Tourism Event Sponsorship Opportunity Opens April 1

LEXINGTON, Va. (March 24, 2022) – Once again Rockbridge Regional Tourism Board is pleased to offer a sponsorship opportunity for local tourism events in Lexington, Buena Vista, and Rockbridge County.

Since March 2021, the Rockbridge Regional Tourism Board has awarded more than $19,000 to local events in an effort to rebound our community during the COVID pandemic. The sponsorship window for spring 2022 is open April 1 through May 1 and awards will be announced May 20.

Applicants must be organizers of an event occurring between July and December 2022 and located within Lexington, Buena Vista, or Rockbridge County to be eligible. Rockbridge Regional Tourism Board will award monies based on the strength of the request and how well the event aligns with tourism goals and objectives for the entire region. Sponsorship funds totaling $10,000 will be distributed June 10, 2022.

Previous recipients have realized a positive impact for their events thanks, in part, to having received tourism sponsorship.

For a major annual event like the Rockbridge Regional Fair and Expo that moved to a new venue for 2021, the funding was crucial to help spread the word about the location and that it was back after a one-year pandemic hiatus. “Because of the additional funding we received from Rockbridge Regional Tourism, we were able to run one extra print ad in The News-Gazette and 60 radio ads on Lynchburg’s 103.9/106.9/101.9 stations,” said Janelle Vess. “We also had the best level of social media engagement since this fair board was formed in 2016.”

Other events were able to make a physical difference with their sponsorship money. Boxerwood Nature Center & Woodland Garden increased their marketing efforts and also created “more COVID safe bathroom facilities specifically for the Music in the Garden Series,” said Karen Stanley.

“I have been inspired by the post-event reports from our winners detailing how the sponsorship has positively affected attendance and their bottom line,” said Tourism Director Jean Clark. “Lime Kiln’s Summer Concert Series proved to be a welcome reprieve for those missing live entertainment in the midst of COVID. Their season passes sold out within hours of being announced and seven of the nine concerts were sold out as well.”

Potential applicants will find the sponsorship application and related request guidelines at LexingtonVirginia.com/sponsorships.