Indiana Dunes
Tourism, the official tourism bureau of Porter County, announced today that
it has selected 17 non-profit organizations and other groups to receive
$33,000 in grant money to help promote festivals and events, sporting
competitions and other tourism-related initiatives during 2016.
The grant amounts
were approved Thursday by the Porter County Convention, Recreation and
Visitors Commission Board of Directors.
“The goal of the
grant program is to help those who plan to bring visitors into the county by
building new attractions or by organizing festivals, events, business
meetings and sports tournaments during 2016,” said Lorelei Weimer, Indiana
Dunes Tourism executive director.
“These grants are
designed to increase tourism by getting new events and attractions off the
ground, by getting existing events to grow or by otherwise marketing our
area. The result of the grants is that people will visit from outside Porter
County and spend their money here.”
Weimer said the
county’s residents benefit from the grant program because more money is
brought in to support the local economy and because residents get more
festivals and events to enjoy.
In 2016, Indiana
Dunes Tourism will provide the following grants: Footloose 5K & Event,
$1,500; Babapaloosa, $500; Live it Up Music Festival, $500; Indiana Dunes
Birding Festival, $1,500; Portage Township Summer Fest, $1,000; Chesterton’s
European Market, $2,500; Community Theatre Guild season brochures and show
postcards, $1,000; Girlfriends Getaway to Valparaiso, $2,500; 4th Street
Theater season marketing, $2,000; This is My Brave/Theatrepalooza marketing,
$2,500; Riding the Rails documentary, $1,500; Experimental Aircraft
Association Chapter 104’s pavilion at Porter County Regional Airport,
$5,000; Shifting Sands Documentary, $2,500; Lorie’s Lakeside Century Ride,
$1,500; Lutheran Basketball Association National Basketball Tournament,
$3,000; Valparaiso University bowling tournament, $3,000; and Pastime
Tournaments Great Lakes Open Invitational Baseball Tournament, $1,000.
Weimer told the
Chesterton Tribune that none of the recipients are for-profit
businesses.
The grants can be
used for such things as advertising, printing and promotional expenses that
bring visitors to Porter County and encourage overnight stays. The funds can
also be to used to develop new attractions, as well as brochures, websites
and other tools that encourage visitation.
The following
grants are available each year: product development, $5,000 annually;
sponsorship, $3,000 annually; and marketing, festivals, events, meetings and
seminars, $2,500 for the first year, $1,500 for the second year and $1,000
for the third year.