The Dauphin County Library System will receive a tourism grant for a project at the McCormick Riverfront Library.
Dozens of programs, projects and organizations will receive tourism grants this year in the annual disbursal of funds by Dauphin County.
The county commissioners recently announced that they will award over $2.3 million in grants to 77 recipients under the Dauphin County Tourism Grant Program.
“This is a great list full of programs and projects that preserve Dauphin County’s vibrancy,” Commission Chair Pries said. “We have great expectations that this funding will make Dauphin County even more attractive as both a travel destination and place to raise a family.”
A portion of the county’s hotel tax, a 5% room occupancy tax, funds the program, which provides grants to county-based entities for tourism-related projects in an annual application process.
According to Dauphin County, tourism brings in about $2.4 billion annually to the county, making it one of the county’s top industries.
Visit Hershey & Harrisburg, which promotes tourism in the county, topped the list of recipients with a $1 million award for marketing initiatives.
“As families, couples, and businesses return to travel in greater numbers, the tourism grant plays a critical role in our ability as Dauphin County’s official destination marketing organization to promote the region’s diverse tourism assets and to position Dauphin County as the best place to stay, play, meet and explore,” said Mary Smith, VHH’s president and CEO.
The Dauphin County Library System received a $75,000 award for its “Your Place to Belong” project.
“The commissioners’ ongoing support for the expansion of Harrisburg’s McCormick Riverfront Library has been crucial to the ‘Your Place to Belong’ project’s success,’’ said DCLS Executive Director Karen Cullings. “When finished later this year, visitors will see an expanded children’s area, more public computers, and even a stage where The Pennsylvania Past Players will bring historical figures to life.”
DCLS is renovating and reimagining a portion of the McCormick Riverfront Library as part of a more extensive $3.5 million project that also completely renovates the historic Haldeman Haly House next door and connects the two buildings.
The complete list of 2022 tourism grant recipients follows:
- American Literacy Corporation – $10,000 (7th Annual Central PA Writers and Illustrators Summer Camp)
- Big 33 – $100,000 (Big 33 expenses (players, coaches, cheerleaders, buddies, facilities, operations)
- Borough of Steelton – $20,000 (Steelton Fest)
- Brothers & Sisters Making a Difference – $4,500 (BMD Summer league)
- Camp Hebron – $14,000 (marketing/gravel, shower/bath trailer)
- Capital Area Girls on the Run – $2,000 (afterschool program/5k event)
- Capital Area Selects – $7,500 (opportunities through baseball participation)
- Central PA Figure Skating Club – $7,000 (RSI competition fees)
- Central PA Friends of Jazz – $5,000 (Jazz Walk and concert series)
- Central PA Youth Ballet – $20,000 (The Nutcracker Performance)
- Civic Club of Harrisburg – $20,000 (Women’s History Garden)
- Courtyard of Honor, Inc. – $25,000 (permanent memorial located downtown Hershey)
- Courtyard of Honor, Inc. – $5,000 (project “On the Rocks”)
- CREDC – $75,000 (tourism related business)
- Cyrene Lodge #169 – $5,000 (PA State Association IPOEW 97th Annual Convention)
- Dauphin County EDC – $40,000 (Cultural Fest)
- Dauphin County Library System – $75,000 (Your Place to Belong Project)
- Dauphin County System of Care Community Partners – $7,000 (Neighboring Festival)
- Driven From Within – $3,000 (semi-pro basketball showcase/2023 male summit)
- Eastern PA Hockey – $10,000 (Troopers Helping Troopers Tournament)
- Fit4ever365 – $2,500 (professional boxing at Zembo)
- Friends of Fort Halifax Park Inc. – $2,000 (Colonial Fort Halifax Festival)
- Friends of the PA Farm Show Foundation – $10,000 (207th PA Farm Show 2023)
- Handles Entertainment – $10,000 (Weekend Wednesdays)
- Harrisburg Area Riverboat Society – $10,000 (enhancements, printing and marketing, Veterans Cruise support)
