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Dozens of Marietta arts and cultural groups seek FY27 tourism grants; Visit Marietta leads the requests
Summary
At the special Parks, Recreation & Tourism Committee meeting, Visit Marietta and more than a dozen cultural organizations — including Alley Stage, the Gone with the Wind Museum, Georgia Symphony and Marietta History Center — requested tourism grant funding for FY27 to support marketing, artist pay, facility maintenance and special programming.
The Parks, Recreation & Tourism Committee heard a sequence of tourism grant presentations from local arts, cultural and community organizations seeking FY27 funding. Visit Marietta’s executive director Brittany Grama (speaker 12) led off with a request to fund the destination marketing organization’s continued efforts, updated welcome center space and a request to cover Depot Street rent and maintenance (requested amount cited as $22,137.80).
“As the city's destination marketing organization, our job is to tell stories,” Grama said, introducing the city brand “Meet me on the square,” a new Black History landing page on the Visit Marietta website and paid strategies tied to major moments such as America250 and the FIFA World Cup to broaden the city’s visibility.
Several nonprofit arts groups followed with specific, programmatic asks: Alley Stage Foundation (Laura Price, speaker 14) asked for $35,000 to fund artist fees for Shakespeare and cabaret series; the Gone with the Wind Museum at Brumby Hall (Jessica Giancola, speaker 17) requested continued funding and outlined a plan for a bridal suite to double wedding bookings; Georgia Metropolitan Dance Theater (Beth Hughes, speaker 22) requested $35,000 for guest artists and costume construction; Georgia Symphony Orchestra (Suzanne Tucker, speaker 23) requested $65,000 to support at least eight city performances, marketing and the outreach program “GSO on the Go.”
Other presenters — including the Marietta History Center (Amy Reed, speaker 11), Marietta Cobb Museum of Art (Sally McCauley, speaker 26), Marietta Theatre Company (Josh Hilcher, speaker 27), Lemon Street Classic (Marcus Hood, speaker 25) and many smaller community organizations — described audience growth, economic impact estimates and specific one‑time needs (roof replacement, signage, display cases, video production) tied to visitor experience and downtown visitation.
A recurring theme: presenters connected city tourism funding to local economic circulation. The Strand Theater’s executive director Andy Gaines (speaker 9) said the venue had 62,000 visits tied to a roughly $5.8 million economic impact in the prior year; several presenters highlighted that many attendees come from outside Marietta and spend at hotels, restaurants and shops.
Committee members asked logistical questions: how attendance is measured, how funding will be spent, nonprofit status checks (one member asked whether the Historic Marietta Square branding project had converted to a 501(c)(4), which the presenter said she would check). No formal allocations or votes were recorded at the special meeting; committee staff will review grant applications and bring recommendations back as part of the FY27 tourism grant process.
