Over $250,000 in grants awarded county-wide

information released

Chelan County commissioners recently allocated $252,350 in lodging tax grants to 23 tourism-related agencies. Commissioners also recently allocated an additional $88,000 grant to the Manson Chamber of Commerce.

The Chelan County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee received 48 applications this year for a total of just over $1 million in requests. The committee reviews the applications and makes a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners for its approval.

The county, which generates about $2.2 million in lodging taxes a year, allocates a portion of that funding to nonprofit, tourism-related agencies and groups for marketing and events efforts. A call for grants is made annually on Sept. 1st.

A similar grant process is currently held bi-annually for tourism-related capital projects.

The successful grantees are:

  • Washington State Autumn Leaf Festival, $10,000
  • Buckner Homestead Heritage Foundation, $2,850
  • Cashmere Community Concerts/Wenatchee Bluegrass Festival, $10,000
  • Cascade Community Markets, $10,000
  • Entiat Valley Chamber of Commerce Vintage Hydro and Car Show, $5,000
  • Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance (Central Washington Chapter) Leavenworth Bike Festival, $20,000
  • Icicle Creek Center of the Arts Meadow Concerts, $10,000
  • Lake Chelan Bach Fest, $10,000
  • Lake Chelan Car Club, $2,500
  • Lake Chelan Grape Growers/Lake Chelan Wine Alliance, $20,000
  • Leavenworth Alphorn Association Northwest Alphorn Workshop & Festival, $2,500
  • Leavenworth Summer Theatre, $20,000
  • Northwest Accordion Society Leavenworth International Accordion Celebration, $3,500
  • Plain Valley Ski Trails Washington Nordic Cup, $25,000
  • Stehekin Heritage’s Stehekin Guidebook, $3,500
  • Two Rivers Medieval Fair, $5,000
  • Village Art in the Park, $2,000
  • Wenatchee Figure Skating Club Apple Ice Classic Figure Skating Competition, $5,000
  • Wenatchee Racquet and Athletic Club pickleball tournaments, $5,000
  • Wenatchee River Institute Leavenworth Spring Bird Festival, $7,000
  • Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce Rails & Ales event, $15,000
  • Wenatchee Valley Museum Cultural Center, $13,500
  • Wenatchee Valley Velo Club’s 2025 Tour de Bloom 2025, $45,000