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APPLICATION QUESTIONS <br />Please answer each question completely, in the order listed on a separate sheet attached to this application. <br />Please include any supporting data within the response narrative. <br />1. Please provide a description of your project/event and identify the specific tourism <br />audience/market that your organization will target with these funds. You must include an <br />itemized list of exactly how any grant funds awarded will be utilized. <br />The Spirit of the West Cowboy Gathering is a celebration of America's Western Heritage and features <br />some of the nation's best in Western poetry, music, cowboy cuisine, and art, as well as the latest in <br />quality western gear, clothing and decor. The Spirit of the West Cowboy Gathering runs every <br />President's Day weekend and provides a setting during the off season where locals, tourists and old <br />west aficionados from across the country can come enjoy the culture of the American west and relive <br />the magic of the cowboy life while listening to stories and ballads of the west. <br />This year's Spirit of the West will once again include numerous events designed with the goal of <br />increasing attendance and tourism to Kittitas County. These events include various free concerts, family <br />friendly events and ticketed concerts with well-known headline entertainment. Free entertainment will <br />once again be offered for 5 hours on Friday and Saturday in the old downtown Ellensburg business <br />district and has been increased to eight different business locations around town, each location offering <br />5 different performers for a total of 80 free performances over two days. Other free events include a <br />Cowboy Church Concert, all day Fiddlers Contest, Educational Workshops, Presentations, Exhibits and <br />Demonstrations, Open Mic sessions and our Western Gear and Art Show. We are offering another <br />"new" and expanded children's activity event to bring more families into the festival. Again we will be <br />presenting a Sunday afternoon concert and new for this year we have expanded the festival by adding <br />one more day that will be comprised of a western clothing fashion show on Thursday evening that <br />includes appetizers and drinks. Both the new Thursday evening event and Sunday afternoon concert are <br />designed to keep festival -goers in the Kittitas area longer, staying over at hotel/motels an extra night or <br />two, and therefore not only staying to enjoy more sights in the area, but purchase more food at <br />restaurants and merchandise at local businesses. <br />Our key demographic target is cowboy poetry, music and art fans who along with their families and <br />friends represent a diverse, up -scale audience with a large discretionary spending capability. Our goal is <br />to draw in a new and varied age group that includes those who have never experienced cowboy poetry <br />and western music. Lodging Tax funds obtained will be used toward increased marketing and advertising <br />of the Spirit of the West festival event. Our integrated marketing campaign will target not only <br />Washington state residents, but also residents of Idaho, Oregon and Utah. This will be accomplished by <br />the use of social media inclusive of our website and Facebook, print media such as mailers, brochures, <br />magazine and newspaper ads, plus radio and television ads. <br />