Tourism Archives - Inspired Southerner

Birmingham mother takes family on exotic adventures during quarantine

May 2, 2020 By Kara Kennedy

Inspired Southerner Quarantine Travels — Brittany Todd Miller and her daughter sip on tea in London

Parents have had to come up with more ways than ever before to entertain their children during these uncertain times. Many families have also taken this time to become closer by learning new things together. A Birmingham, Alabama mother recently took things to a higher level and amazed friends and family with her adventures called the ‘Quarantine Travel series.’

Inspired Southerner Quarantine Travels to Italy — The Miller family first themed dinner was in Italy

No traveling during COVID-19

Brittany Todd Miller, a children’s party planner, used her creative ideas to help her husband, four-year-old daughter and one-year-old son experience imaginary and real-life exotic places during Alabama’s safer at home order. The quarantine travels also helped the family take their minds off of what is going on in the world with the COVID-19 virus.

“The ideas came to me when I was making spaghetti for dinner one night and calling it Italian night,” said Brittany, owner of Parties By B. “So, I called my husband and told him that since flights now are so cheap, that I went ahead and purchased some tickets to Italy and that I hope he didn’t mind. Of course, he didn’t believe me, but it did spark the idea to pretend like we were visiting Italy while eating dinner that night.”

Dinner in Italy, India, Japan and Arendelle

By the time her husband got home that night, she had set the stage with props, for a pretend plane ride, complete with clouds, cafe lights and she made a gondola. After visiting Italy, the family embarked on many adventures around and out of this world including, India, Japan, Arendelle (the fictitious town in Disney’s Frozen, and chosen by Miller’s four-year-old daughter), Outer Space and England. The destinations were chosen based on what she was cooking for dinner and what decorations she had on hand. She also created some of the decorations with lots of hot glue and spray paint. Each themed dinner exhibited Miller’s attention to detail.

Big Ben, London’s Tube and High Tea

Her most recent dinner in London was complete with a replica of Big Ben and a ride on London’s Tube. Simply put it was amazing.

“During this time in our life, community and world I believe that it is important to keep my family happy and safe. I’ve always loved themed parties and I used this family home time as an opportunity to use my gifts and make some fun family memories,” added Brittany.

Brittany’s daughter caught on to the travel fun immediately and loved the adventures as much as she did. Prior to ‘visiting’ or taking the adventure, the family learned something about each country or destination by watching YouTube videos and Disney movies. In addition, Brittany taught her daughter about each destination through activities themed crafts and coloring activities.

She goes on to say that some of her family chores took a backseat during this time but the most important thing is that it was a learning experience for her children and other family members. You can follow more of Brittany’s creative party ideas on Instagram at Parties By B.

Alabama design firm wins national awards for Bicentennial PastPort

December 18, 2019 By Kara Kennedy

Inspired Southerner PASTPORT — Tatum Design’s creative work for the PastPort wins local, regional and national awards

Tatum Design ‘s work for the Alabama Bicentennial PastPort initiative has earned 39 creative awards at the local, regional and national levels. To date, the PastPort has won 34 ADDY Awards, including four Golds and 20 Silvers at the local level, a “Best of Show” and five Gold regional ADDY Awards, and three Golds and one Silver at the 2018 American Advertising Award’s National ADDY competition in Chicago.

Award-winning PastPort Initiative

The PastPort brand and identity was the “Grand Prize Winner” and “Best of Region – South” at the 2018 HOW/PRINT Regional Design Awards and was selected to be featured in the prestigious 2020 Graphis Design Annual. Posters designed for the initiative will also be honored in the 2020 Graphis Poster Annual. The PastPort APP, which was designed by Tatum and programmed by MotionMobs, was showcased at this year’s Google Flutter Conference.

Tatum Design — The Alabama PastPort tells unique stories about the history of the state.

Alabama Travel and Tourism

The Alabama Bicentennial Commission reached out to Tatum four years ago to help create a collateral piece that would encourage travel throughout the state leading up to Alabama’s 200th anniversary. However, Tatum envisioned something much bigger. As an Alabama-based design firm, they wanted to create a multi-faceted initiative that would set the tone for the entire statewide celebration and bring Alabama history to life like never before.

Tatum Design PastPort — Tatum Design led the PastPort creative and won 39 design awards

History in the Making

Tatum’s goal was to celebrate every county in the state, big and small, equally. Inspired by historical people, places and events, Tatum named the initiative and crafted an immersive brand that would allow people of all ages to personally connect with Alabama history and chronicle their adventures at stamp sites within every county as they explored the state. Tatum wanted the PastPort book to serve as an educational resource, travel guide and commemorative keepsake.

Alabama PastPort — Travelers learn about Alabama’s history with the PastPort

Collaborating with Alabama Bicentennial

Tatum designed custom artwork and wrote lively narratives for all 67 counties and each of the state’s seven geographical regions. The curation of subject matter was a collaborative process between Tatum Design and the Alabama Bicentennial Commission, as well as state archivists, historians and the Encyclopedia of Alabama. The research was a vital part of Tatum’s creative process, guiding the narratives and inspiring the custom artwork Tatum created for the PastPort book.

