Shenandoah University Receives Virginia Tourism Corporation Grant

Photo courtesy of C King Media

Shenandoah University has received a $10,000 grant from the Virginia Tourism Corporation’s Marketing Leverage Program for Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre (SSMT).

Shenandoah partnered with local businesses, including the George Washington Hotel, Hampton Inn and Suites, Spark by Hilton Winchester, the Winchester-Frederick County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Café del Sol, and Friends of Old Town in an effort to build marketing campaigns that encourage tourism to the theatre and the broader Winchester and Frederick County community. The grant will help Shenandoah University and SSMT attract patrons to the city of Winchester as overnight guests, increasing economic activity in the community. 

SSMT, which welcomes an audience of over 22,000 people each summer, is also working with local tourism affiliates to pilot a new visitor cooperative program through which patrons can present a ticket stub from an SSMT performance to receive discounts or incentives from participating partners. It is anticipated that this program will go live in 2027.

SSMT is in its 42nd season, and this year’s productions include “Guys & Dolls” (June 19-July 5), “She Loves Me” (July 10-19), and “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” (July 24-Aug. 2). Tickets are available for purchase online at ssmtva.org.

Every summer, we are reminded of how deeply this community cares about the arts. We are thrilled to partner with so many remarkable local businesses through our sponsorships and program advertisements, and we are excited to find even more ways to connect our audience with the broader community that supports us. Winchester and the surrounding areas have so much to offer visitors, blending historic small-town charm with a vibrant, modern energy. It’s a destination where you can hike scenic valley trails in the morning, spend the afternoon enjoying the local shops and al fresco dining of the Old Town Walking Mall, and end your day seeing Broadway-style musical theatre without the traffic and parking headaches or big city prices.”

Elizabeth Albert ’00, managing director of SSMT

“At SSMT, we aim to do double duty: create unforgettable multigenerational experiences and also boost our local economy by attracting visitors who support area shops, restaurants and hotels,” said Jeremy Scott Blaustein ’08, producing artistic director of SSMT. “A thriving arts scene is not just a cultural treasure — it’s the hallmark of a healthy, vibrant place to live.”

This spring, the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) awarded more than $2.2 million in matching grant and sponsorship funds to 143 tourism programs across the commonwealth. These awards are funded through VTC’s Marketing Leverage and Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) programs.

These programs pair local marketing investments with matching state funds to increase visitation, extend overnight stays, and grow traveler spending across Virginia. This funding cycle, local partners will commit more than $4.3 million to match the VTC grant funds, generating more than $6.5 million in new marketing and event production initiatives focused on increasing overnight visitation to Virginia across all nine GO Virginia regions. In total, the awards will support 143 marketing programs and impact 858 tourism partners statewide.

“Effective tourism marketing is key to turning interest into visitation and visitation into economic impact,” said Rita McClenny, President and CEO of Virginia Tourism Corporation. “These programs give our partners the tools to tell more compelling stories about their destinations, connect with travelers in meaningful ways, and inspire deeper exploration across Virginia.”

VTC’s tourism marketing and sponsorship programs are designed to maximize limited marketing dollars through public-private partnerships, stimulate new tourism promotion initiatives, and extend the iconic “Virginia is for Lovers” brand to drive visitation and increase visitor spending. Using the hub-and-spoke tourism partnership model, Virginia entities partner to apply for funding. Partners may include cities, towns, counties, convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, local or regional destination marketing organizations, museums, attractions, cultural events, and other tourism-related nonprofits and private businesses. 

About Shenandoah University and SSMT

Shenandoah University was established in 1875, and is headquartered at the top of Virginia, in Winchester, Virginia, with additional educational sites in Clarke and Loudoun counties, and online offerings. Shenandoah is a private, nationally recognized university that blends professional career experiences with wide-ranging education. For more information, visit su.edu. 

Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre (SSMT), founded in 1984, is a professional summer stock theatre located in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. SSMT produces theatre that fosters community, nurtures the lives and careers of artists, and provides multi-generational audiences access to arts experiences that are entertaining, meaningful and accessible. For more information, visit ssmtva.org. 

About Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC)
Virginia is for Lovers is one of the most iconic and recognizable travel brands in the world. Using that powerful brand equity, Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) is charged with promoting the Commonwealth as a premier travel destination by showcasing all there is to love in a Virginia vacation. The dollars spent by travelers fuel the economy, provide jobs for Virginians, and improve communities across the state. Learn more at virginia.org.