Carson City wins tourism grants for mountain bike promotion, art walk, MAC and powwow

With the Epic Rides Off-Road Series mountain biking race set for this summer, the Carson City Visitors Bureau can pump up the fat tire frenzy along with its promotion thanks in part to a $4,000 grant, among 65 approved for funding from the state’s rural tourism program, Nevada Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison announced Wednesday.

The Travel Nevada grant will purchase advertisement in nationally recognized mountain bike magazines, websites and e-blasts. the award is part of Carson City’s extensive two-year effort through the visitors bureau that is designed to showcase the region’s outdoor recreational opportunities. Other funding going toward Carson City projects include art walk rack card brochure, promotion of the new Multi Athletic Center and money for the 2016 Stewart Father's Day Powwow.

The Nevada Commission on Tourism authorized $294,677 in grants on Wednesday for programs and initiatives to deliver more tourists to rural Nevada.

The grant award promotes the Epic Rides series in which Carson City is among three host cities. The other two are Prescott, Ariz., and Grand Junction Colo. The Carson City Off-Road event will be June 17-19 and offers a pro purse of $100,000 across the three events — the most significant cross-country mountain bike purse worldwide.

The race will feature three graduated distance course offerings, from professional to amateur, including the recently opened Ash to Kings Trail along west Carson City.

The visitors bureau also received $3,000 in funding for a Carson City art walk brochure to showcase a self guided walking tour of local art galleries. The project will fund the development, production and distribution of 20,000 rack cards showcasing the self guided walking tour of local art galleries. The cards will also provide a landing page on the Carson City Visitors Bureau website and mobile app to drive additional visitor information.

Rounding out the Carson City Visitors Bureau grant victory, $2,500 in Travel Nevada funding will go toward the marketing campaign of the new Multi Athletic Center also known as the MAC, the $8 million, 36,000 square foot facility.

Also awarded was a $2,000 grant for the annual Stewart Father's Day Powwow that celebrates American Indian heritage and promotes visitation to the historic Stewart Indian School.

The three-day Powwow takes place in Carson City and attracts native artisans, drummers, dancers, alumni and visitors statewide, nationally and internationally to participate. The event is promoted on the TravelNevada, Carson City Chamber of Commerce, Reno Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority, Carson City Visitors Bureau, Indian Territory, Stewart Indian School and Nevada Indian Commission websites.

“These grants help fund projects that raise awareness of the state’s rural destinations, which is one of the goals of the commission,” said Hutchison, NCOT chairman. “We applaud Nevada’s rural tourism industry, and are happy to assist in their efforts with this latest grant distribution.”

The Rural Grants Program funds are awarded twice a year. This recent distribution is the second in 2015. A total of $1.4 million was awarded in 2015.

Among other funded projects:
— The Virginia City Tourism Commission received grants of $6,000 from Travel Nevada that will be designed to drive visitation to Virginia City through a showcase of events after developing a video vignette series this year. Virginia City will use social advertising to promote the videos to travelers outside 100-miles and visitors in market using Facebook targeted advertising platforms.

Other Virginia City grants include $5,500 for Google Adwords promotion, $3,250 to develop a comprehensive marketing program for Virginia City during the shoulder season called the Comstock Lift Ticket. This program focuses on digital outlets that will capitalize on Virginia City's social media presence to winter visitors and ski enthusiasts in the region. The program promotes overnight stays, shopping, and exploration of Virginia City from December 2015 through March 2016.

The Historic Fourth Ward School Foundation won a $5,000 grant for its museum website design and development and Piper's Opera House received a $1,500 grant for an enhanced listing on WeddingWire.com.

— A $6,000 boost to the Carson Valley Visitors Authority for its website, VisitCarsonValley.org. The money will support ongoing maintenance and updates, enhance video efforts, and keep an aggressive social media program intact.

— A $10,000 grant was approved for the North Tahoe Incline Village/Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau to develop, design and produce a series of trail maps identifying the North Lake Tahoe trail networks. North Lake Tahoe offers an abundance of outdoor activities; the maps will be designed to generate buzz about and raise awareness of the area’s hiking, biking and paddling terrain.

— The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority received a $7,000 grant for promotion of the Amgen professional cycling race; $7,500 for an online trip planning platform through TahoeSouth.com to allow visitors to 'virtually' plan their trip through suggested itineraries and custom recommendations based on their travel and budget preferences. This contract would also cover sourcing new and expanded Nevada-based activities, dining and attractions in the region.

— A grant of $5,000 for Lake Tahoe Summerfest, an annual classical music concert series held annually in Incline Village. Funds would be used specifically for out-of-area PR and paid marketing efforts targeting Los Angeles, Sacramento, Silicon Valley, the San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix and New York City.

— A $15,600 award was granted to Pony Express Territory, an organization that promotes tourism along the Nevada’s U.S. 50 corridor, to film area adventures and historic sites for use in a half-hour television show promoting the area. The show would run on cable TV, as a looping video in area visitors’ centers, and at travel and trade shows. It also would be posted on the Pony Express website and on its YouTube channel.

— A $7,200 award was given to Indian Territory, an organization promoting tribal tourism, for Nevada Tribal Tourism Training. The training provides Nevada tribes and tribal members with the opportunity to increase their knowledge of tribal tourism projects and initiatives that exist across the nation.

“The Rural Grants Program helps the state’s rural communities boost their tourism profile, helping to drive domestic and international visitation today and into the future,” Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs Director Claudia Vecchio said. “The initiatives approved through these grants showcase the unique appeals of Nevada’s diverse destinations in ways that are best accomplished by the local communities.

Grants are awarded to nonprofit entities for tourism marketing projects that will result in overnight stays, ultimately increasing room tax revenue for the state. Grant recipients must provide a 50-50 match in funds or volunteer hours. The Nevada Division of Tourism distributes the grants in the form of reimbursement to the recipients after the projects are completed and labor and funding details are documented.