Gaming the Ridgeline Craft Beverage Trail
Updated: Aug 13, 2021
We’re on the trail of some tasty beverages!
With the help of our partners at Bandwango, Gaston County Travel and Tourism has created a free game pass to promote the Ridgeline Craft Beverage Trail experience and the eight individual businesses that are part of it in both Gaston and Cleveland counties. The Ridgeline Craft Beverage Trail derives its name from the Ridgeline Trail that connects Crowders Mountain State Park across Gaston and Cleveland counties.
By signing up for the passport and simply visiting the businesses along the trail, users earn prize credits. This opportunity is open to local residents and visitors alike. Pass-holders checking in at six of the eight locations over the course of the year are rewarded with a custom Ridgeline Craft Beverage Trail baseball cap, produced and shipped on demand. Prizes are available while supplies last.
Credit tracking is accomplished using mobile device geo-location services, so there is no recordkeeping needed from our participating businesses. They can just continue to concentrate on providing the same great food and beverages and welcoming environments that Gaston County residents and visitors have come to enjoy. The overall goals we’re after are to help local businesses get more customers and profits and for visitors and local folks alike to explore and experience the best of our destinations.
As part of House Bill 1023 (the Corona Virus Relief Fund/Additions and Revisions), the North Carolina General Assembly created an appropriation to help eligible destination marketing organizations experiencing reduced ability to market their destinations, due to revenue loss. These North Carolina Tourism Promotion Grants were designed to help provide relief to and promote tourism in areas of the state most dependent on travel and tourism. The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina was tasked with disbursing these funds in consultation with the N.C. Travel Industry Association.
Gaston County Travel and Tourism’s Bandwango Passport program was made possible due to a second wave of CARES funding and another tourism promotion grant award. Bandwango has been powering tourism solutions throughout various stages of the pandemic recovery. In just the last nine months, they’ve launched more than 60 passes to support destinations around the country.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many of our area hospitality businesses have been affected. Given that previous rounds of grants went to assisting local holidays attractions in their recovery, we felt it appropriate to dedicate this wave of funding toward the brewers, distillers and vintners that have also been particularly hard-hit over the past nine months.
Go explore
In a place known for an extraordinarily broad array of outdoor recreation choices, there is no better way to wind down after your adventures than relaxing with friends and family on the comfortable patios, decks and landscapes found at our partner locations. Whether situated in one of our vibrant downtowns, along scenic riverbanks or framed by the gorgeous views of mountain peaks and rolling farmlands, you will want to see these perfect post-activity recovery spots for yourself. Several include live music, full menus, food trucks and other events. But at each, you’ll enjoy warm smiles and welcoming interactions with staffers and fellow patrons.
From east to west, here are the businesses comprising our trail; all produce beverages right on location––the one qualifier needed to be listed on the Ridgeline Craft Beverage Trail:
Muddy River Distillery
1500 River Drive, Ste. 100, Belmont, NC 28012
Primal Brewery
Belmont, 52 Ervin St., Belmont, NC 28012
Jekyll & Hyde Taphouse and Grill
10 Catawba St., Belmont, NC 28012
Cavendish Brewing
207 N. Chester St., Ste. 2234, Gastonia, NC 28052
Ole Dallas Brewery
136 Durkee Lane, Dallas, NC 28034
Veronet Vineyards and Winery
1549 Ike Brooks Drive, Kings Mountain, NC 28086
Baker Buffalo Creek Vineyard and Winery
3521 Fallston-Waco Road, Lawndale, NC 28090
Newgrass Brewing Company
213 S. Lafayette St., Shelby, NC 28150
Get playing
The Bandwango Destination Experience Engine is a groundbreaking destination marketing and commerce platform that redefines the relationship between people and places.
Bandwango’s craft beer and taproom passports allow patrons to discover and enjoy the best breweries without the stress of planning or overpaying. Bandwango’s wine-tasting passports and vineyard tours deliver the enchantment of the vine directly to travelers and local patrons alike.
With the Ridgeline Craft Beverage Trail, Gaston County and Bandwango have combined the best of both of these passports and then added a distillery to it!
Sign up and/or review additional information about this program at www.explore.gogastonnc.org.
