11 COUNTY GROUPS WIN STATE ARTS GRANTS

Eleven Orange County arts organizations, including four first-time recipients, have received 1985-86 operational grants from the California Arts Council, the state’s official agency for fiscal support of the arts.

The largest local operational grant, $44,800, went to the South Coast Repertory Theatre of Costa Mesa, which has been a recipient of state operational awards for years. The most recent grant is SCR’s biggest state award to date.

Among the other grant recipients are the Orange County Pacific Symphony of Santa Ana, $26,333; Newport Harbor Art Museum of Newport Beach, $19,500; Pacific Chorale of Santa Ana, $6,890; Laguna Beach Museum of Art, $5,060; Ballet Pacifica of Laguna Beach, $3,192, and Laguna Poets, $1,060. All of these organizations are previous recipients.

The first-time award winners are the Fullerton Civic Light Opera, $6,270; South Coast Symphony of Costa Mesa, $2,280; Garden Grove’s Gem Theatre/Grove Amphitheatre, $1,380, and Relampago del Cielo, a Santa Ana dance company, $1,380.

The awards can be used for such expenses as staff expansion, program underwriting and educational projects.

An educational project application from Opera Pacific of Costa Mesa was not approved. Bowers Museum of Santa Ana and the Costa Mesa-based Master Chorale of Orange County did not submit applications.

In a separate category, a $41,755 planning grant was awarded to the Orange County Arts Alliance, the county’s official coordinating body for the arts.