Stay Healdsburg Awards $126K in Grants, Supporting More than A Dozen Local Organizations

Healdsburg, Calif. (April 25, 2023) – Stay Healdsburg —a benefit assessment district comprised of Healdsburg lodging businesses that fund marketing and sales promotion efforts for the destination announce more than $125,000 in grants to 13 local organizations.

The semi-annual grant program is derived from the self-assessed transient occupancy tax (T.OT.) collected by the lodging partners. The contributions aim to fund arts, cultural and educational activities and subsequently improve tourism and promote room stays among the 31-member lodging properties within the city limits, as well as enhancing the resident’s overall quality of life.

This round of grants will support upcoming events between May 2023 and April 2024, including:
● The 25th Annual Healdsburg Jazz Festival is taking place June 17-25, featuring nine days of concerts in Wine Country with appearances from renowned jazz artists like NEA Jazz Master Dianne Reeves, Grammy Award winner Samara Joy and Healdsburg Jazz artist-in-residence John Santos.
● Tuesday’s Concerts in the Plaza running from May 30-Aug. 29, dishing up an eclectic and unique line-up of bands assembled to please a wide array of musical interests, produced by the city of Healdsburg.
● The nonprofit Farm to Pantry aims to bring together the local community to end food injustice and reverse global warming by rescuing and sharing locally-grown food with those who have been systematically marginalized.
● The current season of The 222 Performing Arts running from August 2023 through May 2024, delivering diverse offerings in jazz, classical and choral music as well as literary, film, and community-building events.
● The brand-new exhibit We Are Not Strangers Here from Healdsburg Museum whose mission is to collect, protect, preserve, and interpret the artifacts, documents, and photographs that trace the rich history of Healdsburg and the surrounding area through exhibitions, educational programs, and historical research.
● Giro Vigneti 36th Healdsburg Annual Health & Wellness Cycling Tour and Fourth of July Kids’ Parade & Duck Dash, are both events produced by the Rotary Club of Healdsburg Sunrise, and both take place in July (July 22 and July 4, respectively).
● The first annual Bloodroot Ramble, occurring June 9-11 and combining wine, music and community in a homegrown music festival put on by the live music junkies of Bloodroot Wines.
● The ever-popular, annual Día de Muertos on Oct. 29 from Corazón Healdsburg touches the heart and connects the local community with music, food, a car and truck show, activities for kids.
● The community-supportive Watershed Cleanup which continues to remove litter from beachgoers before the rain wash sends them to the ocean, is facilitated via Russian Riverkeeper.
● Healdsburg Fireworks providing entertainment and enjoyment for all of Healdsburg’s families, executed by the American Legion.
● The annual Healdsburg Wine & Food Experience facilitated by SD Media Productions LLC, showcasing the region’s makers alongside globally recognized wines. The festival’s goal is to highlight the vibrant culinary diversity, sustainable farming practices, and deep connection to the agriculture of Sonoma as it relates to the rest of the world.
● The enjoyable Healdsburg Crush organized by Boys & Girls Club of Sonoma-Marin, featuring tasting booths from more than 60 local wineries on Oct. 15.
● AVFilm’s annual AVFest, serving as Northern Sonoma County’s Film Festival, celebrating the best in independent film.

“Emerging from the pandemic and with the resumption of travel, this is an ideal time to continue to reinvest and support our idyllic city,” said Chief Executive Officer Tallia Hart. “Nothing gives our organization greater pleasure than being able to continuously support our community’s mainstay annual events such as the Healdsburg Jazz Festival and Tuesdays in the Plaza, both of which have only increased in popularity over the last few years, while also allocating funds toward important community organizations such as Farm to Pantry and Russian Riverkeepers, both of which have honorable missions make our local community, and our world, a better place.”

Effective Jan. 1, 2023, the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors now consists of 30% of Stay Healdsburg lodging partners. The portion of each Chamber Board Meeting that discusses Stay Healdsburg’s business is open to the public with meetings held on the third Thursday of every month, at 8:15 a.m. at the Chamber office.

Grant program applications open twice a year in the spring and fall, and priority is given to destination events, which generate business midweek and in the 0ff-season. Grants for Winter 2023/Spring 2024 will open in September and be available at www.healdsburg.com.

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About Stay Healdsburg
Stay Healdsburg, the tourism improvement district for Healdsburg, comprises 31 luxury hotels, motels, modern lofts and suites, cozy bed & breakfasts, and rustic inns within the city limits. Nestled in the heart of beautiful Sonoma Wine Country, Healdsburg is a culinary epicenter where three premier wine regions meet—Russian River Valley, Dry Creek, and Alexander Valley —and are home to more than 160 wineries.