Local Cultural Organizations Awarded Grants

READING CULTURAL COUNCIL (RCC) ANNOUNCES LIST OF 2018 GRANTEES

March 2018 -- The Reading Cultural Council, the local arm of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, has awarded $6,476 in program funding support to 17 Reading organizations for arts and humanities programming in 2017 and 2018.

According to Reading Cultural Council chair Donna Schenkel, cultural council grants support a range of cultural, artistic and experiential projects and activities in Reading -- including exhibits, festivals, field trips, short-term artist residencies or performances in schools, workshops and lectures. “We look for local programs that are performed at an accessible Reading venue. You’ll see from the list of 2018 awards that our grants cover a range of community interests, ages and locations.”

The Massachusetts state legislature provides an annual appropriation to the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, which then allocates funds to Local Cultural Councils, like the Reading Cultural Council, which make awards based on community needs, assessed and set by council members. Funding was provided to the following organizations for 2017-2018:

· Children’s Author Presentation at Reading Public Library : On 3/14/18 children’s author, Mr. Steptoe, will give an evening presentation for all ages, on the creative process. He won both the 2017 Caldecott Award and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for his book the “Radiant Child.”

· Reading Community Concert Band: The newly-renamed Reading Community Concert Band (formerly Reading Civic Concert Band) will give their annual Mother's Day Concert on May 13th, 2018 at the First Congregational Church.

· Creative Arts for Kids: Creative Arts is sponsoring the Fairy Tale Players for three performances from January to March 2018. The actors combine energetic storytelling, audience participation, music, and improvisation through a classic fairy tale to compliment preschool and elementary education.

· Reading Community Senior Center: On October 11, 2018, step back in time and meet Isabella Stewart Gardner, the famed founder of our own Gardner Museum in Boston presented by the Delvena Theatre Company.

· Reading Public Library: On May 22, 2018, visit with the legendary W. C. Fields and Mae West in a dressing room on the set of My Little Chickadee. Learn about their personal lives too in this humorous production performed by Delvena Theatre Company.

· Colonial Faire Parker Tavern: The Colonial Faire to be held on May 19, 2018 at Reading’s Parker Tavern will showcase daily life during the Revolutionary War period with an encampment of Minutemen and their families with displays of crafts, food and more.

· Youth Drama Workshop: Free drama workshop for ages 4-18 on April 7, 2018. The workshop will offer an introduction to drama for those who have never tried acting, and as an opportunity for current theatre students to try new theatre styles with no risk. Contact kellybwalsh@comcast.net for more information.

· North Suburban Child & Family Resource Network: The North Suburban Child & Family Resource Network is partnering with the Burbank YMCA on April 21, 2018 to provide an educational show as part of the Y's "Healthy Kids Day". Wayne from Maine will perform a show, entitled "Read the Label".

· Birch Meadow Elementary School Annual Author Day: On March 8th, the Annual Author Day at Birch Meadow elementary School features children's author Anna Staniszewski. She will work with all the students in grades K-5 to share her real-life writing experiences, encourage creative thinking, and showcase the importance of the writing process.

· Ivy Chord Coffee House: The Ivy Chord Coffee House offers an acoustic music concert series to members of the Reading community as well as those of surrounding towns. Check for dates: uureading.org/concerts

· Coolidge Middle School Science Olympia: The Coolidge School Science Olympiad is a nonprofit organization that supports the Coolidge middle-school science team students, who train rigorously for 15 hours per week to compete in events spanning all fields of science.

· Colonial Chorus Players: Funding provided to purchase a wireless microphone to support performances of the Players.

· Austin Prep Field Trip: Students participating in Austin Prep’s new dance program will attend on December 7, 2017, a performance of the Nutcracker, as staged by the Northeast School of Ballet in Reading to compare the styles of dancing and storytelling in this production with other performances studied throughout the semester.

·Quannapowitt Players, Inc: Suburban Holidays is a theater festival on December 20, 2017. It consists of seven to ten short plays written by amateur playwrights, most of whom are local to Reading MA.

· Reading Community Singers: The Reading Community Singers performed a holiday concert, "Making Spirits Bright” on December 2,3, 2017. The holiday concerts brought about 400 people of all ages to downtown Reading, with over 90 chorus members and instrumentalists from 23 local communities.

· Jams for Jake: After the senseless death of Jake Czuczwa of Reading, a close-knit group of friends planned a community music event held on October 29, 2017 to bring greater awareness about the addiction resources available in the community.

· Community Youth Musicals: Community Youth Musicals is a charity theater program exploring new collaborations with local community theaters to build support for youth theatre. This year, the program performed the musical "Barnum" as a free performance for the Reading community. 5/28/17 & 10/12/17

How to Apply for a Cultural Council Grant

Individuals and organizations interested in seeking funding from the Reading Cultural Council for 2018-2019 can apply on-line at mass-culture.org/Reading. The postmark deadline for the next round of applications is October 15, 2018. Funds are awarded through an application process which can be competitive based on the number of requests and the funds available. Typically, Reading’s Cultural Council receives more applications than it can even partially fund. Average grants tend to be modest and are reimbursement-based, meaning applicants expend their own money, and if approved for a grant, submit paperwork for reimbursement.

About the Reading Cultural Council

The Reading Cultural Council is part of a network of Local Cultural Councils (LCC) serving all cities and towns in the Commonwealth. The LCC Program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, sciences and humanities every year. Members of the Reading Cultural Council are volunteers appointed by the Reading Board of Selectmen. Individuals interested in joining the Reading Cultural Council can visit the Reading Cultural Council page on the Town of Reading website (readingma.gov/cultural-council), or [donnaschenkel@icloud.com].

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: RCC RECEPTION TO RECOGNIZE CULTURAL PROGRAMS IN READING, MAY 14, 2018, 7PM, SENIOR COMMUNITY CENTER, PLEASANT STREET, READING. Questions: email readingculturalcouncil@gmail.com