Balloon Fest receives grant
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Crown of Maine Balloon Fest recently received a $7,000 grant from the Maine Office of Tourism that will be used to market the annual event in both southern Maine and New Brunswick.
The Tourism Enterprise Marketing Grant program is a new state initiative that was introduced in 2014 in response to input from representatives of the industry in Maine. Grants are reviewed and awarded in the spring and fall, and help promote viable marketing projects that will increase visitor traffic to the state. Funds range from $2,500 to $10,000.
“With this program, we can now be more responsive and support smaller organizations with great tourism-related projects that just need a boost,” said Carolann Ouellette, director of the Maine Office of Tourism.
According to Theresa Fowler, executive director of the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce, which co-hosts the festival with the Mapleton Lions Club, the grant application was submitted in early fall.
“The initial application was submitted for some funding to also promote the Farmers’ Market which is located in downtown Presque Isle, but unfortunately the Farmers’ Market was not considered a viable promotion item,” she said. “However, the Maine Office of Tourism recognized the value of the balloon festival, which has been fortunate to have received some advertising funds from them in the past.”
Funds will support the chamber marketing to promote the Crown of Maine Balloon Festival. The project will reach potential visitors in Canada and Maine through print and social media, and aim to increase traffic to the website for the annual August event.
“The reason it’s directing people to our website is because that’s really our only viable way to count the new traffic that we have,” said Fowler. “Because it is a non-ticketed event, it’s virtually impossible for us to count the impact of our advertising.
“The grant is earmarked for advertising buys — TV, radio, print and website advertising, too. The grant money is additional funds that will be used to expand the marketing beyond our normal scope,” she said. “We’ll be able to advertise in New Brunswick to attract our neighbors; we don’t traditionally advertise in that market, and we will be able to do some advertising in the southern Maine (Portland) market. Our objective is to draw additional people to the area. As we all know, once someone comes to The County, they love it. We want to get people in southern Maine to travel north and realize that we’re here.”
Fowler said she’s appreciative of the grant and is looking forward to another successful event.
“The objective is to increase tourism in the region,” she said. “The Crown of Maine Balloon Fest is continuing to grow and expand, and we’re looking forward to a bigger, better event in 2015.”
The 12th annual Crown of Maine Balloon Fest will be held Aug. 27-30.
