Centre County organizations awarded record-setting $1.1M in tourism grants

The 2025 Centre County Tourism Grant awards saw 81 local organizations receive a record-breaking $1.1 million in grants, which are designed to foster more visitation to Happy Valley.

The event, which had a “Tourism in Bloom” theme this year, was hosted by the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau at the Rolling Rails Lodge in Port Matilda, where the Centre County Commissioners and various grant recipients joined HVAB to receive their awards and celebrate.

In total, $1,100,750 was raised for the grants through the county’s hotel tax, which was doubled in 2019. The amount marked an increase of about $140,000 from last year’s total, and the first time that the million-dollar mark has been broken for the grant awards.

“This is the tenth time I’ve been involved with [the Tourism Grant awards] and I’ll say, there have been a lot of changes since 2016,” Commissioner Mark Higgins said. “Due to the commissioners doubling the hotel tax in 2019, and the great work by the adventure bureau and the local lodging operators, the grant pool has more than tripled in a decade.”

The grant recipients have made a big impact on the county’s tourism ecosystem and quality of life, he added.

“The recipients have so much to offer to the people of Centre County and to those who visit, which is why we see record breaking tourism revenue in our county,” Higgins said.

This year, 11 new organizations were awarded grants, including the Happy Valley Latin Festival and Bellefonte Historical Railroad Society, which each had representatives speak at the event. The festival received a $4,000 grant, and the railroad society received two grants worth a total of $15,000.

Ady Martinez, one of the festival’s founders and the owner of Juana’s Venezuelan Cuisine in downtown State College, said that the $4,000 grant would be put toward targeted advertising to allow for the festival to reach a wider audience of people living both in and out of the county.

The festival, which will take place Sept. 20 during Hispanic Heritage Month, is celebrating its fifth anniversary, and according to Martinez, it will be the “biggest and most diverse celebration yet.”

Dan Durachko, the railroad society’s president, said that the $15,000 in grant funds will be used to continue the upkeep of the society’s trains, and to promote various train ride offerings, including the organization’s popular Christmas rides.

“I want to thank everybody here, and let you all know that we’re doing our best to bring in people from outside the area,” Durachko said. “A lot of our demographic is local ridership, but we do get people from out of the country, believe it or not, and all around the United States. ... We’re hoping that this grant will help us bring in even more of those folks.”

Bellefonte Art Museum Executive Director Patricia House also spoke at the event, thanking the bureau and commissioners for the $15,000 and $9,000 grants awarded to the museum for “rotating gallery exhibition marketing,” and “museum retail space redesign,” respectively.

While this year’s record-breaking grant pool amount will be able help more organizations than ever before, $1.1 million dollars doesn’t just appear out of thin air — a point that HVAB President and CEO Fritz Smith made sure to make during his opening comments. He collectively thanked all county businesses that provide overnight stays, including hotels, bed and breakfasts, Airbnbs and VRBOs.

Smith also gave credit to the visitors that stayed overnight at those Centre County businesses throughout the last year.

“[The record-breaking grant pool] is a visible example of how a strong tourism economy, particularly overnight stays, benefits the entire community,” Smith stated in a press release. “The revenue generated by visitors who stay in our hotels and lodging properties helps our events, attractions and programs grow and flourish and provides a necessary boost to new projects that emerge each year.”

Listed below are all of this year’s Tourism Grant recipients:

