She said the T-shirt design was created by a local Butler County designer, Carrie O’Neal. She owns Scripted Studio in Hamilton.
“It’s an iconic travel T-shirt, and something people will have a nice, nostalgic feel about,” Rawlinson said. “Some of the icons on the back include a vintage truck, a boombox and headphones, a cup of coffee, a stamp, and a license plate that says DONUT.”
The front of the shirt includes the same iconic “Butler County Donut Trail” logo that has been featured on previous shirts.
Celebrating its 9th year of highlighting local donut shops, the Butler County Visitors Bureau launched the Donut Trail in January 2016. Since its inception, over 37,000 people from all 50 states and 24 countries have completed the Donut Trail. The Butler County Donut Trail continues to garner national recognition and has been featured in publications like “Food & Wine,” and “National Geographic,” among others.
“We definitely have people that come back each and every year to build their collection of T-shirts, and we also have a lot of new visitors to the Donut Trail each year as well,” Rawlinson said.
Visitors can experience the Butler County Donut Trail by collecting stamps on an official passport. Once a patron completes the Donut Trail, each passport may be redeemed for a complimentary Butler County Donut Trail T-shirt. Over 600,000 print and digital passports have been distributed to date. The 2024 T-shirt will be available through the end of the year.
Passports may be redeemed at the Travel Butler County Convention and Visitors Bureau (during regular business hours, Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.). When the office is not open, there is a drop box in the lobby of the Visitors Bureau and people can put their passports into that box, the Visitors Bureau collects them, and the staff will mail out a T-shirt. The third option is participants can mail in their completed passport to the Visitors Bureau and in return, they will receive a T-shirt in the mail.
With 13 shops or stops, the Butler County Donut Trail has become a major part of Butler County’s culinary experience. Each donut shop features their own specialties, such as the “Ugly” from Central Pastry Shop or a “Raspberry Cheesecake” donut from The Donut Spot. Jupiter Coffee & Donuts offers their signature “Miami Maple Merger” donut and Kelly’s Bakery features a “S’mores” donut, just to name a few.
“Each of the shops have their own specialties. They have specialties year-round as well as seasonal flavors, so I definitely recommend when you go into each shop that you ask the staff what they recommend. They will give you some awesome recommendations,” Rawlinson said. “Around the Trail, you’re going to find a lot of fun and unique donuts like Pineapple Fritters. There’s a Cherry Delight that people love. People also love the original, melt-in-your-mouth, classic glazed, yeast donuts. So, there’s a great variety of donuts on the Trail.”
The Donut Trail showcases 13 “mom and pop” donut shops throughout Butler County. The Donut Trail continues to be popular with residents and visitors alike because it’s affordable, family-friendly, and you can take them to go if you don’t eat them all in a day.
“The Donut Trail is a great way to explore Butler County because the shops are spread throughout the entirety of the county. So, it’s a built-in road trip, where you get to see lot of different sites and attractions with things to do along the way,” Rawlinson said.
The Visitors Bureau offers a program or resource called the Donut Trail concierge’s line. Patrons can call 513-860-0917, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and have questions answered or get help in planning a Donut Trail route. Of course, the number one tip is to always get an early start, the shops often sell out.
Extra Sweet Savings Pass is another complementary, digital perk that encourages people to wear their Donut Trail T-shirt (any year) to participating businesses and redeem the special deals and discounts.
For more information on the Butler County Donut Trail, or to download a passport, go to BCDonutTrail.com.
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