BAYFIELD, WI – Governor Tony Evers visited Big Top Chautauqua in honor of Tourism Week. Evers announced a $ 50 million plan to help local businesses recover from the pandemic.
Evers received a full tour of the complex and is hoping for a busy tourist season this summer.

Doug Olson, operations manager of Mount Ashwahbay and Big Top Chautauqua, says his business is one of many that could benefit from Evers’ proposed investment in the state’s tourism industry.

“We went from being in a situation where we might have lost employees, lost community support, to being in a situation where we actually threw a leg up,” said Olson.

Olson said earlier this fall that he didn’t anticipate a ski season was possible, but the community showed up to be outside and have fun. He believes Big Top Chautauqua will have a busy season this summer too.

Terry Matier, Executive Director of Big Top Chautauqua, is excited to see people outside and socialize this summer. She believes the pandemic will make people feel “separate” from each other and from the community.

Matier says the extra money will secure a future for the business.

“These grants really help us get back on our feet this year,” said Matier. “We will have a full season of events, but we will only have limited seats, which is a burden on our finances. So the grants that Governor Evers has given us are very important to our survival.”

Evers says he wants everyone to have a great summer, and investing in local businesses is just a start.

“We’re spending as much time as we can across the state to make sure people are preparing for a really important season,” said Evers. “Every place we’ve gone is full of energy as people prepare for a great summer.”

Big Top Chautauqua will have two opening nights with limited capacity on June 18th and 19th. Please visit the website for more information on purchasing tickets Here.

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