U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins today announced that the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has awarded the organizers of the American Folk Festival in Bangor a matching grant in the amount of $35,000 to help support the 2012 festival.
“The American Folk Festival brings more than 150,000 to downtown Bangor each summer for several days of high-quality performances and material culture,” said Senators Snowe and Collins in a joint statement. “The festival also has a positive economic impact on the city and the Bangor region, bringing in millions of dollars each year.”
The American Folk Festival will take place on August 24, 25, and 26 on the Bangor Waterfront.
In addition to this funding, the NEA has also announced it will award the following grants to other Maine arts organizations:
- $30,000 to the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance in Old Town to support an apprenticeship program for master Native American basketmakers to teach ash and sweetgrass basketry traditions.
- $10,000 to the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport to support a series of exhibitions throughout the state of Maine featuring historic photographs taken between 1909 and the 1940s.
National Endowment for the Arts matching grants help support projects that involve the creation and presentation of artistically excellent work – both new and established. Projects include commissions, residencies, rehearsals, workshops, performances, exhibitions, publications, festivals and training programs.