LT2026-006 PUNCH PROJECTS FINAL - Laserfiche WebLink

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3| Impact Response 3: Describe how you will promote your event/activity/facility to attract tourists.* 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 8,579 visitors. Approximately 1,699 (19.8%) 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 2026 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 2026, we plan to continue expanding our performance programming, providing opportunities for local musicians as well as more regionally recognized. We also plan to continue expanding other offerings such as 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 year-round 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 throughout the year. 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. In less than four years, we have more than tripled annual attendance from 937 in our first year to 2,983 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 165 hotel nights, for a total of 268 overnight stays by individuals. Considering our past experience of creating visual arts events throughout Washington state and our successful first three-and-a- half 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 We intend to continue focusing on PUNCH Projects as a year-round arts and culture destination while highlighting some of our more significant events such as our summer concert series, annual “Speakeasy” event and guest speakers. We also want to continue promoting “weekend” art getaways such as the back-to-back First Fridays in Ellensburg and First Saturdays in Thorp. Our marketing strategy will be a mix of boosted Facebook and Instagram ads, print ads, and editorial features. We’ve also continued working to expand our website content to improve SEO and search results when tourists are looking for things to do when planning trips, as well as taking advantage of travel-related sources such as Yelp and Trip Advisor. We currently have an email list with 1400+ subscribers to which we send a monthly update. As we continue to develop our marketing and promotion strategy, we will be looking to grow our number of subscribers and take full advantage of direct marketing via email to promote events, encourage attendance, and increase overall sales. We’ve seen great results from print advertising in Seattle’s “The Stranger” and Wenatchee’s “Comet” publications. We look forward to expanding our print placement and making more use of underutilized platforms such as “Google Ads.” 2500 character limit