Hill-Stead Gets State Tourism Grant

The Hill-Stead Museum has received a grant of $50,000 from the Connecticut Department of Economic Development’s Office of the Arts to support the development of “Connecticut Eye-Openers,” a theme-based travel packages at five major museums in the Hartford area, according to a press release from state Sen. Beth Bye (D-West Hartford)

“Hill-Stead is a fabulous institution known for its superb collection and its stunning landscape. This is exactly the type of destination that we want to be growing and promoting with these types of targeted grants,” Bye said. 

Hill-Stead Museum, New Britain Museum of American Art, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Connecticut Historical Society Museum and Library and Mark Twain House and Museum will work together to building travel packages around shared cultural themes, capitalizing on existing programs and resources and adding to these in a collaborative fashion. 

“We’ll do the all the work for individuals, couples, families and bus tour groups by packaging five distinguished museums that hold unexpected surprises,” Hill-Stead Museum Executive Director and CEO Dr. Sue Sturtevant said. “Visitors will be given directions to other seasonal attractions and go home with a new-found appreciation for Connecticut’s cultural treasures.  Partnerships are the way to go and we’re so grateful that state legislators understand the power of working together.”

Connecticut Eye-Openers will offer visitors fresh ways to see the world-class art, architecture, history, decorative arts, and gardens at each site, introducing new audiences to culturally significant resources as well as fascinating Connecticut characters who had international impact.

Providing an array of interactive experiences, the tours will be targeted specifically to tourists, attractive to a wide audience and enhanced by special offers from a selection of premiere dining, lodging and retail establishments in order to provide visitors with a streamlined, concierge experience.  Grant dollars will specifically underwrite the development of a Connecticut Eye-Openers prototype and the accompanying marketing to launch this pilot initiative. 

With combined annual attendance of 300,000 and national name recognition and compelling stories, a collaboration of these five museums will substantially leverage each institution's marketing dollars and audience reach to drive new visitation to Connecticut.  In addition to being in close proximity with each other, each site offers exceptional experiences with art, architecture, history and nature while sharing themes of innovation, industry, impact and inspiration that express Connecticut's distinctive sense of place.