Yelm City Council approves $45,000 of LTAC fund allocations to local organizations

During a Yelm City Council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 13, councilors unanimously approved six award recipient recommendations from Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) funding in 2027, totalling $45,000 of awards.

The recommended allocations included $14,000 toward the Nisqually Valley Barbecue Rally; $7,500 for the Nisqually Valley Spring Expo; $7,500 toward Standing Room Only (SRO) Theater; $7,000 to the Visitor and Convention Bureau of Thurston County; $7,000 for the City of Yelm’s Prairie Days activities; and $2,500 toward the City of Yelm’s Backyard Bricks programming.

Applications for the funding were accepted year round, but were met with a deadline of 5 p.m. on Sept. 1, for consideration. LTAC held a public meeting on Sept. 15, to review applications, discuss each request and determine appropriate funding amounts for each proposal.
According to applications, which were publicly available in the Yelm City Council meeting packet for the Tuesday, Oct. 13, meeting, Yelm Chamber of Commerce requested $20,000 for the Nisqually Valley Barbecue Rally. The event will take place on Friday, July 30, and Saturday, July 31.

Yelm Chamber of Commerce wrote: “Tourists flock to Yelm for this event, enticed by the promise of live music, engaging in children’s activities, captivating performances, and, of course, some of the best barbecue around. From amateur barbecue competitions to youth burger cooking contests, there’s plenty of excitement and friendly competition to go around.

The Visitor and Convention Bureau of Thurston County originally requested $10,000 for year-round destination marketing services, and claimed the funds would go toward tourism promotion and marketing activities. The funding would be utilized from Jan. 1, 2027, through Dec. 31, 2027.

The Visitor and Convention Bureau of Thurston County wrote: “EOB attracts overnight visitors to Yelm and Thurston County from 50+ miles away through an integrated, year-round destination marketing strategy, including: targeted digital advertising (programmatic display, paid social, Google Search, native advertising and video) focused on high-value drive markets throughout Washington, Oregon and other priority markets.”

Yelm Chamber of Commerce also initially requested $10,000 for the Nisqually Valley Spring Expo event, which will take place on Saturday, April 24, 2027, and Sunday, April 25, 2027, at Yelm Middle School.

The organization wrote: “The Nisqually Valley Spring Expo is Yelm’s key springtime showcase of local businesses, artisans, food and community spirit. The event draws both locals and visitors, offering a unique opportunity to experience the culture and offerings of Yelm.”
Standing Room Only (SRO) Theater applied originally for $12,000 toward programs and projects. Specifically, the money would be used for its murder mystery dinner events planned to take place in May of 2027 at Farrelli’s Pizza.

SRO Theater wrote: “The project is a murder mystery dinner production hosted at Farrelli’s Pizza in May 2027. Guests will eat a three-course meal at the restaurant while they watch the drama play out, getting the opportunity to interact with the actors, ask questions and solve the whodunnit. The guest that gets the correct solution gets a prize.”

The City of Yelm, on behalf of Prairie Days activities, initially requested $17,300 from the LTAC fund. The activities are set to take place from Thursday, June 24, 2026, through Sunday, June 27, 2026.

The City of Yelm wrote: “Prairie Days is the City of Yelm’s signature summer celebration and one of the longest-running community festivals in Thurston County. Held annually in late June, Prairie Days brings together thousands of residents and visitors for a four-day weekend of small-town charm, vibrant entertainment and free family-friendly fun.”

The City of Yelm, this time applying on behalf of the Backyard Bricks programming, originally requesting $2,500. The programming is set to begin on Dec. 31, 2027, and conclude on Jan. 1, 2028, according to its application.

The City of Yelm wrote: “Backyard Bricks is a two-day destination event that brings together Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOLs) from across the region to exhibit original creations, compete in themed challenges and engage with the public through a family-friendly interactive exhibition.”

Councilor Griselda Arias asked if there is a scoring system when considering applications for LTAC funding? If not, she stated she’d like to see a scoring metric become part of the allocation process.

“That’s something we did actually discuss during the last meeting for more fair and equitable selection, choice and process,” Mayor Joe DePinto said. “As you mentioned, they are considered but it’s not necessarily beholden to that. We are planning to make those changes into where it’s a more metric system. You’re assigned a value for each of those.”

Yelm City Council unanimously approved the recommendations.