Festival grant gives boost to arts education
The Laguna Beach Festival of Arts Foundation recently awarded Laguna Beach High and Thurston Middle schools with grants that will enhance several arts education programs.
Grants totaling $26,000 include $5,000 each for art, music, ceramics, dance and performing arts programs at Laguna Beach High along with $1,000 for a multimedia production class at Thurston, according to a news release from the school district.
Instructors plan to use the money for a variety of purposes, including field trips, supplies and competition entry fees.
“With this grant Thurston students will be able to continue creating photo and video work with the highest production value,” multimedia production instructor Andy Crisp said in the release. “As we expand access to top-notch photo and video tools our students will continue to push the creative envelope and develop skills that will carry with them into high school, college and beyond.”
Grant money will help Laguna Beach High art and photography instructor Bridget Beaudry-Porter purchase student tools, such as sketchbooks, canvasses, pencils, ink, paper and linoleum blocks.
“Our appreciation for this grant is enormous as we continue to create art in our community,” Beaudry-Porter said in the release.
The money helped the Laguna Beach High band participate in a music festival in San Francisco and paid for entry fees for jazz band and drumline competitions, according to the release.
Grant funds also paid for transportation costs to events and supplies, such as reeds and valve oil.
“The Festival of Arts Foundation feels that art appreciation and the development of one’s artistic skills should start at an early age,” Festival of Arts Foundation President Scott Moore said in the release. “The majority of the foundation’s grants are focused on the youth of our community, and it is the foundation’s hope that we are seeding programs that will begin to nourish these young minds.”
For more information and to see how other programs will use the grant money, visit the district’s website at https://www.lbusd.org.
—Bryce Alderton
Twitter: @AldertonBryce