The Festus Tourism Commission awarded 18 grants for a total of $210,171 in its latest round of grant-giving.
Those grants, awarded during the Tourism Commission June 24 meeting, primarily went to groups that have held successful events that draw large-sized crowds.
The commission tends to fund grants requested from groups that consistently hold popular events, said Pat Parson, the commission chair.
“These groups have had successful events, so we continue to fund them,” she said.
Parson pointed to Four Brothers Meadery as an example. The Festus Main Street business has staged its Mead on Main Viking Festival for several years and pulled in large crowds each time. Event organizers requested a grant of $14,400 after receiving one for $6,855 last year, and the commission fully funded this year’s larger request.
She said Four Brothers Mead’s holds two Viking festivals – Mead on Main in the fall and Sigurblot in the spring – and they have drawn thousands of people to town each time.
“Since they’ve been such successful events bringing people to our hotels, we approved their request for more money,” Parson said.
Parson noted that the commission’s grants are intended to bring tourists to Festus to spend money in the hotels, restaurants and stores or to enhance recreational opportunities for the public. The large outdoor stage in the Larry G. Crites Memorial Park, for example, was largely funded through commission grants.
Barb Lowry, the Festus Recreation and Tourism director, said she often requests larger grants for the numerous events the city of Festus puts on because they cost a lot to stage, and those costs are ever-rising.
For instance, in the latest round of commission grants, Lowry asked for and received a $35,000 grant to cover costs for entertainment at the 2026 Firecracker Festival. For the recent 2025 Firecracker Festival, she asked for and received $30,000 for entertainment.
“I’ve asked for more because prices are increasing,” Lowry said.
She said the commission’s grants help make big events like the Firecracker Festival possible.
“These are activities in town that couldn’t happen without the Tourism Commission grants,” Lowry said. “This year, we had (country singer) Collin Raye. Last year, we had Rodney Atkins. We couldn’t have stars like that without the grants.”
Parson said grant requests for new events and new groups are always welcome.
One first-time event in the latest batch of grants is an Easter egg hunt scheduled for spring 2026. Denny Foster requested $9,000 for the event on behalf of the Main Street Association (formerly known as the Historic Tanglefoot Association). The association initially applied for the grant for 2025 and the commission awarded the money, but the event had to be delayed a year, Foster said.
He said the date for the Easter egg hunt is to be determined.
“We’re going to have it in (Crites Park),” Foster said. “It’s in the preliminary planning stages. We’re planning to have it in the park in the area where they’re building the splash pad (and all-inclusive playground), so we decided to wait a year. It will be a first-time event and it will be for adults. More information to come.”
The grants work on a reimbursement basis, so if a grant recipient does not use any or all of its grant money, the funds stay with the commission.
Michelle Vaughn, the Festus city finance director and Tourism Commission treasurer, said if all the recipients claim the grants, the commission would still have $331,677.66 left to fund future projects.
The commission typically meets twice a year to hear pitches for grants and then decides who receives them. It funds the grants with revenue from the city’s 5 percent hotel-motel tax.
All five commission members attended the most recent meeting in June. The other members are Mike Cage, Rick Fischer, Rhonda Gerstner and Melody Yesberg.
The following is a list of the other grants awarded in the latest round.
■ $56,908 to Vaughn on behalf of the Tourism Commission for various expenses, including half of Lowry’s salary and benefits. The city of Festus pays the other half.
■ $17,500 to Lowry on behalf of the city for the 2026 Sundays at Sunset concert series at Sunset Park in Festus.
■ $10,000 to Jim Berger on behalf of the Jefferson County Pickleball League for the league’s 2026 season.
■ $9,015 to Michelle Hohmeier on behalf of the Main Street Association for its annual Ladies Night Out scheduled for Nov. 8 on Main Street.
■ $7,808 to Justin Lenhard for the Lenhard family 2025 holiday light shows at Crites Park.
■ $7,465 to Melody Yesberg on behalf of the Main Street Association for the Nov. 29 Small Business Association Adult Stocking Stroll.
■ $6,800 to Courtney Wisely on behalf of Spotlight Community Theatre group for its production of “Fiddler on the Roof” on Aug. 7-10 at Jefferson High School.
■ $5,925 to Lowry on behalf of the city for the annual Santa House for children to visit Santa in December 2026.
■ $5,250 to Lowry on behalf of the city for Swingin’ Under the Stars set for May 11, 2026.
■ $5,000 to Matt Jones of the Relaxed Atmosphere car club for the Relaxin in the Park vehicle show scheduled for May 16, 2026.
■ $5,000, a tentative grant to Kimberly Rushing for Worship in the Park scheduled for Sept. 13. The event has been held before at Crites Park, but it is the first time organizers have applied for a commission grant.
Parson said the grant is tentative because the commission is seeking legal advice to determine if public money may go to a religious organization. The commission also dedicated $1,000 to obtain a legal opinion on the issue. Rushing said on July 7 that she had not yet heard from the commission on the legal opinion.
■ $5,000 to Vaughn on behalf of the city for a boom lift rental to help with the Lenhard Family Light Show. The grant is contingent on the need to rent the item as the city may buy its own boom lift prior to the show, Vaughn said.
■ $4,050 to Lowry on behalf of the city for the Mayor’s Summer Cruise on June 6, 2026,
■ $4,050 to Lowry on behalf of the city for the Mayor’s Fall Cruise on Sept. 19, 2026.
■ $2,000 to Shelly Otec on behalf of the YMCA of Jefferson County for the YMCA Thanksgiving Day Workout set for Nov. 25 at its building in Festus.