The Woods Family and Woods House Music and Arts Fund has awarded $36,800 to local nonprofits to support and enhance music and arts culture and education in the community. Up to $5,000 is available to 501c3 nonprofits that provide music and/or arts related services to support citizens in Cashmere, Leavenworth, Wenatchee or East Wenatchee. The grant was established to provide support for local music and arts that focus on: fostering and improving cultural awareness and education; music performance; music education direction; participation in coordination of regional arts events; or seminars and workshops for music educators and art professionals.

The grant is available annually through the Community Foundation of NCW with applications being accepted August 1st and deadline August 31st.

Those awarded this year’s grants include:

• Arts on the Avenue $2,500 – Beauty of Bronze, a program that introduces 5th graders to community art while giving them an opportunity to work with artist Kevin Pettelle to create a small sculpture
• Cashmere Music Boosters (Vale Elem. PTO, sponsor) $2,700 – Small group lessons and sectionals for all wind instrumentalists in Cashmere Middle School bands
• Dancing with Birds (Wenatchee Valley Museum, sponsor)$2,500 – Six sessions in Wenatchee elementary schools and citizenship classes using music, dance, art, and science curriculum to engage Latinos with science and nature
• Icicle Creek Center for the Arts $2,500 – Expand the Icicle Creek Chamber Music Festival to mark the 20th anniversary
• Mariachi Northwest Festival (Wenatchee Valley Museum, sponsor)$2,000 – Expand the educational and public performance components of the 15th annual Mariachi Northwest Festival
• North Central ESD Educational Foundation $2,500 – Grants to teachers for music and arts classroom learning aids
• Performing Arts Center $5,000 – Educational outreach “Breaking with the Masters” workshops by Break! Urban Funk Spectacular for middle and high school youth
• Upper Valley Connection $2,000 – Scholarships and stipends for 2013 theatre arts camp
• Wenatchee Jazz Workshop (Wenatchee Valley Museum, sponsor) $5,000 – Support for 13th annual Jazz Workshop
• Wenatchee Valley Symphony $5,000 – engage Mark O’Connor (critically acclaimed violinist, fiddler, and composer) to perform as a guest artist with the symphony and present a fiddling workshop to local string musicians
• Wenatchee Valley Symphony $2,500 – Annual Young Artist Competition
• YWCA Wenatchee Valley $2,600 – staffing and promotional costs for six month of Open Mic and Klean Karaoke at Café AZs.