Groups Request Promotion Money

— Twenty-five event organizers and nonprofit groups have requested nearly $300,000 this fall from the Advertising and Promotion Commission.

Commissioners will determine today which requests to fulfill. Events range from a state basketball tournament to a craft beer exhibition.

Twice each year, the commission awards money to groups to help offset marketing costs. Commissioners typically favor new events that need help getting off the ground and events that are expected to bring tourists to town.

“The basic consideration is whether they put heads in beds and seats in restaurants,” said Marilyn Heifner, commission executive director.

Requests are funded using surplus money in the commission’s budget.

The commission receives the vast majority of its revenue from half of a 2 percent tax on hotel stays and food purchases.

Hotel, motel and restaurant tax collections were up about $209,000, or 11.1 percent, through the first 10 months of 2012 compared to the same period last year, according to the commission.

Heifner estimated commissioners will have about $182,000 to award.

At A Glance

Money Requests

Groups requesting money from the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission at today’s 2 p.m. meeting are as follows:

Fayetteville Underground — $40,000 (General promotion and advertising)

Uptown Fayetteville’s Freedom Fireworks — $25,000 (July 4)

TheatreSquared — $25,000 (2013 programming)

Hooten Kickoff Classic — $20,000 (Sept. 2)

Joe Martin Stage Race — $20,000 (April 25-28)

Last Night Fayetteville — $16,100 (Dec. 31-Jan. 1)

Fayetteville Youth Baseball — $16,000 (Walker Park canopies)

Blues in the Natural State Festival — $15,000 (April 6-7)

Dig In! Food and Farming Festival — $14,500 (Feb. 28-March 2)

NWA Earth Days — $12,000 (April 5-May 13)

Arts Live Theatre — $10,000 (2013 programming)

Community Creative Center — $10,000 (Branding)

7A Boys and Girls State Basketball Tournament — $10,000 (Feb. 27-March 2)

Fayetteville Foam Fest — $10,000 (TBD)

Fayetteville High School Weekend of Champions — $9,000 (May 17-18)

NCAA Men’s Golf Regional Championships — $7,500 (May 16-18)

NCAA Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships — $7,000 (March 8-9)

Iron Pig Festival — $5,000 (March 30)

Merry Little Christmas at Mount Sequoyah — $5,000 (Dec. 8)

Ozark Valley Triathlon — $5,000 (June 23)

SEC Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships — $3,500 (Feb. 22-24)

Fayetteville High School Tri-State Volleyball Challenge — $3,000 (Sept. 21)

NWA Men’s Expo — $2,512 (March 13)

WordCamp Fayetteville — $2,000 (July 26-28)

Fayetteville High School DECA Fashion Show — In-kind donation (Feb. 7)

Total — $293,112

Source: Fayetteville Advertising And Promotion Commission

Fifteen of the 25 groups that requested funding this fall received money last year. The commission in fall 2011 doled out $183,000 to 22 groups. Commissioners last spring gave $159,200 to 18 groups.

Mark Landon Smith, executive director of Arts Live Theatre, said Friday that commission support goes a long way toward promoting the nonprofit youth theater company.

The group’s $10,000 request would account for about 95 percent of its marketing budget, Smith said.

“It creates awareness for Arts Live, Fayetteville and the community,” Smith said.

He estimated 4,000 patrons attended eight performances during the 2011-12 season. Smith said audiences come from across Northwest Arkansas, southwest Missouri and eastern Oklahoma and dine out while they’re here.

Performances in 2013 include “A Separate Peace,” Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” “Miss Nelson Is Missing” and a 10-minute play festival.

A first-time request this year came from the Mount Sequoyah Retreat and Conference Center for a “Merry Little Christmas” Dec. 8. The event includes a nonprofit gift fair, animated nativity scene, Christmas tree lighting and live music.

Abby Foster, CEO for the retreat center, said Friday a $5,000 contribution would help Mount Sequoyah promote the event through the United Methodist Church’s eight-state South Central Jurisdiction.

Also today, A&P commissioners are scheduled to consider a $1 million request from University of Arkansas Chancellor David Gearhart. The money would help pay for an on-campus concert hall that would seat up to 700 people.

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