How $840,000 will help drive tourism, boost local economy throughout Happy Valley
More than 70 events and projects that will enhance Centre County’s tourism were awarded part of $840,000 in grant funding to help them with everything from promotion to improvements.
The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau and the Centre County Commissioners announced recipients of the 2023-24 Tourism Grants Wednesday. The theme of this year’s event was “Brewing Tourism Development,” and appropriately took place at Happy Valley’s newest brewery, Boal City Brewing. Located at the gateway to Rothrock State Forest in Boalsburg, it has quickly become a popular go-to spot for outdoor recreation enthusiasts.
Boal City Brewing is a member of the HVAB and supports its efforts to promote tourism and recreation in the Centre Region, owner Gordy Kauffman said.
“I have no doubt in my mind that something very special is happening in this community. People that care about making the Centre Region a better place to live, and in turn an incredible place to visit, are coming to the fore. From fly-fishing to mountain biking, paddling to alpine skiing, and hiking to skateboarding, this — this is our home and it’s an amazing place to live and visit,” Kauffman said.
The tourism grant program, funded through the county’s hotel tax, received a record number of applicants this year, Fritz Smith, CEO of HVAB, said. A total of $840,000 — also a high point in the program’s 20-year history — was dispersed between 72 applications across the county. A newer grant recipient, Happy Valley Comic Con, is an example of how the grant can help an event take off.
Co-founder Tom Range said he and his family frequently attend comic book conventions as both attendees and vendors. In the back of their minds, they often wondered if State College could support a comic book convention. His family thought they could organize it, but had questions about where it would be, hotels and advertising. “The heroes” at Happy Valley Adventure Bureau had all the answers, Range said.
Because of the grant, they could advertise on social media, local news outlets and comic con specific websites, print postcards to send and invite to comic book, game shop and card stores in the state, and bring to other conventions.
“We had vendors and celebrities asking us, ‘Hey, can we come to your convention?’ This would not have been possible without the tourism grant,” Range said.
After talking with other convention organizers and promoters about what to expect for their first comic con, Range expected about 100 vendors and 1,000 attendees. They had more than double that at their inaugural event in February, which Range attributed to the grant. For the February 2024 event, they’re planning to have at least 3,000, if not more, attendees.
“With this new grant we’ll be able to build on what we already have and established, and reach out farther than we had last year. With the continued support of the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, our ‘Prime Directive’ will be to explore new ways to engage attendees, seek out new vendors, celebrities and artists and to boldly succeed where no con has gone before. With the Bureau’s help, this convention is going to make sure we live long and prosper,” Range said.
Two new recipients this year include the Centre LGBTQA Support Network, which received a $6,000 grant to market the upcoming State College Pride event.
Cat Cooke, executive director of the Centre LGBTQA Support Network, said last year’s Pride brought in about 4,000 people. With the addition of food trucks and other activities this year, they’re expecting the numbers on June 10 to be much higher. At this point last year, they had about 225 people registered for the parade. They’re already at 500 just for marchers, not even counting the floats, motorcycles and skaters, she said.
Pride isn’t just a good event for the economy, Cooke said.
“Not only is Pride a good event for the local economy, but it sends a clear message that Centre County is a diverse and inclusive place where LGBT+ folks and family are seen, heard and accepted. This type of inclusivity benefits not only the LGBT+ community, but all of us as a whole,” she said.
Centre Kitchen Collective received $10,000 to market the Centre of the Table project, which will increase the visibility of the local food system.
Centre Kitchen Collective was co-founded as a nonprofit earlier this year by Sabine Carey of Centre Markets LLC and Elaine Meder-Wilgus of Webster’s Bookstore and Café. Its mission is to nurture a resilient community through cultivating connections between the local food economy and local farmers, according to a press release. With Centre Markets, Centre Kitchen Collective will open an innovative food hub and shared-use commercial kitchen incubator space in Pine Grove Mills. Phase one of the project will be a local food retail store, which is planned to open in the fall.
“Through the support of the Adventure Bureau, we’ll be launching our Centre of the Table program. Many of you are already very familiar with meal kits. So, this is our hyper-local version of a meal kit and ours will also include video highlights of our local farming community, farmer profiles — not just their family farms, but also their conservation practices,” Carey said.
Below is a full list of the 2023-24 Tourism Grants:
Bryce Jordan Center — $10,000 for promoter incentives
Bryce Jordan Center — $10,000 for digital and social media marketing
Happy Valley Women’s Cycling — $16,000 for marketing the Seasons of Rothrock race series
State College Downtown Improvement District — $8,000 for Ironman-related event marketing
Bellefonte Art Museum — $22,500 for marketing of permanent and visiting exhibits
Centre LGBTQA Support Network — $6,000 for the marketing of Pride Week
Philipsburg American Legion Post 437 — $5,000 for mural painting beautification project
Haines Township — $3,900 to market the Dutch Fall Festival
Howard Volunteer Fire Company — $3,000 to market the Punkin’ Chunkin’ Festival
Arts Fest and First Night — $40,000 to market both events
The Makery — $2,500 for studio marketing
Advent Historical Society — $1,500 for marketing to expand audiences for musical events at the historic church
Rowland Theater — $13,000 to move concession stand and ticket both to adjacent building in order to stay open after the movies so people have a place to gather.
