Fallon adds events to tourism schedule

Two new tourism events in Fallon this year are expected to generate additional revenue for Churchill County and provide a boost to the area's brand, says Rick Gray, executive director of the Fallon Convention & Tourism Authority.

The Fallon Festive of Quilts on May 19-22 and Tractors & Truffles on April 24 showcase the artsy side of Fallon, and the latter event also highlights the area's rich agricultural offerings.

Tractors and Truffles, which organizers eventually hope to host twice a year, will take place on a Fallon-area farm and at the Barkley Theatre. The event features a dinner consisting entirely of local offerings prepared by local chefs, followed by a performance at the 350-seat theater.

"Fallon is a provider of a lot of the dairy, fruits and vegetables you eat in northern Nevada," says Gray, the creator of the idea. "The agricultural aspect is very important."

Gray expects the initial farm-to-plate event to draw between 100 and 200 patrons. But the marketing and publicity generated from Tractors and Truffles is the real boon, he says.

"It will allow Fallon to talk about its agriculture and its arts, and that has a tremendous amount of public relations value."

The Nevada Commission on Tourism recently gave the event an $8,000 grant to help organizers create a brand and logo for the event website and produce marketing collateral targeted to food writers and similar groups.

The Fallon Festival of Quilts, which received a $5,000 grant from the Commission on Tourism to market the event to quilters and quilting associations, is expected to draw about 2,500 visitors to Churchill County.

Gray says quilting festivals, such as the Sisters Outdoor Quilting Festival in Sisters, Ore., typically bring in thousands of visitors.

"The popularity of quilting is growing; people are embracing it," he says. "The Nevada Quilting Guild has a real following in Fallon."

Gray says both events increase the cultural offerings in Churchill County and should benefit the county with additional revenue streams and heightened cultural awareness.

"It gives us two new opportunities to advertise and promote Fallon. Fallon events are very important to our strategic tourism and marketing plan. We are trying to have great menu of year-round events and market them to nearby urban areas as one vehicle to drive revenue to Fallon."