to this dilemma at Revitalization Revival: A Big Tent Approach to Preservation. Revitalization Revival is a two day conference that will be held at various historic locations throughout the Town, beginning today and ending tomorrow evening. Across the event, nationally recognized speakers will be delivering remarks on a variety of topics with the overarching message of preserving Southwest Virginia’s historic resources.
The main focus is historic preservation, with conference sessions addressing several key sub-issues including how our cultural and economic assets influence our ability to focus on preservation and vice versa. Without a healthy economy and an understanding of our culture in the grand scheme of things, Southwest Virginia communities will find it difficult to optimize their preservation goals in the long term. Along with multiple sessions, conference goers can also look forward to several walking tours of downtown Pulaski as well as a Preservation Trade Show that will conclude the event on Thursday evening.
The importance of the Revitalization Revival conference can’t be understated; Southwest Virginia is in desperate need of a revival. Many of our landmark locations and destinations are fading and dilapidated, sitting vacant for years. Without recognizing the need to adapt to the rapid changes of today’s society, our region may be left behind when the next big boom hits our economy.
With over 125 visitors from around Southwest Virginia attending, we hope Revitalization Revival will be the catalyst that ignites the desire for improvement across the region. If you’d like more info on the conference and the schedule of events, you can check our page here.