In its September 27 meeting the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority (BCTDA) voted to provide $51,500 in grants to support 13 community festivals and events. Utilizing discretionary advertising revenue from the ExploreAsheville.com website, BCTDA developed a Festivals and Cultural Events Support Fund in early 2016. The grant program, now in its second year, is a mechanism to foster festivals and cultural events that serve Buncombe County residents as well as visitors to the area. The primary purposes of this fund are: • To support and preserve cultural identity within Buncombe County • To stimulate the creation of new or expansion of existing tourism Events • To help events grow With the redesign of...

The BCTDA voted unanimously to support the Town of Woodfin and Buncombe County government with a $2.25 million TPDF award at its June board meeting. The Woodfin Greenway & Blueway project is a $13.9 million recreation infrastructure project that will add five miles of new greenway trails, the new Silverline Park on the French Broad River, and the in-stream Whitewater Wave feature along with other park updates and improvements.

The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority (BCTDA) announced details of its 2018 Event Fund grant program. The grant program, launched in 2016, provides financial support for festivals and cultural events that serve Buncombe County residents as well as visitors to the area. Applications for 2018 festivals and cultural events are due on Thursday, August 31, 2017; grants will be announced, Thursday, September 28, 2017.