The Woods Family Music and Arts Grant, managed by the Community Foundation of NCW, has awarded $37,000 to local programs in Cashmere, Leavenworth, Wenatchee and East Wenatchee. Established in 2011, the Woods Family Music and Arts Fund was created to enhance the music and arts culture of the Wenatchee Valley through nonprofit organizations who work to provide music and/or arts related services.

The grant funds up $5,000 for programs that foster and improve cultural awareness and education, support music performance, provide music education direction, participate in regional arts events, and workshops/seminars for music educators and professionals.

Here are this year’s award recipients and their programs:

Art on the Avenues – $2,500 to support the Beauty of the Bronze program that provides 5^th graders the opportunity to learn about bronze sculptures in the community and create their own bronze sculptures.

Cascade Education Foundation – $1,500 to provide after-school violin instruction for Kindergarten through 2^nd grade students at Peshastin-Dryden Elementary. TheCubs on Strings program will provide music education through violin to students of varied income levels by providing instrument rental assistance.

Icicle Arts – $1,500 for Art Academy Scholarships that place under-privileged and gifted artists in a variety of visual arts classes taught by local professional teaching artists. Scholarships will be awarded by teacher recommendation on set criteria to determine highest needs.

Icicle Creek Center for the Arts – $3,000 to support individuals seeking to participate in Icicle Creek Center for the Art’s music education programs by funding part or all of the tuition.

North Central Education Service District – $2,500 for grants for music and arts classroom teachers with projects that increase students learning.

Performing Arts Center of Wenatchee – $2,500 to have The Liverpool Legends, a Beatles tribute band, lead workshops in a local middle school’s music classes, teaching/mentoring students for the purpose of performing two concerts (school and community) of Beatles music.

Solomon’s Porch – $1,500 to provide musical instruments and sound gear to homeless and at-risk teens as vehicle for expressing emotions and feeling that might otherwise manifest through destructive behaviors.

Upper Valley Connection – $2,500 for a Theater Camp program that provides both a theater and camp experience for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Washington State University – $2,000 for Performance as Education, a program that uses writing, theatre, and performance to improve college attendance and retention rates of low income and rural students. This funding will support a performance in Wenatchee’s Performing Arts Center that is free for high school students.

Wenatchee Jazz Workshop (Wenatchee Valley Museum) – $4,000 to bring professional jazz musicians to Wenatchee to teach their art to local students in a unique classroom setting. The week-long Workshop features several days of intense instruction, culminating with two public performances.

Wenatchee High School (Wenatchee School District) – $1,500 for an Ion 1024 Light Board Console, an electronic device used in theatrical lighting design to control multiple lights at once.

Wenatchee High School Mariachi (Wenatchee School District) – $2,000 to purchase a harp for the Mariachi Huenchi ensemble. The harp is a traditional mariachi instrument that will round out Mariachi Huenachi’s current ensemble of guitars, violins, trumpets, vihuela, and guitarron.

Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center – $3,000 to help build an Art Room at the museum that provides hands-on art experiences for young children and their families year-round. Funds will help pay for renovation costs of a room at the museum and art supplies.

Wenatchee Valley Symphony Orchestra – $2,500 for an Act II, semi-staged performance of Mozart’s The marriage of Figaro. The performance will expose the community to live opera, a genre that is rarely presented in NCW, with exceptional vocal and instrumental talent.

Wenatchee Valley Symphony Orchestra – $2,500 to support the Angela Schuster Svendsen Memorial Young Musician Competition where serious music students have the chance to earn a significant monetary award along with a solo performance opportunity either with the Wenatchee Valley Symphony Orchestra or at Symphony events.

YWCA of Wenatchee Valley – $2,000 for Open Mic and Klean Karaoke to assist in sustaining recovering addicts in our community by giving them healthy outlets for entertainment and to encourage creativity.