- Harrisburg Area YMCA East Shore Branch – $2,000 (Harrisburg Marathon)
- Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District – $2,000 (seasonal banners)
- Harrisburg Rugby Football Club – $2,500 (floodlighting at Sunset Park)
- Harrisburg Young Professionals – $5,000 (2022 Beautification Project)
- Harrisburg University – $30,000 (Riverfront Park Concert Special Project Series)
- Hershey Figure Skating Club – $3,500 (summer competition)
- Hershey Harrisburg Wine Country – $50,000 (social media campaign expenses)
- Hershey History Center – $10,000 (tourism enhancement program and Beautification project)
- High School Sports Live – $40,000 (high school sports live)
- Historical Society of Dauphin County – $10,000 (restoration project)
- Hummelstown Area Historical Society – $5,000 (creation of video vignettes)
- Invica LLC – $5,000 (talk show event)
- Juneteenth Celebration – $10,000 (partnership between Dauphin County, City of Harrisburg and UPMC)
- JAB Promotions – $3,378 (professional boxing event expenses)
- Keystone Human Services – $12,000 (furnishing & equipment for new training room)
- Lower Paxton Community Foundation – $1,500 (4th Annual Christkindlemarket)
- Market Square Concerts – $2,500 (nine concert series)
- Metro’s of Tomorrow Youth Barber Academy – $2,000 (provide children with educational opportunity to learn about barbering)
- Middletown Area Historical Society of Dauphin County – $1,000 (annual craft fair)
- Millersburg Borough – $1,500 (2022 fireworks)
- Millersburg Borough – $1,500 (public movie screening in MYO Park)
- Millersburg Borough – $500 (brochure project)
- Millersburg Ferry Boat Association – $5,000 (enhance marketing)
- MOSELF – $5,000 (urban baseball program)
- Motorama Productions, Inc. – $20,000 (show expenses)
- PA Football – $7,000 (awards programs)
- Narcisse Theatre Company – $2,500 (Italian Lake Free Theatre Series)
- Ned Smith Center for Nature & Art – $2,000 (the Ned Smith Festival)
- NRA – $100,000 (Great American Outdoor Show)
- Open Stage of Harrisburg – $20,000 (Visibility Project)
- PA National Horse Show Foundation – $100,000 (show expenses)
- Platinum Smoke, LLC – $15,000 (upscale cigar and bourbon event)
- Robert M. Jackson Veterans Center, Inc. – $20,000 (Gospel Fest/Jazz Under the Stars Concert)
- Senators Partners LLC d/b/a Harrisburg Senators – $75,000 (marketing & promotional plan, 2022)
- Shades of Greatness Inc. – $10,000 (3-day event local sports celebrities)
- State YMCA of PA Inc. – $5,000 (Annual PA Youth and Government Model Legislative & Judicial Convention)
- Sweet Ride Transportation, Inc. – $20,000 (marketing/advertising, labor/operating)
- The Cave Anti-Bullying Foundation – $10,000 (several tournaments to raise funds for program)
- The Coexist Gallery – $2,000 (Steelton Cannabis Health Expo)
- The Foundation for Enhancing Communities – $10,000 (increase visitor and tourists’ awareness of appreciation for City)
- The National Civil War Museum – $50,000 (marketing and new educational programs)
- The Performance Zone Inc. d/b/a The Field – $4,000 (Cocoon Steelton PA: The Migrations of Many)
- The Singer’s Lounge Community Partnership Inc. – $10,000 (The Singer’s Lounge Junior Showcase)
- The Vineyard & Brewery at Hershey – $60,000 (4 concert series)
- Township of Derry ICDA – $10,000 (New Year’s Eve Celebration)
- Travel Champs/Hershey Jr. Bears Pee Wee Cup – $30,000 (International Youth Ice Hockey Tournament)
- US Bulgarian Chamber in Harrisburg – $7,000 (Series of virtual programs)
- Veterans Outreach of PA – $3,000 (reimbursement of purchased trailer)
- Visit Hershey Harrisburg – $1,000,000 (marketing)
- Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts – $30,000 (marketing and new educational programs)
- World Affairs Council of Harrisburg – $5,000 (funds to encourage international travel to Central PA)
- YMCA Camp Curtin – $1,500 (Bigger than Basketball Event)
- Young Professionals of Color Great Harrisburg – $5,000 (Juneteenth HBG 2022)
For more information about the Dauphin County Tourism Grant Program, visit their website.
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