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Festivals: Celebrating Culture and Community

Lisa Simmons, Program Manager

Back of a dancer on stage, looking out to an outdoor audience of children dancing in the grass
Dragonfly Festival of Ashland (2019)

Festivals bring joyfulness to our lives and strengthen our sense of community. They are a perfect way to celebrate heritage, culture, and traditions, to entertain through music and film, and to provide educational opportunities for attendees. Mass Cultural Council is proud to announce grants to 99 Fall/Winter Festivals, totaling $148,500.

Our Festivals Program supports Mass Cultural Council’s goal of enriching communities.

For FY22, while still in the shadow of COVID-19, festival programmers made the decision to move forward and hold in-person, hybrid, and/or online festivals understanding the importance now more than ever of celebrating the arts and their communities. For the Fall/Winter grant cycle, the Agency increased the grant amount from $500 to $1,500 per festival. Of the 126 applications received, 44% are new applicants to the program. Of the 99 grantees, 39% are first-time Festival grantees.

The next round of festival grants, the Spring/Summer grant cycle, will open on January 10, 2022 for festivals taking place between March 1 and August 31, 2022.

Get Festivals Program updates by subscribing to our Community Initiative News.


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