North Andover Cultural Council distributes cultural grants.

                         Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: April 10th 2014

Contact: North Andover Cultural Council Chair

Linda Ann Mac Donald

Phone: 978-273-0999

E-mail: lmluvlylinda@aol.com

LOCAL GRANTS AWARDED FOR THE TOWN OF NORTH ANDOVER

Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives and Linda Ann Mac Donald, Chair of the North Andover Cultural Council, have announced the award of 11 grants totaling 5,095, for cultural programs in North Andover. “The work being done by local decision-makers on the North Andover Cultural Council to increase local opportunities for residents and visitors to enjoy the artistic and cultural offerings in North Andover is commendable, am I am proud to support their efforts,” said State Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts & Cultural Development.

Grant recipients include North Andover Council on Aging, North Andover School Enrichment Council, Karen Kline, Stevens Memorial Library, Merrimack Valley Philharmonic, Shakespeare and Company, New England Classical Singers, Thompson Elementary School, Massachusetts Walking Tour and Hands on History. A complete list of recipients and grant amounts can be found at North Andover Cultural Council on Facebook.

The North Andover 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 North Andover Cultural Council are: Linda Ann Mac Donald Chair, Steve Dawed Treasurer, Julie Faro Secretary, Jennifer Recklet Tassi, and Karen Moschetto.

“It's the local volunteers who really make this system work. They continue to make limited resources go as far as possible, and make the tough decisions about which projects should be supported. Thanks our volunteers, the arts, sciences and humanities are part of people's everyday lives in every community across the state,” said Linda Ann Mac Donald North Andover Cultural Council Chair. If you would like to become a member of The North Andover Cultural Council please contact us at 1- 978-273-0999

Statewide, more than $2.34 million will be distributed by local cultural councils in 2014. 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 North Andover Cultural Council will seek applications again in the fall. Information and forms are available online at (www.masscultural council.org). Applications are due Oct. 15th 2014