Heritage Area Announces Annual Autumn Glory Turkey Trail

As part of the 53rd Annual Autumn Glory Festival, the Mountain Maryland Gateway to the West Heritage Area is once again celebrating the event’s roots by promoting area turkey dinners through the Turkey Trail.

The Turkey Trail features a local map along with a listing of local turkey dinners served in our region. Information includes food items served, pricing, location and hours of operation. The map and turkey dinner listings may be found online by October 2 at garrettheritage.com/turkey-trail—local-dinners or at the Garrett County Visitors Center. To be included in the listing, restaurants and organizations are requested to submit a form by September 30. The form can be found online at garrettheritage.com/turkey-trail—local-dinners.

“We are excited to promote the Turkey Trail tool for our visitors and residents to easily locate the local turkey dinners that are part of Autumn Glory and celebrate our heritage with a tasty tradition. People can attend multiple turkey dinners over the course of the five-day celebration,” said Kim Folk, Heritage Area & Groups Director for the Garrett County Chamber.

More than a decade before the Autumn Glory Festival became an annual event a group of local turkey growers organized and promoted community turkey dinners to promote their livelihood. The idea of a large festival was later developed to attract visitors to the area which led to the creation of the Autumn Glory Festival. Today, the festival welcomes approximately 80,000 attendees during the festival weekend. Activities include parades, band competitions, craft shows and so much more.

“The turkey dinners are as big a tradition as the fall foliage,” said Nicole Christian, president & CEO of the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce. “They have been occurring for more than six decades and we are pleased that we are able to officially incorporate them into the festival through our heritage area program.”

Questions about the Turkey Trail may be directed to Kim Folk at 301.387.5238 or email kim@garrettchamber.com.