Bedford’s Cultural Council Awards for 2013-2014 Announced

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Submitted by the Bedford Cultural Council

State Senator Mike Barrett, State Representative Ken Gordon, and Barbara Purchia, chair of the Bedford Cultural Council, have announced the award of 17 grants totaling $5,118, for cultural programs in Bedford or for Bedford residents.

According to Purchia, “Over 70 percent of the awarded grants went directly to Bedford residents.  We are so excited about the diversity of this year’s award recipients.  They are helping enrich Bedford’s cultural community.” Recipients include the Bedford Center for the Arts, the Bedford Arts and Crafts Society, the Jenks Nature Trail Working Group, Friends of Bedford Depot Park, and the Bedford 4H Club.

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The FY2014 awards as voted by the Bedford Cultural Council are:

  • Acton Community Chorus for 2013-2014 Rehearsal and Concert Series – $100
  • Bedford 4-H Club for Sheep to Shawl $350
  • Bedford Arts and Crafts Society for Painting Demonstration $225
  • Bedford Center for the Arts for Bedford as a Creative Community: STEM to STEAM $750
  • Bedford Family Connection for Bedford Family Connection Arts and Crafts $300
  • Boy Scout Troop 194 /Jon “OC” O’Connor for Revolutionary War Guided Trolley Tour $325
  • The Concord Orchestra for Family Holiday Concert: The Snowman $300
  • Contemporary Arts International, Inc. (CAI) for 2014 Stone Carving Symposium $100
  • Friends of Bedford Depot Park for Railroad Baggage Cart Restoration $488
  • Girls Scouts of Eastern MA. Bedford Hanscom for Bedford Girl Scouts Oral History & Video Project $500
  • Girls Scouts of Eastern MA. Bedford Hanscom for Bedford Girl Scouts “World Thinking Day” Event $200
  • Steve Henderson for “Jerry Atric – The Older I Get” $100
  • Jenks Nature Trail Working Group Signage for Jenks Nature Trail: Tree Labels $400
  • Ashley Rooney and Barbara Purchia for Fairy Homes and Garden Lecture $180
  • Annemarie Silver for Arts & Crafts for Transitional Housing Families $250
  • Silver-Ebony-Ivory for A Concert of Music for Flute, Clarinet, and Piano $300
  • Transition Town Bedford for First Annual Bedford Green Dance $250

About the Bedford Cultural Council

The Bedford Cultural Council is part of a network of 329 Local Cultural Councils serving all 351 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.  The state legislature provides an annual appropriation to the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, which then allocates funds to each community.

Decisions about which activities to support are made at the community level by a board of municipally appointed volunteers.  The members of the Bedford Cultural Council are: Barbara Purchia: Chair, Breena Daniell: Asst. Chair, Ginny Packer: Treasurer, Linda Connell: Secretary, Gyasi Burks-Abbott, George Epple, Tim Gartland, Susan Grieb, and Polly Herz.

“These grants ensure that Bedford’s wealth of cultural groups will continue to thrive,” Senator Barrett said.  “From the looks of it, local volunteers buckled down and stretched every dollar to support an impressive 17 organizations.”

“The work of the Bedford Cultural Council is an example of the best of our community,” said Rep. Gordon.  “As a former Chair of the BCC, I am aware of the hard work and dedication of this group.  Bedford residents should feel proud of their town and grateful to this group when they notice the wonderful statues, gardens, and art works on display in town, or when they read about musical, theatrical and educational opportunities provided through grants offered by this program.”

Statewide, more than $2.34 million will be distributed by local cultural councils in FY2014.  Grants will support an enormous range of grass-roots activities: concerts, exhibitions, radio and video productions, field trips for schoolchildren, after-school youth programs, writing workshops, historical preservation efforts, lectures, First Night celebrations, nature and science education programs for families and town festivals.  Nearly half of LCC funds support educational activities for young people.

The Bedford Cultural Council will seek applications again in the fall.  Information and forms are available online at (www.masscultural council.org).  Applications for the next round of funding are due on October 15, 2014.

“The Massachusetts Cultural Council encourages applications from local artists, educators, performers and those involved in the sciences and humanities,” said Rep. Gordon.  “The application process takes only a few minutes to complete, and there is nothing to lose.”

 

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