Dover will be a busy place this summer.

That was evident Monday evening when the Dover Selectboard approved economic development funding for four events planned for the summer.

The money approved to help fund these events, over $37,000, will come from the economic development pool created after Dover voters approved the one-percent option tax two years ago.

There should be little doubt in anyone’s mind that the one-percent funds are beginning to pay dividends to the town, and in particular the business community. Of the four events funded, two are music based and completely new: Mount Snow’s Blues Festival in August, and the Paw House’s “Dogapawlooza” concerts over Labor Day weekend. Another, the Living History Associations timeline event, was relocated from Wilmington to Dover after organizers decided to seek funding from the development pool. The final event, Mount Snow’s mountain bike weekend, plans to greatly expand its appeal and reach and return mountain biking to the status once enjoyed as a premier summer event.

Couple these events with events approved earlier in the year, Letterboxing, the Blueberry Festival parade, and the Vermont Life Wine & Harvest Festival, and it becomes clear that businesses and event organizer are again willing to bet that Dover can be a desirable place to stage an event. As history has shown, events can and generally do bring increased business and visitors to a town and are a critical component of economic development, especially in a recreation community.

When the Dover Economic Development Committee laid out its business plan, event funding and promotion were key short-term goals. After all, the infrastructure is certainly in place in Dover to support events both large and small. This summer, the fruits of that strategy are becoming apparent.

That’s not to say that the DEDC has achieved all of its goals, far from it. There are many items still on its ambitious plate.

But voters who supported the one-percent tax should be heartened that the fruits of so much labor are beginning to blossom. And the DEDC should also take heart that their efforts are beginning to pay off as well. Dover, as we said, will be busy this summer, in large part because so many have been busy for the past two years.