Annual Teachers Celebration set to stimulate economy

Visit Ithaca, Tompkins County’s contracted destination management organization, organizes and produces Ithaca Loves Teachers in partnership with Tompkins Chamber and Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA). The presenting sponsor is Visions Federal Credit Union. Visit Ithaca’s director of visitor experience, Jodi LaPierre, has been part of the event since its launch 18 years ago.

“We appreciate what educators do, and our partners really work hard to make them feel that appreciation. We are fortunate to have so many businesses that think this is important, and we’re happy they can see a boost in business at this time of year from the teachers who come to celebrate.”

Businesses also have an extra incentive to be involved with the yearly event: Hosting Ithaca Loves Teachers between two popular winter events, the Festival of Ice and Lights in December and the Chili Cook-Off in March, provides an opportunity for an increase in local business activity.

“This event certainly helps to increase sales for businesses during the colder and slower winter months. The businesses rely on sales from this event to help carry them through until tourist traffic picks up in the spring and summer,” said Darlene Wilbur, DIA’s communications & grants development director.

DIA has been involved with Ithaca Loves Teachers for 10 of its 18 annual celebrations. The alliance assists with recruiting downtown businesses to participate in the event and supports the welcome gatherings for the celebration. 

Jesse Wright, an art and technology educator at Ithaca High School, has been a teacher for 14 years, but this is his first school year in the Ithaca City School District. Part of Wright’s philosophy as a teacher includes community involvement with students and educators.

“I think in any district of character, education is shaped by the administration, staff, and the students as well as the community beyond the building,” Wright said. “If there’s any enrichment activities or areas where students can get professional opportunities or exposure to mentoring, that would be very much welcome.” 

La Tourelle Hotel Bistro & Spa, one of the many businesses involved with the celebration, has supported the event since its inception 18 years ago. Cameron Ostmeier, general manager at La Tourelle, also said that winter is their slowest season.

“Teachers hold the key to our future as they educate our children and thereby shape our communities. We believe that everyone in the education system deserves recognition for their hard work and dedication,” Ostmeier said. “We very much look forward to supporting these local events, as well as hosting our own in-house concerts and wine-pairing dinners to bring some warmth to the Finger Lakes winter.”

The hospitality industry is not the only part of the local economy that sees a drop in revenue during this time of year. While restaurants have local residents and plenty of college students to keep their kitchens busy, other places that rely on visitors, such as the History Center in Tompkins County, also benefit from increased foot traffic. 

“Like most businesses on the Commons, though we’re a nonprofit not a business, January and February, even into March, tend to be pretty quiet months for us,” said Zoë Van Nostrand, the History Center’s marketing & visitor experience coordinator. “Having something like Ithaca Loves Teachers brings a lot of traffic into town, and it’s people who are here for the experience.”

According to a press release from Visit Ithaca, during the 2022 celebration, more than 2,000 educators and their family members participated, redeeming over 2,300 deals during the two-week time period. The economic impact of the celebration totaled more than $200,000 for Tompkins County.

“The event works twofold: It supports businesses and educators. Our businesses offer specialty goods and services that may help the teachers enjoy their winter break, and the teachers receive fantastic deals on lodging, dining, shopping and entertainment as they explore our community,” Wilbur said. 

For teachers, investing in community to school relationships are just as important as supporting education. Laura Troy, an Ithaca High School mathematics teacher, has been working with students for 18 years. 

“I think the biggest thing that we can do as schools and a community is to partner together because the better the partnerships, the better I know businesses, I know things that are going on, then the better I can support my students,” Troy said. “I think while this benefits teachers in many ways it will have these other effects of benefiting students as well.”

Ithaca Loves Teachers is open to all public and private school teachers, school district employees/staff, teachers’ union retirees, homeschool teachers and childcare workers. 

“Us being a community built on higher education and that week being slower for lodging and restaurants, it became a win-win to invite educators here for the week of Presidents’ Week,” LaPierre said. “We had done some other winter marketing efforts that never really took off, and this did.”

A kickoff celebration will take place on Sunday, Feb. 19, at the State Theatre of Ithaca. Registration for the event opened Feb. 1. More details about registration can be found on Visit Ithaca’s website.