We are in the midst of our 30 Stories for 30 Years interview series, in celebration of our 30th anniversary at the Ottawa Visitors Center! We’re meeting with former board members, and some others, to reminisce and ponder the future. Our birthday celebration is set for April 24th. This entry features Marybeth LeSeure, president of the OVC Board. She got us started with a brief introduction.

“So I’m currently the president of the Visitor Center Board. I was the vice president. And I’ve been on the board for around 10 years.”

The ins and outs of tourism can mean a lot of different things to different people – that’s part of what makes it so great. We first discussed what tourism, in relation to Ottawa, means to Marybeth.

“Tourism is the future of Ottawa,” she said.

“I don’t think that we’re going to have any, manufacturing. I don’t think that’s going to be a thing. We’ve got stuff out along 80, the hubs and all that. The Amazon, that kind of thing, but tourism is what’s going to bring people to Ottawa, spend their money. Hopefully, some of those people will relocate to Ottawa. So, we have to keep Ottawa on the forefront. It’s a nice, short getaway for a lot of people in the city, Peoria, Quad Cities,” Marybeth explained.

Ottawa’s been a hot spot for ages, whether it’s for history, nature, excitement, and more. We’re the Middle of Everywhere for a reason. It’s clear that the future is full of possibilities, especially here in Ottawa!

There’s a lot to cover when looking back over 30 years of tourism. We asked Marybeth about her thoughts on how tourism has changed and evolved throughout the years in Ottawa.

“I think tourism has grown a lot in the last 10 years, and even prior to that. I think the city has done a good job with the sprucing up of the downtown, encouraging restaurants and so on. So that our destination has a lot of variety for people,” she explained. “People gripe about the bump-outs, but when you look at a picture of our downtown… It’s so beautiful, in the summer when it’s all in bloom and everything.”

The splendor of historic downtown Ottawa serves as a gorgeous backdrop to any trip downtown, especially when adorned with summer plants. Summer events in Ottawa’s downtown area are especially enhanced.

These events and attractions are essential aspects of tourism. Ottawa has a wide variety of iconic examples of both. We asked Marybeth if she could single out a favorite.

“I’ll go with the Festival of Lights Parade. I know that’s a big one. We especially enjoyed it when my kids were little. And now I have a grandson, so hopefully he will enjoy it as well. He better,” she joked.

The Festival of Lights is a long beloved event, by locals and tourists alike. It’s been held for around 40 years! Not every event has stuck around this long though. We asked Marybeth her thoughts on the return of any old events or the like.

“I think about Welcome Burger when I was in my 20s, and it was out of Pit Sticks, and it was a blast. That’s never going to happen again. I mean, it’s just not. Those are fond memories, and I know when Pit Sticks changed ownership, people were like, ‘Oh!’ and I was the same way. I’m like, ‘Oh, that would be great. I mean, times change, and you have to change with the times. There are a lot of good memories for some events, but they’re not something that we could do, that would work today,” Marybeth explained.

There have been plenty of exciting events throughout Ottawa’s history. We look back fondly on those, and can’t wait to see what else the community will continue to think of! To close out our interview, we started looking to the future and thinking ahead. Marybeth gave us some thoughts regarding tourism’s future in the Middle of Everywhere.

“We don’t want to lose the small town touch, but we have to keep growing and moving forward to keep tourism growing and moving forward,” she said.

Many thanks to Marybeth! Tag along with us for more interviews as we continue to celebrate 30 Years in the Middle of Everywhere!