Dave Pearce, president of the Middletown CVB board announced grant awards to 7 Middletown area organizations totaling $14,000.
The Convention and Visitors Bureau makes grant awards twice each year to non-profit groups presenting events that draw visitors to Middletown from outside the area. Grant money is to be used for advertising purposes to attract visitors to Middletown.
Grant money is taken from the CVB’s operating budget. A 3% bed tax is collected by the twelve Middletown hotels on each room rental. A portion of the collected bed tax is channeled through the City of Middletown to the CVB.
Those receiving grants are:
Got Art........................ $2,980
The Art Central Foundation group presents art exhibits in store fronts along Central Avenue. The displays began in 2005 when the CVB led the effort to dress up Central Avenue for the holiday season with attractive displays in the empty storefronts. The event grew and is now led by artists and business owners in the Central Avenue/Main Street area and has become the center piece for a revitalization effort focusing on the arts and tourism in downtown Middletown. The Got Art grant will be used to post a website, purchase building markers for areas with displays and purchase street banners to attract the attention of those traveling along Central Avenue.
KLA Ministries................ $725
The Gathering Place, a gospel play will be presented at the Middletown ommunity Center on October 22. KLA Ministries will use their grant for newspaper ads, posters and flyers to attract an audience to the performance. The play was written by Middletown Vice Mayor William Kip Moore.
Light Up Middletown.... $3,525
The annual holiday drive-through light display in Smith Park will use their grant to expand their marketing into the Cincinnati area and to print cards to distribute to hotels and businesses along the I-75 corridor. The event runs every evening from the day after Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve and draws more than 40,000 visitors each year along with several motor coach groups.
Middletown Arts Center....................... $2,875
The Middletown-based art center draws students and visitors from many surrounding communities to their on-going classes, workshops and displays. Their grant money will be used to publicize the 2007 exhibits which will include nationally known artists in workshop settings and a nationally touring watercolor exhibit.
Middletown Lyric Theatre........................ $925
The award-winning theatre company will advertise their 2006-2007 season and their still-new location on Central Avenue in out-of-town newspapers.
Middletown Murals................................. $540
The three current downtown murals at Broad and Central, the rear of the MiddCommons Building and the historic mural at the end of Manchester Avenue will be joined next year by a large mural at the Port Middletown park area on the TV Middletown building. To publicize these murals and their connection to the Art Central District in downtown Middletown, the Mural committee will produce a brochure to distribute to potential guests in the downtown area.
Middletown Symphony............ ............ $2,430
The annual Pops Concert will be held November 11, 2006. The Lets Jazz It Up concert will feature Dave Matthews (Central Park Kids), Lou Soloff (Blood, Sweat and Tears), Lou Marini (Blues Brothers & Saturday Night Live), Michael Moore (Dave Brubeck) and Curtis Matthews with Maestro Carmon DeLeone on drums. To spread the word about the all-star cast, the Symphony will use their grant for additional advertising.
Two requests were denied and one grant request was tabled.
The amount granted to local groups in 2006 now totals $37,100.
All of these and other local events are posted on the Middletown Convention and Visitors Bureau website at www.visitMiddletown.org.
The next CVB grant cycle will be in February, 2007. For more information about CVB grants or services, call 513-422-3030 or email to info@visitMiddletown.org.
