Working on the rebranding and new website for Halifax County Tourism (currently under development) has reminded me of what a nice place this is to visit or live in. I know I'm biased, but the truth is that we have a wider variety of things to do and places to eat than most places with a much higher population.

Currently the Tourism website is really mostly a directory of businesses. The organization has never had the manpower or budget to develop content, so the site didn't do the area justice. In addressing that issue through this redevelopment, I'm continually discovering things about my home county that I had either forgotten or never knew about.

Just goes to show that "Discover Halifax" is the perfect name for the Tourism Deparment's marketing initiatives, because there's always something new to discover! Keep an eye out for upcoming social media campaigns that center around discovering Halifax; I'm hoping you'll open my eyes to even more unique things about the area.

Look for the new site and brand to be unveiled in a couple of weeks, along with two new features being added to the Visitors Center.

Here are just a few photos of things to do around the county. How many have you done? Did you know you can even take cheese making classes?

Glerin recently designed the poster for the 33rd Annual Virginia Cantaloupe Festival and brought a whole new look to the event.

Working with the Halifax County Chamber of Commerce, our goal was to start a new tradition of a collectible poster for all festival years beginning with 2013. This year's design has fun with changes in schedule and location from past years.

The festival is being moved to Berry Hill Resort, bringing back memories of the beautiful rolling hills that we enjoyed during the first years when it was originally held in Turbeville. Scheduling a month earlier to avoid the thunderstorms that have plagued past years resulted in a bit of local controversy since Halifax cantaloupes won't be ripe until the next month.

Never fear, though, because each festival-goer will receive a voucher good for one free cantaloupe from local growers.

After throwing around many concepts, we decided to go in a totally different direction than the festival had ever been and, having some fun with the controversy, went with the theme "The Melons Are Coming!"

The design team drew inspiration from old sci-fi movies and "The War of the Worlds" radio drama.

Hope to see you at LopeFest on June 7, 2013!

Continuing our annual tradition, we designed our Christmas card in-house.  This year's card was designed by Erin Kipps Brown, and the front is touched off by cotton to create 3d clouds.

We hope you have a wonderful holiday, and here's to a great 2013!