Monticello playing 'Finders Keepers' with glass float hunt
Jul. 6—Everyone knows it feels good to float on Lake Cumberland. But how about a float on dry land?
Decorative float are going up all over Wayne County as an effort to promote tourism, art and some of the area's greatest natural resources as part of "The Great Fishing Float Find."
The Monticello/Wayne County Tourist Commission partnered with Matthew Cummings — a native of Albany, Ky. — at Pretentious Glass in Knoxville, Tennessee, to create 50 hand-blown glass globes, which look to replicate Japanese fishing floats in a nod to this area's well-established fishing and lake traditions.
The tourist commission places floats in strategic, beautiful Wayne County locations. They then post cryptic clues on social media pages about where to find the globes. Those who find one of these unique works of art are allowed and encouraged to keep it.
"It is so exciting to see the engagement in our Finders Keepers Initiative," said Seth Rice, Monticello/Wayne County Tourist Commission's Executive Director. "We get the chance to welcome so many new people to our area and welcome back others that might have forgotten about these special places."
Emily Porter, social media marketing director for the Monticello/Wayne County Tourist Commission, said that about half of the globes have been hidden over the last few weeks, with another 25 yet to be placed. The activity will likely last for another couple of weeks.
"Usually we try to hide one a day," she said. "On the Fourth of July, we hid more than that because we had a lot of tourists in town."
Finding the globes means you've found more than a cheap bauble — these are works of hand-blown glass, similar to pieces that might be very expensive in an art boutique.
"They are not cheap; (Cummings) got very excited about the project and gave us a great price on the globes," said Porter, noting that they're "worth far more" than what her group had to pay for them. "He'll sell a beer glass for $70, so his work is not cheap, but he was excited about this project and wanted to give back to a community close to his hometown. So he was very generous to work with us on this project."
The Tourist Commission seeks to spark new interest in Wayne County locations that may be less popular — but no less beautiful — than Lake Cumberland.
Public reaction to the project has been "overwhelming," said Porter.
"We were hoping it would be an exciting thing not just for tourists but also for locals who might be able to discover new places in our community that they didn't know existed," she said. "I think that has been the biggest success. A lot of times, you'll see comments in our Facebook posts from people saying, 'I've lived here my whole life and had no idea this scenic area existed.'"
Porter said that she hid a float on Monday, "and someone was there within two minutes to get it," showing how involved the public is with the project.
"People are monitoring this really closely," she noted.
Those interested in participating may find fresh clues daily on Facebook @theheartoflakecumberland and Instagram @livelakecumberland.
"Wayne County has so much to offer, so please, come see for yourself," said Rice. "Happy hunting!"
