PORT ANGELES — A grant award of $11,500 in federal stimulus funds has led to the Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts providing education programs in local schools, and makes up a portion of the nonprofit’s executive director’s salary.
Anna Manildi, executive director, said the federal money, which was awarded through the Washington State Arts Commission in late summer, was received in November.
It provides $300 to $400 per month to educator coordinator Carol Pope and pays 15 percent to 20 percent of Manildi’s $34,500 annual salary, Manildi said.
The largest event of the Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts is an annual four-day festival of music and art each May. The nonprofit also sponsors arts events throughout the year.
Funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 were channeled through the National Endowment of the Arts to state arts commissions, which made the grant awards.
The Washington State Arts Commission was given $285,000 to preserve art jobs in the state, and received $1,285,000 in requests from arts organizations throughout the state, Manildi said.
“It demonstrates the high esteem in which the festival is held for the Juan de Fuca Festival to receive such a big piece of the pie,” Manildi said.
“I am so pleased that these agencies recognize the important role the arts play in the health of our communities,” she added.
“As funds from the private sector shrink, this grant is essential to the continued work of the festival.”
Book-It Theatre
Thanks in part to this grant, the Juan de Fuca Festival was able to bring Seattle’s Book-It Theatre to five area schools in late November, Manildi said.
The student bodies at Jefferson, Dry Creek and Roosevelt elementary schools in Port Angeles and Helen Haller and Greywolf elementary schools in Sequim watched a production of Gerald McDermott’s “Trickster Tales.” The actors then conducted small student workshops at each of the schools.
The funds also will play a role in organizing the free school programs at the Juan de Fuca Festival next May, Manildi said.
Pope credits the funds with exposing students to ethnic and cultural arts.
“The festival brings performers from around the world for our free student shows in May,” she said.
“We believe in the importance of fostering understanding and even appreciation for cultures beyond our Olympic Peninsula borders.”
