Century Village Museum could build a welcome center, an Amish farm and orchard, a restaurant, a bed and breakfast, have daily activities or make its Apple Butter Festival bigger and better.

It also could be tied to other historical centers and activities, making it the hub of a system of integrated historical sites and activities in Geauga County.

These ideas are among eight concepts developed by a group of about 50 people who attended a special planning meeting for Century Village held last Saturday morning.

Geauga County Historical Society President Kurt Updegraff said the society expects to review the ideas as part of a five-year plan for the Burton historical center. First, though, Robert Cannon, owner of the Cannon advantage, a Geauga County business management and planning consulting firm, will compile them.

The ideas were the culmination of a four-hour strategic summit that brought together individuals and representatives from various groups interested in Century Village's future planning. The process used SOAR, a planning and decision-making method that helps participants identify an organization's strengths, opportunities and aspirations, and identifies results, Cannon said.

Cannon, who donated his services to the historical society, said the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland teaches the planning process.

Individuals attending the meeting, who had similar interests, helped develop the eight concepts. Cannon brought together people with like ideas to create the basic concepts, each of which was verbally presented:

* Plan a bigger annual Apple Butter Festival that could include a parade of floats from each of the county's 16 townships. The theme of each float could deal with the history of each township or a local historical event.

* Add to the festival's evening activities by including meals prepared in the style of the 1800s, seasonal meals of the period or a possible Amish dinner.

* Plan and build a year-around welcoming center at Century Village, which could include a list of scheduled daily, weekly and monthly activities, as well as entertainment. The center also might have a video about the village, its history, development and possible future.

* Develop a separate restaurant and bed and breakfast on the grounds of Century Village.

* Create historical performance groups in association with area high schools to recreate historical activities and events. The idea could give participating students academic credit for their skits and historical re-creations. It was suggested by people with interest in the performing arts who thought the village should also have musical performances to help attract visitors.

* Make Century Village the historical center of Geauga County by tying other historical sites in Chardon, Chester Township and elsewhere to it. The group of people who suggested the idea compared the idea to a wagon wheel whose spokes are all connected to a central hub, i.e., Century Village.

The idea would be a boon to tourism because Century Village officials could refer visitors to individual sites and vice versa, proponents said.

The idea envisions the different sites and museums working together, they added.

* Build a working Amish farm on the grounds, staffed by Amish who would care for the small farm, its produce and animals.

* If possible, cross-train Century Village staff to serve as tour guides and develop a volunteer corps of costumed people to help add realism to regular tours. In addition, the village would be open daily for tours with activities, such as a possible farm market to help attract people.

Each group proposing an idea provided a timeline for planning, funding and making it a reality within a year.

"I think you've got a workable plan on eight fronts for the next 12 months," Cannon said following the presentations.

Updegraff said he was pleased with the outcome.

"There are some pretty creative ideas here. We have some specific activities that we'll be looking at," he said.

The ideas will be presented to the historical society's board of directors early next year, when the strategic plan is formulated and voted on, he added.

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