City to award grants for downtown events

the vindicator

YOUNGSTOWN — Grants of up to $2,000 are available for downtown events through a city-sponsorship program.

People or organizations having events downtown can apply for a grant to the Office of the Director of Events. The deadline is April 1. Grant recipients will be chosen no later than May 1.

For more information, call Lyndsey Hughes, events director, at (330) 742-8710.

Last year, the program provided financial and technical support for more than 20 functions, ranging from the Regional Red Hat Society Luncheon to the Youngstown Italian Festival. Other 2009 city- sponsored events included: the Fallen Officer Bike Run, Youngstown Cityscape, PRIDE Youngstown, Pig Iron Street Fair, Vex Fest VI, Caf Cimmento Street Fest, First Night Youngstown, Oktober Fest, Lucky Penny Family Reunion, the Summer Outdoor Movie Series and Party on the Plaza.

Some new city-sponsored events in 2009 included: the River Fest for Vets in Distress, Tour of the Valley Downtown Bicycle Race, the Youngstown Zombie Crawl, Women and Minority Networking Events and the revival of the Downtown Youngstown Holiday Parade.