Not fade away: a case study of Clear Lake, Iowa and municipal involvement in dark tourism

ABSTRACT

In 1959, a small plane carrying musicians Buddy Holly, J.P. ‘The Big Bopper’ Richardson, and Ritchie Valens crashed in a field near Clear Lake, Iowa. The crash forever linked the community with rock-n-roll’s first major tragedy and established Clear Lake as a dark tourism destination. Rather than trying to back away from their tragic past, Clear Lake has embraced its role in this tragedy and in music history, turning it into an opportunity to educate the public about musical heritage, working with families of the crash victims, the citizens, and working local policy and planning to accommodate the international public interest in Clear Lake’s tragic points of interest. The Clear Lake case, and cities who have similarly embraced their role as a dark tourism destination, provide precedent into how a community can embrace a tragic past to become not a place of dark tourism, but a place of celebration and education.

KEYWORDS:

• Dark tourism
• thanatourism
• dark tourism policy
• dark tourism guidelines
• Surf Ballroom
• Buddy Holly

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Beth A. Wielde Heidelberg

Beth A. Wielde Heidelberg is a professor with the Urban and Regional Studies Institute at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She holds postgraduate degrees in urban planning and public administration. Her specialties include local government administration, urban law, urban planning, and heritage preservation policy. Her academic experience is supplemented by several years working for local governments, which has given her insight into how her academic specialties are applied in the professional workplace.