Each year, the Visitors Bureau holds a photo contest to produce a 500-piece puzzle featuring one of the area covered bridges. Limited-edition puzzles have been produced the past six years and have featured the East & West Paden bridges (2 times), the Knoebels Bridge, Keefer Mills Bridge, Esther Furnace Bridge, and most recently, the Stillwater Bridge.

The 2017 photo contest is now open. Individuals who have photos of one of the counties’ 25 covered bridges are encouraged to submit them for a chance to have their photo featured as the 2017 Covered Bridge Puzzle. Each photographer is permitted to submit up to FOUR of their covered bridge photographs. All entries will be judged primarily on their superior quality, composition, and lighting. Photos from all four seasons are encouraged.

Entries can be emailed to Shane Kiefer, Director of Marketing at skiefer@cmvb.com. No entries will be accepted after June 1st. Photos should be high quality and should be no smaller than 1000 x 1000 pixels. Submitted photos should be labeled as follows: LastName_BridgeName_2017.jpg. The overall winner and several honorable mentions will be announced following the final submission deadline. Email with further questions.

Have you longed to see many of the nineteenth-century covered bridges Columbia County has to offer, but didn’t want to travel off the beaten path alone?  If you are looking for a delightful and informative day touring our historic covered bridges, please join the Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau for its fourth annual Covered Bridge Bus Tour on Saturday, May 20^th.

Hop on the bus at the Visitors Bureau office at 121 Papermill Road in Bloomsburg to begin a historical adventure. Guests can unwind as the guided ride meanders through the picturesque Central Pennsylvania countryside to visit 13 of the area’s covered bridges.  Symbols of small-town America, these covered bridges coax travelers off the beaten path to explore little streams and forgotten dirt roads. At each stop, there will be opportunities for leisurely exploration and for taking photographs. Enjoy a picnic lunch provided by the Visitors Bureau at one of the only two twin covered bridges in the United States.

The entire outing costs $25 per person. The tour will begin at 9:30 a.m. and end around 3:30 p.m. back at the Visitors Bureau. For more information about the Covered Bridge Bus Tour or to reserve your spot on the bus, please call the Visitors Bureau Welcome Center at 570-784-8279. Seats sell out quickly, so do not wait until the last minute to reserve.

The Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau believes that tourism is critical to the economic well-being of the region and will continue to market, promote and support our local communities.  In recent years, the tourism industry generated $4.2 billion in state and local taxes.  Tourism benefits all Pennsylvanians… a successful tourism industry generates enough taxes for the Commonwealth’s budget to reduce the tax liability of each household by $855 each year.

For more information about the Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau, and all the things to see and do in the area, please visit www.iTourColumbiaMontour.com or like them on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/iTourCM.

PRIZE BASKET WINNERS ANNOUNCED! All winners have been notified with a separate email. Congratulations, and thanks to all who participated this year – we hope everyone had a great time.

Colonel Ricketts Hard Cider – Melanie, Danville
Elk Mountain Winery Outlet at Stoney Acres – Tammy, Milton
Freas Farm Winery – Nicole, Orangeville
O’Donnell Winery, L.L.C. – Jamie, Northumberland
Pickering Winery – Orangeville Location – Debbie, Berwick
Red Shale Ridge Vineyards in Danville – Audrey, Bloomsburg
Shade Mountain Winery & Vineyards in Danville – Lisa, Northumberland
Three Dogs Vino – Ruthann, Scranton
GRAND PRIZE WINNER – Cindy, Elysburg

A Wine & Chocolate Trail is currently happening at participating Columbia and Montour county wineries, from now until February 19th. The occasion makes for a perfect day trip or weekend excursion for sweethearts or groups of friends. What’s more romantic than discovering a new favorite red or white paired with delectable chocolates?

Trail travelers are also eligible to win one of nine prize baskets if they visit all eight participating wineries during the specified period. Each winery will be offering a gift basket and will also donate a bottle of wine to be placed into one grand prize basket. There is no cost to participate in this event, but tasting fees may apply depending on the winery. To get started, simply pick up a free wine and chocolate ticket at the first winery you visit. You’ll need to fill out half the ticket and turn it in to the winery right away. Next, travel to each subsequent winery with the other half of the ticket. Enjoy the exquisite wine and chocolate pairings as you go and be sure to get your ticket stamped at each winery. At your last winery visit, turn in the completed ticket and be entered to win one of the nine fantastic prize baskets.

All wineries will be open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays during the duration of the event, in addition to normal posted hours. Please visit individual wineries’ websites for their hours of operation.

Participating wineries are: Colonel Ricketts Hard Cider Winery, Elk Mountain Winery Outlet at Stoney Acres, Freas Farm Winery, O’Donnell Winery LLC, Pickering Winery, Red Shale Ridge Vineyards, Shade Mountain Winery & Vineyard, and Three Dogs Vino. Spend a day or the whole week tasting exquisite wines and chocolate pairings and give that special someone a Valentine’s Day to remember!

For directions to each winery or for further information about the Wine and Chocolate Week, please visit the Visitors Bureau’s website or call 800-847-4810. Also, be sure to download the official Visitors Bureau mobile app for portable wine trail directions and information about each winery.

Looking for a seasonal job? Knoebels Amusement Resort is looking to add approximately 800 new seasonal team members, and is hosting their annual Job Fair next month.  Interested individuals are invited to the Elysburg Fire Hall on Saturday, March 4th from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. to chat with representatives from each park department, fill out an application, and schedule an interview.

Prior to the event, attendees are encouraged to also check out Knoebels’ online job portal to view job descriptions and fill out an online application.  While Knoebels is primarily seeking team members aged 16 and older, there are a limited number of positions available for workers aged 14 and 15. School-aged workers are required to have working papers when hired. School-aged team members are also encouraged to apply for the Knoebels scholarship program.

In addition to a regular paycheck, team members are offered plenty of added benefits such as exclusive employee events, a park exchange program which allows employees to visit a number of other parks free of charge, and tickets and food coupons for select weeks.