Agencies in Chelan and Okanogan Counties are in line to get state grants to support community festivals and events that either had to suspend operations or restart due to the COVID pandemic. The state Department of Commerce, in collaboration with the Washington Festivals and Events Association and ArtsWA, has awarded three million dollars in grants to 200 community events and festivals.
The Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce will get 24-thousand 150 dollars; the Okanogan County Fair and the Methow Valley Chamber Music Festival will each receive 20-thousand 700 dollars, and TwispWorks will get 11-thousand 745 dollars. The Wenatchee Downtown Association can expect 96-hundred 60 dollars.
The grants are meant to provide support to so-called “legacy-level” events, those that have taken place for five or more years in communities with populations of 100-thousand or less.
The grants could be used to restart local festivals and events suspended in 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic, or to stabilize depleted budgets. The program was made possible due to a 10-point-6 million dollar tourism relief grant from the U.S. Economic Development Association.