Newton Community Pride (NCP) announced on September 27 the awarding of microgrants to six recipients in its Fall 2024 funding cycle.
NCP Executive Director Blair Lesser Sullivan said, “It has been NCP’s mission to assist our local arts and culture community, and we have given out over $40,000 since the program’s inception in 2021. …Each year we get more and more worthy applications, and we upped our budget for this year because we wanted to fund as many projects as possible.”
All events funded by these microgrants take place in Newton. NCP’s latest recipients are:
- Andromeda Bellydance for Spring Hafla 2025 multicultural showcase of dance and music,
- Belmont World Film’s Family Film Festival screenings at the West Newton Cinema,
- Charles River Wind Ensemble concert of rarely performed composers,
- Newton Diwali celebration organized by the Indian American Community of Newton,
- Newton Piano Summit, and
- Norumbega Harmony concert of American revolutionary music.
Lesser Sullivan said, “We are again pleased to offer support to a diverse group of worthy projects that will amplify the arts this fall and winter,” noting that NCP’s Spring 2025 microgrant funding cycle will open on January 1, 2025.
Ellen Gitelman, Executive Director of Belmont World Film, a first-time microgrant recipient, said, “We are thrilled and so excited to get the grant.” She added, “I love the West Newton Cinema and am really excited that the West Newton Cinema has been saved.” Gitelman told Fig City News that the grant from NCP will help fund the Family Festival at the West Newton Cinema in January during Martin Luther King weekend.
Christopher Pitts, founder of the Newton Piano Summit, told Fig City News, “We are excited to receive the support of Newton Community Pride, marking the first endorsement of our newly formed non-profit, Next-Arts. With this partnership, we’re continuing to grow the Piano Summit into a major regional cultural event. Stay tuned for exciting plans ahead!”
Newton Community Pride is a local non-profit founded in 1989 to build community by offering free and accessible arts and culture programming, public art, beautification, and service projects.
