Visit Zanesville announced a new grant initiative available to organizations that host events, attractions, and experiences in Muskingum County, and encourage visitors to the area and overnight stays within the county. There will be two rounds of grants for 2026. For the first round, five recipients of the Muskingum County Tourism Development Grant were selected: Bravo Six Foundation, Wolfie’s Campground, Muskingum County History, McDonald’s Greenhouse and Corn Maze, and Dresden Community Association. Each organization received $1,500 to use towards marketing, programming, or enhancements. County lodging tax revenue made funding the grants possible.
“Each location’s project reflects the diversity and creativity of our tourism partners,” said Jordin Harmer, Manager of Visit Zanesville. “From outdoor recreation and heritage tourism to agritourism and community festivals, each of these recipients play an essential role in attracting visitors and enhancing Muskingum County’s appeal as a destination.”
Bravo Six Foundation and its inaugural event, Stars & Strides: Run, Walk, Cruise is tentatively scheduled to take place on Sept 12 at 10:30 a.m. It will be a family-friendly community event that includes a 5K race, a one-mile family fun run/walk, and a charity car cruise-in.
“The grant funding will primarily help us expand the reach and visibility of the event through marketing and promotion, with the goal of attracting visitors from outside the immediate area. Our intent is not only to host a successful event, but also to encourage participants and their families to spend time in New Concord and Zanesville, exploring local dining, lodging, and attractions. Additionally, the grant will help offset some of the upfront event costs, allowing us to ensure that the majority of funds raised during the event can be directed back to Bravo Six Foundation’s veteran support programs,” explained Bravo Six Foundation Founder and Executive Director, Chris Davis.
“Being selected to receive the Muskingum County Tourism Grant is both an honor and a strong vote of confidence in our organization and our mission. As a growing nonprofit, this support affirms that our work supporting veterans also aligns with broader community and tourism goals. It allows us to elevate Stars & Strides from a local fundraiser into a signature community event that showcases what Muskingum County has to offer, while also strengthening our ability to serve veterans in meaningful ways. We are incredibly grateful for the partnership and view this grant as an important step in building an event that will have lasting impact for both our mission and the region,” Davis said.
Wolfie’s Campground is promoting its summer program.
“We’re very excited to put these dollars to good use. At Wolfie’s Campground, we’re actually going to be promoting our summer program. We have a lot of key events and activities that we partner with local businesses and artists to promote tourism in the area. We also partner with the Ohio State to do some activities and bring some people in from there. We’ll be spending a lot of emphasis on digital marketing and getting the word spread across the state and even further,” Wolfie’s Campground Co-Owner-Operator Kevin Strope said.
“There’s a lot of things we can do to work together in the community, which is exciting for us. Because the more things there are in Zanesville, the more people it brings in. It’s good for everybody. So, we’re really looking forward to doing that. And again, just continuing our partnerships and expanding those and strengthening the ones that we already have,” Strope added.
Muskingum County History will be bringing its Historical Holiday Homes Tour back this December.
“Our purpose for this grant will be to host our second annual Historical Holiday Tour of homes and businesses in the Putnam area. We had our first event this past December. Despite ending up with a level 2 snow emergency, we had over 80 people attend and visited almost 20 properties in the Putnam area. We thought that was overwhelming support for an event. Our businesses and homeowners want to do it again every year. As we develop it as a fundraiser for the Historical Society, we’re hoping to utilize these funds to get the word spread,” commented Executive Director of Muskingum County History, Larisa Harper.
“The community and especially the businesses, the non-profits of the area support each other and understand that our purpose is not only to educate and provide presentations, but also to draw people to our area so that they can learn more about our area, take advantage of our businesses, stay at our hotels, and have things to do that are different and fun, as well as friendly for the whole family,” explained Harper.
McDonald’s Greenhouse and Corn Maze is enhancing their venue to attract musical acts.
“We are going to add security cameras, microphones, electricity, and sound systems to host live music events in the back of our venue. During the fall, and hopefully the other times of the year,” McDonald said.
“We are really delighted that the community invests in our farm. We want to give back to the community, and the community will be a part of us. We are thankful that there is a bed tax. We’re thankful for our vibrant chamber and convention visitor bureau,” said Co-Owner of McDonald’s Greenhouse and Corn Maze, Susan McDonald.
Destination Dresden is looking to grow their annual event, America’s Basket Festival. The event celebrates Dresden’s rich basket-weaving history.
“Last year, we had over 1,000 attendees. We’re hoping with this extra funding, we can have more advertising and promote our July 11th event in Dresden, Ohio,” said Dresden Community Association President, Darron Delancey.
“It’s going to be so beneficial. Everything we do, of course, we’re a non-profit, so any funding we receive is spectacular. So we’re going to go ahead and pursue with different advertising prospects within the 50 mile radius outside of the Dresden area. Hopefully, we can draw more people in to our July 11th event. And hopefully we’ll see a bigger and better America’s Basket Festival than we ever have before,” explained Delancey.
The second round for the 2026 Muskingum County Tourism Development Grant will be open from April 1 through May 31. Eligible organizations interested in applying should go to VisitZanesville.com for application details and program guidelines.
