by TaLeiza Calloway
news@thenewsleaders.com
One of St. Joseph’s signature festivals is among 30 recent recipients of grants from the Central Minnesota Community Foundation.
The Millstream Arts Festival clinched a $2,000 grant for this year’s event, the nonprofit organization announced recently. The Central Minnesota Community Foundation will provide about $30,000 in support of community programs in the area.
Millstream Festival committee member Mike McDonald said the CMCF has been a consistent supporter of the event. The grant funding already has a purpose in the event’s plans.
“It helps a lot,” McDonald said. ” Our biggest expenses are advertising and paying for entertainment,” McDonald said.
It is these two areas that the money is likely to offer an assist.
McDonald said planning for the annual festival starts months in advance and is an ongoing process. The event features about 20 different artists, food vendors and live entertainment in the heart of downtown St. Joseph. McDonald said it was designed to help local artists.
“The purpose of it is to support the artists,” he said. ““We didn’t want it to be too big.”
The 2012 Millstream Arts Festival will be held 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 30 in downtown St. Joseph. For more information about the event, visit: www.millstreamartsfestival.org.
Other Fund for the Arts award recipients are:
$5,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota for “Drama Matters”
$5,000 to Chamber Music Society of St. Cloud for “Borromeo String Quartet & Residency”
$5,000 to GREAT Theatre for the “Immigration Theatre Residency”
$2,700 to Paramount Arts Resource Trust, Inc. for the “2012-2013 Local Roots Concert Series”
$3,000 to St. Cloud Municipal Band for their “Summer Concert Series”
$5,000 to St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra for St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra Music Education Programs
$2,500 to Stearns History Museum for the Momentum Art Exhibit
The Central Minnesota Community Foundation is a public group that administers more than 550 charitable funds totaling more than $74 million for the benefit of local residents.