Polk County Travel & Tourism has recently partnered with UGoTour to put local small towns and attractions on the map.

Tryon Tourism has completed the first virtual tour in the county, “The Nina Simone Hometown Tour,” which launches Tuesday. 

With guidance from Crys Armbrust, director of the Nina Simone Project, and working closely with PCTT, the tour tells six stories about Simone’s childhood.  People may hear firsthand from her daughter, Lisa Simone, and a childhood friend, among others, as they recount stories about Simone’s early life, when she was known as Eunice Waymon.

Two additional Tryon-specific tours, “Tryon Horse County” and “Historic Downtown Tryon,” will be completed in 2018.  Polk County Travel & Tourism will continue to work closely with the small towns and places-in-between to create more tours that highlight the county’s best features, representatives said.

Each tour includes a narrator weaving together the storytellers and a detailed map with all the points of the tour noted, as well as a written description, links and photos. Interested users may download the UGoTour App to receive the full experience of tours found in North Carolina. 

For simple, direct access without the need for the app, simply text “Nina” to 555-888 or visit the UGoTour website, app.ugotour.com.

All of Tryon’s UGoTours will be featured on the Explore Tryon (exploretryon.com) and First Peak (firstpeaknc.com) websites.  The Nina Simone tour will also be housed on the Nina Simone Project website (ninasimoneproject.org).

-Submitted by

Tracey Daniels