The Geneva City Council approved three Destination Geneva reimbursable grants totaling $8,300 for local organizations to lure more visitors to the city.

The grants will support live music, a live Shakespeare performance and live art demonstrations, officials said at the June 15 meeting.

Preservation and Atlas Chicken, at 513 S. Third St and 511 S. Third St., with support of other restaurants and merchants, propose to offer live music from noon to 3 p.m. on Sundays from July 5 to Sept. 27 – excluding festival days.

Called Sunday Sidewalk Sessions, the $4,500 grant will support four musicians at a time during the sessions, documents show. The grant will provide $1,500 in advance towards musician fees, to be included in the reimbursement request at the close of the program, documents show.

“This purpose of this program is to encourage visitors from the French Market to explore the downtown,” City Administrator Alex Voigt said.

The French Market is held every Sunday from April to November in the parking lot at the Metra Station.

“The city had previously supported an outdoor music program from 2012 to 2019,” Voigt said.

Economic Development Director Cathleen Tymoszenko said the program is intended to encourage more musicians to perform and for more people to know about live music.

“Right now, you can busk in Geneva. Musicians can show up and play and put out their case to see if people want to give them tips,” Tymoszenko said. “We see that, we have that happen organically sometimes. There’s somebody that comes to the French Market all the time. What this is going to do is make more structure for it, so more musicians show up, so it can be a predictable activity for people to come and visit Geneva and know there’s going to be music on Sundays.”

Another Destination Geneva grant is for the Geneva Foundation for the Arts to offer a silk screen workshop during the Geneva Arts Fair on July 26.

“They are requesting $1,300, representing that the proposed workshop will reinforce Geneva’s identity as a community that actively supports and promotes the arts, leaves visitors with a stronger connection to the city and its cultural values, resulting in returning visitors,” Voigt said.

The event is also intended to support local tourism and contribute to the economic activity in the downtown, Voigt said.

As the application was submitted before the council’s recent approval of an expanded grant program focused on bringing more visitors for overnight stays, the foundation was advised that the grant may not be available in the next fiscal year, Voigt said.

The two applications were already pending from the earlier program.

Under the new, expanded Destination Geneva program, Geneva Foundation for the Arts sought a $1,500 grant for an Aug. 1 Shakespeare in the Park performance of a romantic comedy, “As You Like It.”

“The applicant states that the event delivers significant cultural, social and economic value to Geneva by providing high-quality theatrical performances at no cost,” Voight said.

Based on their raffle ticket data, attendees came from 34 surrounding communities, demonstrating its appeal beyond Geneva, Voight said.

Tymoszenko said the city was running the two programs concurrently, as other applications are also still pending under the previous grant program.

“We’re trying to work to maintain both of them until they can be evaluated and then you can determine how you want to proceed for the next fiscal year,” Tymoszenko said.

Second Ward Alderperson Bradley Kosirog said he thought the Geneva Chamber of Commerce could be a great partner in promoting these local events, rather than just the Aurora Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The city has a contract with the bureau to promote Geneva as an overnight destination.

“Who does local marketing better if we’re looking to get a program off the ground than that people that support our community?” Kosirog asked.

Voigt said the applicants are chamber members. The question on the application was where to advertise, and the AACVB is an avenue for regional advertising.

“There is no one saying no one will be working with the Chamber, that’s just not part of the application,” Voigt said.

Tymoszenko said the Aurora Area Convention and Visitors Bureau has a free online organizer that businesses and organizations can use to promote their special events.

“The Chamber does not have that type of open portal,” Tymoszenko said.