Just in time for the holiday season, the Healdsburg Tourism Improvement District (HTID) announced over $125,000 in grants to seven local organizations. Live music, friendly competitions, civic festivities and other arts, cultural and educational activities will be supported through the grants, activities that help bring people to Healdsburg—and result in overnight stays at local lodgings
This round of grants will support events between November 2022 and April 2023, including:
• The popular Healdsburg Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 24) that raises funds for the “Live Like Drew” (Drew Esquivel) Scholarship, which helps student-athletes attend college.
• The Merry Healdsburg Weekend (Dec. 2-4) from Healdsburg Chamber/City of Healdsburg, offering festive activities for the whole family. Activities transform the Healdsburg Plaza into a winter wonderland with a tree lighting, carriage rides, a holiday concert, photos with Santa and more.
• Healdsburg Jazz Holiday Swingin’ Dance Party & Concert (Dec. 10), led by the legendary saxophonist Jules Broussard and featuring vocalists Tiffany Austin and Derek Evans, with the Marcus Shelby Trio.
The grants also help support such community-wide events as the Art After Dark street fair, the 222 performing arts center’s current season through May 2023, the upcoming Healdsburg Prune Box Derby on Derby Day (May 6), as well as grants to Healdsburg Kiwanis Club, Healdsburg High School’s Key Club and the Fitch Mountain Footrace, among others.
“We are honored to contribute to the wonderful community of Healdsburg through this grants program and are excited to see everything come into fruition this holiday season,” says Circe Sher, member of the HTID and co-founder of Piazza Hospitality.
The HTID is a benefit assessment district which funds marketing and sales promotion efforts for lodging businesses in Healdsburg. Its semi-annual grant program is derived from the local hospitality industry’s annual bed tax receipts, a 2% assessment in addition to the city’s 14% Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT).
Formed in 2013, the HTID gives 22.5% of its funds to the District Development Grant Program. Grant program applications are open twice a year, in the spring and fall, and priority is given to nonprofit organizations planning projects aimed at improving the visitor experience, such as transportation and parking solutions, infrastructure enhancements, and activities and events.
Grant applications for the coming year will open in the spring of 2023 and be available at www.healdsburg.com/htid.
