Pony Penning is Chincoteague's biggest ad
In a certain sense, the entire town of Chincoteague has transformed into an advertisement for its annual Pony Swim.
The main road running through this small town is lined with shops offering everything from stuffed ponies, to T-shirts and shot glasses commemorating the event, which features the herding and auctioning of some of Assateague Island's wild pony population.
The town has changed a lot since Helen Merritt opened her store, Pony Penning Enterprises Inc., almost 35 years ago.
“It used to be, my husband and I would go down to the water and sell souvenirs as the ponies swam,” said Merritt, who will be turning 89 just before this year's penning. “There's so much more of it now. T-shirt shops are all around, and we have a lot of people coming to town just to sell merchandise.”
Her store is full of relics of past events, some of which date back upwards of 50 years. Postcards, dishes, collectible model horses and various other knick-knacks related to the town's most lucrative week fill the tiny space, taking up much of the floor and all of the walls. Merritt was born on Chincoteague, and much of what she sells she's collected herself over the years.
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She says that, in a way, the town has been taken over by the event. Whereas in the past seafood and poultry were the local industries, these days it's tourism and the associated merchandise.
“Of course, that's just what happens every time tourism moves in somewhere,” she said. “Some of it I think is good, and some of it we have to have. It keeps locals like me alive.”
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At T's Corner , a short distance away in Oak Hall, Rodney Mears, whose father opened the business 80 years ago this month, says he relies heavily on sales during the event.
“Everyone coming through for the Penning is buying this stuff,” he said, pointing at “Misty of Chincoteague” DVDs and elaborate pony dioramas that would be out of place in Merritt's establishment.
“It sells all year through, but for the store it's absolutely our biggest day of the year.”
John Jester, board member of the Museum of Chincoteague, says the marketing of the event offered by the digital age is what's really spurring the yearly growth of traffic to the town, which he said brings the population for that week from about 3,700 to 20,000.
“It's just really amazing how much free advertising we're getting on the internet,” he said. “Every year, it just keeps feeding on itself, especially on Facebook. People come to see the ponies swim, talk about it online and it just keeps growing.”
The Facebook event page for this year's annual pony swim has nearly 60,000 people who have marked themselves as “interested” in attending.
In spite of the growth, however, Jester says it's the more-relaxed feel of the town that continues to draw visitors.
“I think people just enjoy a more natural, calmer town where you can walk or bike around in a family environment,” Jester said, noting its stark contrast to destinations like Ocean City.
“It just has a small-town feel, even during the height of the event, that I think people love, and that's really what's carrying word around."