“We wanted to tell the full, unbridled story, not just the familiar historical accounts we all learned in school,” said Wendy Tatum, Co-owner and Creative Director of Tatum Desig n. For the larger counties where well-known events took place, we dug deeper to bring the lesser-known details to light. While researching the smaller, more rural counties, we were led on adventures that uncovered more pieces of the puzzle and confirmed that every square inch of Alabama is uniquely fascinating, and every county plays an important role in the larger story of our state.”

The Creative Process

Prior to the implementation of the PastPort initiative, Tatum tested its concept through extensive visioning exercises and helped attract sponsors by designing prototypes to demonstrate how all of the brand touchpoints would work together. From conception to launch, the project took 18 months to complete and required the tireless dedication of Tatum’s entire creative team.

Tatum Design Alabama PastPort — Travelers are encouraged to get their PastPort stamped when visiting Alabama attractions

“This was a project that was close to our hearts,” said Travis Tatum, Co-owner and Executive Creative Director of Tatum Design. “Our team is extremely collaborative by nature and by design. As Alabamians and as creatives, we felt a deep sense of responsibility to capture the true spirit of our people, our land and our history. We are truly honored to have led the creative efforts of this monumental initiative, and we are humbled by the overwhelming recognition our firm has received from so many prestigious design competitions.”

For more information about Tatum Design, visit www.tatumdesign.com.

Nashville: Opryland’s A Country Christmas a tradition for 35 years

December 20, 2018 By Kara Kennedy

Opryland’s A Country Christmas has been wowing audiences for 35 years and this year’s event is bigger and better than ever with the addition of an indoor/outdoor water attraction.

[Read more…]

Walk in footsteps of the Civil Rights Movement with new tourism website

January 20, 2018 By Kara Kennedy

Visitors to the South can now literally walk the sacred ground of the Civil Rights movement with new U.S. Civil Rights Trail website launched on Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday. Tourists will have the opportunity to tour areas pertinent to the Civil Rights Movement from the schools in Topeka, Kansas that were part of the 1954 desegregation case decided in Brown vs. Board of Education to the Lincoln Memorial, where the march for equality took place in 1963.

Civil Rights Trail Inspired Southerner — Civil Rights Memorial, Montgomery, AL photo courtesy of CivilRightsTrail.com

The trail allows visitors to experience places where blacks died at the hands of opponents to desegregation and which are scattered across the Deep South. The courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi, where in 1955, two white men accused of murdering 14-year-old Emmett Till walked free. This courthouse has been restored, as has the Jackson, Mississippi home where voting-rights activist Medgar Evers was assassinated in 1963, just hours after President John Kennedy proposed major civil rights legislation. [Read more…] about Walk in footsteps of the Civil Rights Movement with new tourism website

Learning Science with the Best 6-Year Old I Know

April 19, 2017 By Kara Kennedy

I am always amazed at what captivates a child’s mind and attention. I took my six-year old niece to the McWane Science Center in downtown Birmingham yesterday, and although I had been there many times before, I had never really experienced it through the eyes of a child her age. She was mesmerized by all of the activities and opportunities for experiencing the center not even knowing it was really science she was experiencing. Even though I had to explain to her what some of the things were, she still got into the activities. We played tug of war, we road a bicycle to produce electricity, she pretended like she was looking for fossils in an archaeological dig site and she played in an “itty bitty city” complete with a farm and a cow that she could milk. She was so fascinated by the pretend grocery store and diner where she took my order for a sandwich and pizza. Of course the role she loved best was the check out clerk who rang up groceries on a cash register. She also liked the mirrors that distorted her face and body when she looked in them. She challenged me also to hit a target with a tennis ball by pulling a rope tied to a weighted ball.

It was also fun seeing her interact with other children who she didn’t know. She and a little girl decided to build a castle and play ground out of the building blocks provided in one area. Soon two little girls working together became three.

She barely ate lunch because she was having so much fun and I had fun watching her have fun. I am thrilled she had a chance to learn something and she didn’t even know it.

After playing for three hours, we ventured across the street to the new Pizitz Food Hall. I am still in awe of the transformation Birmingham is going through. Walking into the Food Hall and smelling aromas of the food and seeing how it is laid out really and truly made me feel like I was not in Birmingham, but then and stopped to catch myself and said “yes this is really in Birmingham. ” It’s a gorgeously renovated building. I was most excited to see Warby Parker, an eye glass store with a sustainable mission, as one of the retailers of the building. I purposefully took my Warby Parker glasses with me to have them adjusted, corny I know (they really did need adjusted), but it was my excuse to go in to meet the people and to see the store. Afterwards as promised, my niece and I got ice cream from Lichita’s a Food Hall tenant whose “paletas are reminiscent of southern Mexico and are created using fresh fruit and quality ingredients from farmers markets and local sources.” (From the Pizitz Food Hall website).

It was such a fun day with the best six-year old I know.