Peoples Bank Theatre is pleased to announce it has received a Central Appalachia Living Traditions (CALT): Folk and Traditional Arts Experiences Grant totaling $10,000. This inaugural grant provided by Mid Atlantic Arts is part of a multi-year project designed to promote the understanding and recognition of folk arts and culture in Central Appalachia. Its three program areas, Folk and Traditional Arts Experiences, Folk Arts and Culture Community Anchors Initiative, and Recognizing Folk Arts and Culture Champions, are intended to stabilize local venues, create greater connectivity among organization and community leaders, increase the visibility of folk arts and culture, and facilitate the transmission of artistic skills and cultural knowledge.
A total of 16 organizations and individual artists/practitioners in Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia were selected through a panel process to receive more than $136,000 in total funds. Traditions highlighted in the recipients’ funded projects include Appalachian blues, folk, and old-time music, basket making, instrument building, woodworking, quilting, weaving and spinning, gender-free square dancing, the expressive culture of Latinx communities in Southern Ohio, and diverse gardening and foodways traditions represented in the Appalachian region.
Peoples Bank Theatre will use its Central Appalachia Living Traditions (CALT): Folk and Traditional Arts Experiences Grant funds to cultivate programming to showcase Appalachian music, to be held at its Stage Door location at 224 Putnam Street in Marietta, with the assistance of Talent Buyer Todd Burge and other area musicians.
The Peoples Bank Theatre is a 944-seat historic theatre located in downtown Marietta, Ohio. It was built as the Hippodrome in 1919 and renamed the Colony Theatre in 1949. Closed in 1985, the Peoples Bank Theatre was fully restored in 2016 and now puts on over 100 events for more than 30,000 patrons a year.
About Mid Atlantic Arts
Mid Atlantic Arts nurtures and funds the creation and presentation of diverse artistic expression and connects people to meaningful arts experiences within our region and beyond. Created in 1979, Mid Atlantic Arts is a private non-profit organization that is closely allied with the region’s state arts councils and the National Endowment for the Arts. It combines funding from state and federal resources with private support from corporations, foundations, and individuals to address needs in the arts from a regional, national, and international perspective. To learn more about Mid Atlantic Arts, its programs, and services, visit www.midatlanticarts.org.
