LT2025-013 PUNCH PROJECTS CLTAC - Laserfiche WebLink

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3| Impact Response 2.1: Why would tourists travel to Kittitas County to attend your event/activity/facility?* Since opening the Firehouse Project in October 2021, we have hosted an estimated 5,596 visitors. Approximately 1,121 (20%) of those are from out-of-county and often combine a visit to our gallery and music venue with a visit to other arts organizations in-and-out of the county such as Gallery One in Ellensburg, Twisp Works to the north or Mighty Tieton to the south. We are currently open every Saturday and new exhibitions open on the first Saturday of the month. This follows the First Friday Artwalk in Ellensburg, giving visitors the perfect opportunity to make a weekend of art in central Washington. We are perfectly placed on the scenic byway halfway between Roslyn/Cle Elum and Ellensburg. This location has allowed us to connect with river rafters, fly fishermen and bicyclists who have discovered us on their path, enriching their visit and experience within Kittitas County. We have a history and proven track record of creating exhibitions and creative projects that draw large audiences. For our 2025 general programming, we plan to continue monthly exhibitions in the main gallery that will attract and appeal to visitors beyond Kittitas County. From May-September we host performers and visitors in our outdoor event and gathering space, and our indoor venue and “snack bar” with food and beer offerings allows us to feature performers, presentations and workshops year-round. In 2025, we plan to continue expanding our performance programming, providing opportunities for local musicians as well as more regionally recognized. We also plan to add more film and movie screenings to our event lineup. Considering our unique mix of art exhibitions in our gallery space, performance on our backyard stage, our new indoor venue and “snack bar,” and an upstairs workshop space for lessons and demonstrations, there is a lot to see and experience at PUNCH Projects. Our central location, adjacency to the scenic byway, and rural appeal are perfect publicity talking-points to draw-in new visitors and tourists. 2500 character limit Response 2.2: Describe the prior success of your event/activity/facility to attract tourists.* Though Kittitas County is a strong supporter of visual arts, with opportunities to visit exhibitions at a small number of galleries during Ellensburg’s First Friday Artwalk, there are few spaces that combine that with food and beverage, live music, film, or performance. Because we are the only venue of this nature in Thorp and close to upper county, we draw a significant number of residents and tourists from Cle Elum and Roslyn. After moving into the historic fire house in Thorp in October 2021, we quickly expanded from just a gallery and exhibition space in the front of the building, to an upstairs summer residency space for visiting artists in partnership with Ellensburg’s Gallery One, and a backyard stage for musicians and performers. As we conclude our third year in operation, we have tripled annual attendance from 937 in our first year to 2,961 the past 12 months. In Sept. 2023, we started collecting zip codes and “overnight stays” data in the form of a sign-in sheet on our reception desk. This data shows that in the past 12 months, our visitors have booked an estimated 114 hotel nights, for a total of 243 overnight stays by individuals. Considering our past experience of creating visual arts events throughout Washington state and our successful first-three-years with our Fire House Project, coupled with the demand for a creative venue that merges the arts, live performance, good drinks and food, we feel uniquely poised to create a destination that not only supports rural vitality in small unincorporated Thorp, but also builds bridges between the urban cultural centers of the Northwest and the smaller communities among the fertile landscape from which PUNCH originated. 2500 character limit Application Questions: Part 2