n the ebook the 66 Hobby and Craft Niches Ideas Group Dynamic events are
perm haps the most lively with the greatest amount of participants. Most
cities would have the potential for these activities. Safety should be
an important criterion in determining if any of these or other similar
activities are viable.
The Goddess Within by Allison L. Williams Hill
In light of the current health emergency, consider uploading a virtual tour for at-home participants. Create the opportunity of allowing them to connect with each other. The noise of crowds, comments from participants would give the feel of being with others and minimize the feeling of isolation.
Some of these hobbies translate into revenue generating activities. Most of them require study, that is, a significant amount of time is required to learn about the subject.
Manhattan Moon by Allison L. Williams Hill
Walking tours can include
• cemeteries,
• historic buildings or districts,
• a specific building typology like theaters, book stores
• retail places that have had a previous life like Depression Era safe houses for contraband, and
• unique resources.
Walking
tours can be organized around items or objects that people have an
interest in or, for the daring, subjects people think people would be
interested in but did not know it until they actually heard about the
activity. It is actually no different from “selling the sizzle.”
Interesting
facts attract customers and make it worth their while to mention the
walk to other people who may become your future customers. All of these
require research if you wish the endeavor to be requested and
successful.
Orangeburg, South Carolina Cemetery by Allison L. Williams Hill
Research who is actually buried there. Related history or storytelling would be an entertaining aspect of the tour. Depending on the cemetery, people can make rubs of the headstones. Some create mounted art pieces from these. Photos of stonework could be used for needlework motifs; clip art, or actual displayed art work.
This walk could focus on the architects and the buildings designed and constructed within a specific architectural design period: Federal; Romanesque, International, or modern.
Theater District NYC 1 by Allison L. Williams Hill
Self-explanatory and more exciting when actual lives, public and private, of actors are intertwined.
Beacon Theater NYC by Allison L. Williams Hill
SV Soul Portrait by Allison L. Williams Hill
This walking tour could be focused anywhere there are paranormal activities. There are many cable shows available for streaming filmed across the US, which is, in itself, interesting that this subject is as popular as it is. I wrote a blog piece on this called "Ghost Shows." This is not for the faint of heart.
My friend cleaned an office space and heard voices reminding her of where she left the cleaning products she would need to continue her work.
We have been trained to trust our physical eyes so much that an encounter with an unseen energy throws us off. We feel vulnerable and ineffective because we can't see the cause.
I
hope that a database of folklore; historic events, and paranormal
activity will be developed. This should include mapped data (ARCview was
an excellent software I learned in the British Virgin Islands to create
planning maps) for users to evaluate the information.
Tours could include exploring natural coastlines or the early maritime industry. There are museums that document the growth of population areas around harbors but walking along these areas is another experience. Commerce and other land use development are worthwhile points to see and comprehend about urban growth and development.
Baltimore Harbor, Maryland has a model ship that can be explored (below). The South Street Seaport on the east side of Manhattan island and the Hudson Rive Pier on the west side of Manhattan are great places to execute your own special tour. All of these places have places for eat and chill out to enjoy the ambience the developments were created to provide.
Baltimore, MD Harbor by Allison L. Williams Hill
The agricultural industry within cities may shed interesting light on how food is shipped to urban areas with high densities and how the process is supported to ensure an adequate amount of meat, in particular, makes it from the growers to the consumers.
Some herbalists are already doing this with Chinese herbs. This could be expanded to include other cultures’ applicable remedies and places to obtain the products.
Excellent opportunity for those involved with the health field (like myself) to instruct people about the importance of organic vegetables and fruits and discuss directly with the farmer exactly how to prepare them, store them, and any other question attendees may have had but did not know who to ask. Recipes could be circulated. Updates could be posted on a membership web site to which payment for the tour provides life-long access.
Nationalities, for various reasons, move in and out of areas. Of particular interest are the occupations during the very first settlements up to the modern industrial era.
This walk can “follow the money.”
Wall Street: In New York, Wall Street was the site of vastly different uses and activities. There are publications with maps that show what existed on its streets during past centuries. During constructions phases of various new developments, much was unearthed, some displayed, and some lost. The political, racial, and economic aspects of bringing these past neighborhoods up into the light of study and preservation made it clear who and what was important.
When the government decided to do something about the growing number of alcoholics, the people did what they thought was needed to preserve what they wanted.
The
response to the Prohibition was a grassroots method that elevated small
business development to an unprecedented level. Production and the
conveyance of the product is a study of “if you really want it, think of
clever ways to create it and get it out there.”
I learned from my sister-friend who was born in the south that the race car industry has its roots in Prohibition.
The Underground Railroad practically
crosses every state. It could make for interesting storytelling with
real accounts of its use; facilitators, and the enslaved people who made
it to freedom.
The maps; the routes, and how they were crossed can be over-layed by the modern Department of Transportation roadways just as Indigenous People's trails were integrated into the same system.
A good thing about this tour is that if the distance between candy stores and bakeries are far enough you may walk off some of the calories.
Where the Best Toy Shops Are
Toys have been a lucrative and sentimental subject for collectors. As a walking tour, it falls into the same category as antiquing. Organize visits to modern stores and forecast what will be valuable in the future.
Visits to second hand shops, antique and country stores, already scouted, may yield treasures or resources for attendees.
Antiques tours attract many. Car and bus schedules bring people regularly to small towns, villages, and small urban establishments to look at or purchase products for customers, interiors, or other interests. A lot of printed material already exists directing those interested to the best “finds.” With toys and antiques, it is best to be knowledgeable: be aware of and alert to scams.
One was seen comprised of cruise ship travelers who rode through Tortola, British Virgin Islands. The group may have disembarked at each destination on the cruise to ride through the streets of each island’s city.
This could be a tour or a course. My sister is the Consummate Shopper,
adequately capitalized. She always thought of me when she shopped, long
before her children were born. After their births, through every growth
spurt. she had images of what clothes to dress them in, what styles they
liked and a mind like a steel trap collecting garments; what fabrics
they were made of, colors, and prices from an incredible number of
stores. She had a bomber jacket in mind for her son. She saw it at many
stores. She selected the place she was going to buy it at. She is the
kind of person to lead such a tour.
She drove us to Tanger
Outlet on Long Island in New York. To eliminate the long round trip,
arrangement with a car service for a small bus size vehicle to transport
parents and children. Purchases would be color coded or marked by the
families so they can be distributed at the final destination. I would
suggest scouting a great, family-accommodating restaurant for a nice
sit-down meal as a part of the shopping tour. Shopping is a lot of
walking, standing, and waiting-in-line. Take-out would not do because
Mom would most likely be the one ordering it.