Stage at Talleyrand — $10,000 in support of design, planning work
Art Alliance of Central PA — $3,000 to market its workshop series
Re Farm Café — $3,000 to market the Taste of Happy Valley Culinary Crawl
Nittany Mountain Biking Association — $18,000 to support Phase II-B of Harvest Fields
Moshannon Valley EMS — $14,000 to market Philipsburg Heritage Days
Happy Valley Comic Con — $11,000 to market the second annual event
Historic Bellefonte, Inc. — $40,000 for event and general marketing
Nittany Valley Symphony — $5,000 to market symphony performances
Nittany Performing Arts Center — $10,000 to support the development of a capital campaign for the proposed center
Arboretum at Penn State — $8,000 to market facilities and special events
Way Fruit Farm — $5,000 to market Art in the Orchard
Discovery Space of Central PA — $15,000 for digital and print media to promote workshops
Tempest Productions — $15,000 to market Theatre and Dance Fest
People’s Choice Festival — $12,000 to market the event
Palmer Museum of Art — $17,000 to help market the new museum
Centre County Library & Historical Museum — $35,000 to continue the restoration of the Howard Street porch
Centre Volunteers in Medicine — $15,000 to market the mini-triathlon to a broader audience
PA Environmental Council — $2,500 to promote several theme bike routes in the county
Clearwater Conservancy — $4,000 to promote trails and land access in Rothrock State Forest
Clearwater Conservancy — $6,000 to market the Centered Outdoors Program
State College Choral Society — $2,500 to market concerts
Happy Valley Improv — $18,000 to market the third annual Happy Valley Improv XL
Millheim Walkfest of Art and Music (rebranded as SummerFest) — $6,250 to market the event
Ten Thousand Villages State College — $2,000 for special event marketing
Grange Encampment and Fair — $25,000 to market the 2023 Grange Fair
Tussey Mountain — $5,000 to market WingFest
Snow Shoe Rails to Trails — $10,000 to produce marketing assets: rack cards and maps
State College Borough — $12,500 to help with the construction of an action skate park
State College Borough — $6,000 to market events in MLK Plaza
Tussey Mountainback Ultramarathon — $6,500 to market the 50-mile relay race
Center for the Performing Arts — $18,000 to market CPA events
Philipsburg Revitalization Corp. — $10,000 to market PRC events
Roland Curtin Foundation — $17,500 for multiple marketing tactics to promote the historic site
Wildlife for Everyone Foundation — $4,000 to advertise the Great Outdoor Picnic
Centre Region Parks & Rec — $3,000 for marketing to promote Millbrook Marsh
Centre County Farmland Trust — $5,000 to market the Farm Routes initiative
3 Dots Downtown — $20,000 for facility infrastructure improvements
Apple Hill Antiques — $3,000 to produce Centre Region Antiques Road Trip rack cards and maps
Rooted Farmstead — $4,000 to produce an agritourism experience master plan
Central PA Tasting Trail — $15,000 for marketing to promote the Trail
State Theatre — $33,000 for marketing, promoter incentives and infrastructure improvements
Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra — $4,000 for concert series marketing
Central PA 4th Fest — $40,000 to market and promote the event
Gorinto Productions — $10,000 to market the Rhoneymeade music festival
Climb Nittany — $10,000 for general marketing and installation of a bike repair and bike station
The Crooked House — $8,000 for final installation of the historic home sculpture in Milesburg
Centre Film Festival — $25,000 for marketing tactics to support the festival
Centre County Historical Society — $9,000 for marketing and advertising
Centre County Historical Society — $10,000 for restoration work on Centre Furnace Mansion
Potter Township — $6,000 for the installation of chain link fencing and field grading
Happy Valley Music Fest — $25,000 to market and promote the event
Bellefonte B&B — $12,000 to promote Bellefonte Victorian Christmas
HaVAC llc — $7,500 for a facility development plan for an aquatics facility
Your Cigar Den — $6,000 to market HavanaFest
Centre Kitchen Collective — $10,000 to market the Centre of the Table project, which will increase the visibility of the local food system
Mountaintop Swimming Pool — $5,000 for facility improvements
Millheim Township — $10,000 to market Route 45 Getaways
Centre Stage — $10,000 to promote events and a theatre sneak preview event on Aug. 29
Boal Estate Museum — $16,000 for AC and ADA improvements to the Boal Barn
