By Jennifer Lucarelli, Contributing Writer
Shrewsbury – The Shrewsbury Cultural Council (SCC) has awarded 21 grants totaling $8,314 to help support a variety of cultural programs offered locally during 2014. Twelve grants received total funding and nine received partial funding due to the limited funds available.
Grant recipients are: Fruitlands Museum, Centre Stage Productions, Theatrical Magic (Shrewsbury Public Library), Shrewsbury High School, Women of Jazz (Library), America in Relief (Spring Street School), Heifer Farm Project (Sherwood Middle School), Jordon Pond Parade of Lights, Worcester County Horticultural Society, Symphony Pro Musica, Audio Journal, Assabet Valley Mastersingers, Shrewsbury Council on Aging, Northborough Area Community Chorus, Worcester Chamber Music Society, Regatta Players, Arts on the Green Concert Series (First Congregational Church), Calliope Productions, Charles River Sinfonietta (St. Mary's Church), and Acton Discovery Museum (Paton Elementary School).
The mission of the SCC is to promote excellence, access, education, and diversity in the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences to enrich the quality of life in Shrewsbury.
The eight-member town committee receives grant applications dated before?Oct. 15?for funding the following calendar year.?The committee meets at the Shrewsbury Town Hall after that date to review all submitted grants checking to make sure they meet the state regulations and the council's objectives.?Then the group discusses and decides how to distribute the state funds allocated to council.
“We particularly look for new or unique programs so that a diverse offering of arts programs can be supported,” said Lee Reid, who is in charge of publicity for the Shrewsbury Cultural Council. “Grant recipients are notified of their award and funds are dispersed after their performance date.”
The SCC encourages grant submissions to support?cultural activities in the area, but because of limited resources the council cannot fully fund all grants.
The Shrewsbury Cultural Council is one of 329 cultural councils in Massachusetts. It functions under the authority of the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), the most extensive public cultural funding network in the nation. The local councils support art, science, and humanities programming which includes funding school field trips, concerts, theatrical productions, science projects, and other cultural events.
Grant applications can be downloaded from the SCC website: http://www.mass-culture.org/Shrewsbury.
