Rochester Downtown Alliance announces recipients of downtown event grants
Release Date: April 28, 2016
Media Contact: Ender Göçmen
Rochester Downtown Alliance
Office: (507) 216-9886
Email: egocmen@rdowntownalliance.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rochester Downtown Alliance announces recipients of downtown event grants
ROCHESTER, Minn. --- April 28, 2016 --- The Rochester Downtown Alliance’s (RDA) Downtown Cultural Initiative (DCI) Committee is pleased to announce the recipients of the stART-UP Grant funding for 2016. The stART-Up Grant is designed to help first–time events come to fruition, bring excitement downtown, and enrich Rochester’s community.
1st Annual Rochester City Jazz Festival – Sunday, July 24 from Noon-8:30pm – Rochester Civic Theatre
The event is organized by John Sievers and will feature local, regional, and nationally recognized jazz performers. The jazz fest will be a family friendly event and encourage young jazz musicians to play alongside more experienced performers. Admission will be $10.00, which includes outdoor and indoor performances.
Hijab for a Day – Wednesday, September 14 – Rochester Civic Theatre
This event will document the experiences of five non-Muslim women in Rochester who will wear a traditional Muslim hijab for one day. This event is organized by Regina Mustafa of Community Interfaith Dialogue on Islam, Dawn Sanborn, and Pam Whitfield. Organizers say the goal of this event is to encourage interfaith dialogue in the Rochester community, discourage Islamophobia, and educate the public on the beliefs of Islam. This will be a free event, but pre-registration is encouraged.
Harvey Milk Poetry Slam & Spoken Word Slam – Thursday, June 30 & Latino Heritage Poetry and Spoken Word Slam – October 20 – both events at the Rochester Art Center
These are two separate events organized by the Diversity Council designed to bring nontraditional participants and audiences together around culturally significant themes. Both event have an admission charge of $5.00. The Diversity Council applied for grant funding prior to the 2016 stART-Up policies update.
This grant period, a total of $8,500 will be distributed to four first-time events taking place in downtown Rochester. The DCI Committee is proud to support the up-and-coming artists and organizers at all of these downtown events. Applications for 2017 stART-up grants will be accepted starting November 1, 2016 – November 30, 30, 2016. Grants will be awarded at the beginning of January 2017.
For more information about the stART-up grant program or to receive an application, please contact Karli McElroy, Events & Volunteer Coordinator at kmcelroy@rdowntownalliance.com or 507-216-9883.
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