cultural tourism initiative (cti)
grant program

Grantees

2005 Project Narratives

A total of $185,000 was awarded this March for the year 2005 to the following grantees:

• Aaron Davis Hall (New York County)
  $25,000 in second–year funding to continue marketing a complete visitor’s experience in Upper Manhattan. Working with NYC & Co., Hamilton Heights-West Harlem Community Preservation Association, Mount Morris Park Improvement Association and the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, the project seeks to develop the Historic Harlem Tour, a bus and guided walking tour, as well as to support a new visitors’ center and interactive web site. www.harlemonestop.com
• Brooklyn Botanic Garden Corporation (Kings County)
  $25,000 in second-year funding to enhance the tourism value of the Experience the Heart of Brooklyn campaign. Six major institutions in Brooklyn formed an independent organization to maximize their combined resources to promote central Brooklyn and its cultural treasures as a destination. Along with themed cultural itineraries and packages, a Brooklyn Pass is in development to allow individual and group tourists easy access to the Heart of Brooklyn. www.heartofbrooklyn.org
• Columbia County Council on the Arts (Columbia, Dutchess, Orange and Queens Counties, NY and Berkshire County, MA)
  $15,000 in third year funding to continue Sculpture & Nature: A Contemporary Tour, which link the Hudson Valley sculpture collections of ArtOmi, Storm King, MassMOCA, and Dia: Beacon, Chesterwood in Massachusetts and Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens. New marketing strategies in local/regional scope will be implemented along with targeting the senior traveler. The addition of a project liaison will help coordinate efforts between the partners and tour operator. Neuberger Museum at SUNY Purchase College is added as a new partner. www.sculptureandnature.org
• Dominican Foundation CULTURARTE of New York (New York- Washington Heights & Inwood)
  $15,000 plus $5,000 in technical assistance to develop a tour and visitor resources for the Washington Heights-Inwood area of Upper Manhattan. Working with tourism partner Rivas Travel, Ideal Tours and Enterprise and Club Eco-Turismo Cultural, the project will focus on the 1 million Dominican tourists that flock to New York City each year. A website, map, and walking tours will be developed along with the opening of a new visitor information center.
• East End Arts & Humanities Council (Suffolk County)
  $25,000 to expand the Long Island Wine Country Winter Festival for February 2006. Targeting overnight stays during the month of February, visitors will enjoy a fully integrated schedule of events at 21 wineries, 21 hotels, 8 restaurants, 2 tour companies and at least 7 cultural attractions. The sale of a passport will provide discounts to visitors at all participating venues. Couple and family packages will be developed for the passport and enhancements will be made from lessons learned during the 2005 pilot phase. Long Island Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, Long Island Wine Council and the Suffolk County Office of Film and Cultural Affairs are primary project partners. www.liwines.com or www.eastendarts.org
• Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts (Bronx, Kings, Queens, and Richmond Counties)
  $25,000 to continue the successful efforts of a four-borough tour bus marketing campaign, MORE: NYC, which co-markets and cross-promotes borough tours in Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. Working with primary tourism partner, NYC & Co., the group has teamed up with the History Channel and the City of New York to enhance the borough walking tours. A New York Pass is in development and motorcoach tours will continue to be advertised. The project was recently highlighted at the NYC & Co. annual meeting and will participate in Pow-Wow 2005, the largest international travel trade show coming to NYC in May. www.more-nyc.info
• Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council (Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming Counties)
  $10,000 to continue to promote the winter cultural tourism campaign “Sugar & Spice and Everything Ice.” Currently in its pilot phase, this promotion seeks to capitalize on the successful Maple Weekend activities, outdoor recreation activities and Arts Awareness Month of March. In partnership with the Genesee County Tourism & Promotion office, Arts Council for Wyoming County, and Orleans County Tourism Office, overnight themed packages, merchant participation, and artist design contest, this project seeks to offer a destination in rural upstate New York in February and March. www.sugarspiceandice.com
• New York State Historical Association/ Farmers Museum (Delaware, Otsego, and Schoharie Counties)
  $25,000 in third-year funding to support ongoing branding effort across three counties to offer a series of eight weekend festivals during the fall season. Changing Colors: Fall Festivals of Central New York will bring together the talents of Ostego County Tourism and the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce with the cultural attractions in the area, including participation of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This year the partners will concentrate on tracking visitor response in consultation with Zogby International, a world-renowned polling and market research firm, whose call center is located in Central New York. www.changingcolors.org
• Westchester Arts Council (Westchester County)
  $15,000 to design and promote the Craft & Gallery Guide. This project will concentrate on the Arts & Crafts sector, with over 200 craft fairs in Westchester annually. The Westchester Arts Council and the Westchester Tourism Office will work together on a marketing campaign offering itineraries and packages that include cultural attractions and overnight stays. This project will link to the continued success of the quarterly promotional supplement Westchester Just for the Fun of It with a special feature in the spring edition. www.westchesterfun.com