GREENSBORO – Highland Center for the Arts (HCA) has received a $78,318 State of Vermont, Department of Tourism and Marketing Grant to promote its Curds & Curling event.
The award, received through the state’s Transformational Tourism, Events, and Regional Marketing Grant Program (T-TERM) will be used to increase the viability and reach of the winter event, Curds & Curling, created to encapsulate the identity of the region through combining art, recreation and agriculture.
The event is a twist on the sport of curling where a wheel of cheese is used as the curling stone.
This project includes purchasing a synthetic ice rink which can be used regardless of season or weather, and a marketing campaign focused on reaching out-of-state visitors and highlighting the accessibility of the event.
Other Northeast Kingdom (NEK) grant recipients are Catamount Film & Arts, awarded $150,000 to launch a 12-month destination marketing initiative to promote LGBTQIA+ Arts Programming and events in Vermont’s NEK aimed at attracting out-of-state visitors and promoting inclusivity within the community.
St. Johnsbury Works! received $65,000 to launch a promotional campaign to establish the region as an easy-to-reach destination for all kinds of visitation, with particular attention paid to promoting the walkable downtown, performing arts series, and arts and culture experiences.
Awards to statewide organizations were $62,500 to the Kelly S. Brush Foundation to develop a multifaceted campaign to showcase adaptive-accessible mountain biking opportunities in Vermont to engage and inspire individuals with disabilities to enjoy the freedom of recreating in an inclusive space.
The Vermont Cheese Council received $85,000 to evolve the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival into Vermont Cheese Week to attract visitors during a typical lull in out-of-state tourism after Labor Day and before leaf-peeper season.
The Vermont Mountain Bike Association was awarded $150,000 to create a new destination-focused digital and print-on-demand guide to encourage multi-day tourism for people interested in mountain biking. It will feature communities in all regions of Vermont that have mountain biking trails and facilities nearby that are welcoming to all abilities.
Applicants for the T-TERM grants were encouraged to ensure that their projects were long-term, transformative investments in their community including, when applicable, creating assets and collateral that could be used beyond the grant period. Priority consideration was given to projects that would increase overnight and new out-of-state visitation and that specifically outlined how they would target diverse communities of visitors. Applicants were encouraged to collaborate with partners to leverage additional financial investments when possible.
The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing received 49 applications totaling over $6 million in funding requested to the request for proposals. Originally $1.25 million was allocated to the grant program, with a maximum grant amount of $150,000 per grantee. After this response, the Department received approval from EDA to increase the amount of overall funding available for the program to $1.5 million to allow awards for more projects to be approved for funding. Through this highly competitive bid process, 16 proposals were awarded funds. Projects were selected with statewide coverage in mind, as well as representation across types of organizations and approaches Projects are currently underway. Grant recipients must complete all activities by September 1. Program outcomes will be shared in a final report at the end of the year.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