• BPOE 1173 — $5,000 (rebuild historic Philipsburg Santa Claus)
• Latin Vibe — $4,000 (Happy Valley Latin Festival marketing)
• MTB50 Inc. — $7,500 (Tussey Mountainback Ultra Marathon)
• Centre LGBT+ — $10,000 (State College Pride promotion)
• A Way to Help (Way Fruit Farm) — $7,000 (Art in the Orchard promotion)
• Burning Ma’am — $5,000 (music festival operational support)
• Burning Ma’am — $10,000 (music festival marketing)
• 3 Dots Downtown — (Happy Valley Improv XL Festival)
• A Soldier’s Hands — $3,000 (A Walk to Remember the Fallen)
• AAUW State College — $2,500 (Used Book Sale marketing)
• Bellefonte Art Museum — $15,000 (rotating gallery exhibition marketing)
• Bellefonte Art Museum — $7,000 (museum retail space redesign)
• Historic Bellefonte Inc. — $5,000 (promote Bellefonte Arts and Crafts Fair)
• Bellefonte Historical & Cultural Association — $12,000 (signature event marketing)
• Bellefonte Historical Railroad Society — $9,000 (Explore Centre County historic train ride marketing)
• Bellefonte Historical Railroad Society — $6,000 (America250PA Centre County Bells Across Pennsylvania art installation at the historic Bellefonte Train Station)
• Bellefonte Victorian Christmas — $10,000 (event marketing)
• Boalsburg Village Conservancy — $4,000 (Hometown Christmas marketing)
• Boalsburg Village Conservancy — $6,000 (America250PA Centre County Bells Across Pennsylvania art installation in Boalsburg)
• Borough of State College — $5,000 (Juneteenth marketing)
• Bryce Jordan Center — $30,000 (event marketing)
• Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State — $15,000 (event marketing)
• C3 Sports & Events Center — $20,000 (strategic event marketing)
• C3 Sports & Events Center — $8,000 (bleacher enhancements)
• Central PA 4th Fest — $45,000 (festival marketing)
• Central PA Tasting Trail — $10,000 (Outdoor Adventure on Tap marketing)
• Central PA Tasting Trail — $14,000 (Tasting Trail passport sales marketing)
• Central PA Festival of the Arts — $75,000 (Arts Fest and First Night marketing)
• Centre County Grange Fair — $25,000 (Grange Fair marketing)
• Centre County Historical Society — $35,000 (marketing)
• Centre County Library & Historical Museum — $10,000 (Building Beauty in Bellefonte)
• Centre Film Festival — $30,000 (festival marketing)
• Centre Volunteers in Medicine — $20,000 (Happy Valley Half Marathon and Central Cycling Classic)
• Penn State Centre Stage — $20,000 (marketing)
• Clearwater Conservancy — $8,000 (Centered Outdoors marketing)
• Columbus Chapel & Boal Mansion Museum — $10,000 (Boal Barn Playhouse restoration)
• Constitution Day Centre — $2,000 (2025 Constitution Day celebration)
• Discovery Space & The Rivet — $50,000 (Maker Faire, Winter Market, Marine Life Center)
• Downtown Bellefonte Inc. — $20,000 (Bellefonte Winter Market and Experience Bellefonte marketing_
• State College Downtown Improvement District — $17,500 (event marketing)
• 3 Dots (Gorinto Productions) — $17,500 (Secret Planet global music series marketing)
• Haines Township — $6,000 (Dutch Fall Festival)
• Happy Valley Women’s Cycling Club — $7,500 (Happy Valley Gravel Adventure Guide summer launch party)
• Happy Valley Women’s Cycling — $10,000 (GRIP Getaway – A women’s bike weekend in Happy Valley)
• Historic Bellefonte Cruise — $30,000 (Bellefonte Cruise promotion)
• Howard Volunteer Fire Company — $5,000 (Punkin Chunkin Festival promotion)
• Jana Marie Foundation — $2,500 (Hobby Horse Derby marketing)
• Juniata Valley Council, Scouting America — $4,000 (scout camp signage upgrades)
• Krislund Camp and Conference Center — $6,000 (upgrade climbing wall and zip lines)
• The Makery of Central PA — $3,750 (program marketing)
• Moshannon Valley EMS — $16,000 (Philipsburg Heritage Days)
• Mountain Top Swimming Pool Association — $5,000 (general marketing)
• Nittany Knights — $2,000 (annual State Theatre performance marketing)
• Nittany Mountain Bike Association — $7,000 (Harvest Fields Town Series)
• Patton Township — $25,000 (Happy Valley Comic Book and Collectibles Convention)
• Penn State Palmer Museum of Art — $30,000 (permanent collection, special exhibits and educational program marketing)
• Penns Valley Pedals & Pints — $4,500 (promote biking and brewery patronage)
• Penns Valley Penguins Swim Team — $5,000 (Penns Valley Community Swimming Pool revitalization)
• Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra — $5,000 (concert promotion)
• Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra — $5,000 (digital and social media marketing)
• Friends of Black Moshannon State Park — $3,500 (trail maintenance tools)
• People’s Choice Festival — $20,000 (festival marketing)
• Philipsburg Revitalization Corporation — $15,000 (event marketing)
• Pleasant Gap Fire Company — $2,000 (Fall Festival marketing)
• Rhoneymeade — $7,500 (11th annual Mycofest marketing)
• Rhoneymeade — $7,000 (infrastructure improvements and visitor experience enhancements)
• Roland Curtin Foundation for the Preservation of Eagle Furnace — $10,000 (expanded marketing efforts)
• Roland Curtin Foundation for the Preservation of Eagle Furnace — $20,000 (facility improvements and America250PA Centre County Bells Across Pennsylvania art installation)
• Rowland Theatre — $14,000 (curtains, tracking and hardware stage improvements)
• Seasons of Rothrock Adventures — $15,000 (Seasons of Rothrock biking event marketing)
• Special Olympics of PA — $5,000 (Summer Games and Beaver Stadium Run)
• State College Choral Society — $3,000 (audience expansion)
• State College Little League — $4,500 (enhance visibility of SCLL facilities as a youth baseball tournament destination)
• Tempest Productions — $12,000 (Central PA Theatre and Dance Fest)
• The Arboretum at Penn State — $10,000 (Pumpkin Fest and Winter Celebration)
• Penn State School of Music — $5,000 (Penns Woods Music Festival)
• WPSU — $5,000 (Children’s Festival)
• The State Theatre — $50,000 (marketing and promotional efforts)
• The State Theatre — $70,000 (replacement of three rooftop HVAB units)
• Valley Community Business Alliance — $5,000 (Route 45 Getaways and Merry Millheim)
• Wildlife for Everyone Foundation — $4,500 (Great Outdoor Picnic promotion)