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The Ticonderoga Festival Guild sponsors several Arts Trek programs for children every summer.
TICONDEROGA | The International Paper Foundation and New York State Council on the Arts have awarded grants to help fund the free children’s programs and summer concerts put on by the Ticonderoga Festival Guild.
In 2018, the Festival Guild will deliver a wide variety of performances to area children during the six-week Arts Trek Programs in July and August and during town children’s festivals for Halloween, Christmas, Winter and Spring Health Day.
“The Festival Guild is proud be able to deliver fantastic performances to our youth,” said Executive Director Judy Walker. “Our goal is to expose area children to a wide range of programs such as music, stories, dance, theater, magic, juggling and others. We hope to educate, inspire and entertain our audiences at each performance.”
International Paper Foundation has consistently supported the Festival Guild’s efforts to serve area youth, Walker said.
“This funding helps ensure all performances can be offered for free,” she said. “The free summer Arts Trek programs are an important element of local summer camp schedules and are attended by Moriah, Crown Point, Westport and Ticonderoga. The Festival Guild is working hard to serve our community and it is terrific to have the support of businesses such as International Paper.”
In addition, the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program has awarded a grant to the Ticonderoga Festival Guild.
“The Festival Guild is very thankful for this funding since it supports both the children’s programs and the summer concerts,” Walker said.
She said that since 2014 the Festival Guild has operated as a totally volunteer organization, with no paid staff.
“This change has enabled the expansion of programming for children and families due to the money saved by operating as a strictly volunteer organization,” Walker said.
Even with the cost-cutting changes within the Festival Guild, the organization could not expand without the support of the Decentralization Grant and other grants.
Currently the Festival Guild delivers 10 free children’s programs throughout the year as well as programs to area elementary schools. Additionally, the Festival Guild schedules a series of free summer concerts during July and August.
The Decentralization Grant will help fund six Arts Trek Programs: Tom Callinan “From Sea to Shining Sea” on July 11, Seagle Music Colony “Billy Goat Gruff” on July 18, Rick Adams “Fit as a Fiddle” on July 25, Richard Stillman “Country Hoedown” on Aug. 1, Michael Cudato “Tales of Tails and Scales” Aug. 8, Magpie Music, “The Living Planet” on Aug. 15.
The Summer in the Park Concerts that are supported will be: Lula Wiles Band on July 17, Generation Gap on July 24, Sounds of the Northway on Aug. 7 and Phil Henry Acoustic Trio on Aug. 21.
“All the bands are terrific and two are all female, which is new this year,” Walker said.
For more information on this year’s schedule see the website: www.tifestivalguild.org.
