City Hall supporting grant applications from Summer festivals

The Merritt festival grounds have been silenced over the past two summers due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The likes of Bass Coast and Rockin’ River have been forced to cancel their festivals for two years in a row, not only effecting their own bottom lines but also hurting tourism in Merritt.

“You provide us with entertainment, and a much needed boost to our economy with thousands of people spending time and money in our stores and restaurants,” wrote Mayor Linda Brown regarding Rockin’ River.

Both the local festivals are looking to finally return to the Nicola Valley in 2022 and are applying for grant funding to help in that pursuit.

“You even go beyond that, and contribute directly to our community’s amenities and infrastructure – last time you were in Merritt, you donated money and countless volunteer hours to do maintenance and repairs on a popular mountain bike trail on Iron Mountain,” wrote Mayor Brown in support of Bass Coast.

The City of Merritt is providing both events with letters of support to assist their applications.