I was sitting in the audience Monday night during the bi-annual meeting of the Fernley Convention and Tourism Authority, listening as organizers of a variety of events stepped to the podium one by one, or in some cases, en masse, to present their plans.
Each event had its own flavor. A festival here, a tournament there, but together they paint a picture of Fernley’s growing sense of place.
We’ve all seen Fernley’s growth in terms of the number of people, the amount of traffic and the constant calls for more and better infrastructure. Those are visible signs of change, but there’s another kind of growth happening here that’s just as important, only it isn’t measured in census counts.
Just a few years ago, Fernley’s event calendar was modest. The annual Fourth of July celebration, Memorial Day and Wreaths Across America at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery and a rodeo or two or a car show here and there drew a crowd, but most events in town were modestly attended.
That is changing rapidly, thanks to a list of events hosted by groups like the Fernley Arts & Culture Events Squad (ACES), the Fern 45 and Fernley Youth Softball, just to name a few of a growing legion.
On Monday night, the Fernley Convention and Tourism Authority (FCTA) awarded more than $79,000 in grants to help promote upcoming events in the city. That might look like a routine budget item, but in reality, it represents something larger: Fernley’s commitment to investing in its own story.
The FCTA was established by ordinance in 2020 to promote tourism by managing Transient Lodging Tax funds for events. The FCTA Board is comprised of the city council members, and the money is intended as seed money to promote local events and help them become self-sufficient. That’s exactly what has happened. Many of the events that have been awarded money in the past handful of years have grown enough that they don’t need the FCTA funds anymore.
While some of the groups applying for funding had videos or slideshows, one applicant apologized for not having anything similar prepared, to which FCTA Board members responded that there was no need to apologize, because the money is intended specifically to help start events like the one that presenter was talking about.
That’s what was so cool about seeing the presentations. Each new event adds another thread to the fabric of civic life, and together they create a sense of place that makes Fernley a destination, not just a stop along the highway.
While the grants approved this week are for promoting tourism, they’re not just about advertising or flyers. They are about sustaining that momentum. They help organizers reach wider audiences, fill hotel rooms, and bring visitors into local restaurants. Tourism dollars ripple outward, supporting businesses and strengthening the city’s tax base.
But there is also a deeper layer. Events are not only economic drivers. They shape how newcomers see Fernley and how longtime residents feel about staying. They are rituals of belonging. When families gather for fireworks, when athletes compete in tournaments, when neighbors stroll through a festival, they are participating in Fernley’s identity.
As fast as Fernley is growing, that identity is still being created, and the numbers only tell part of the story. Together, these events are Fernley’s way of saying we are building not just a bigger city, but a stronger community.
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