ATHOL – The Athol Cultural Council recently awarded a total of $16,400 of funding to several local organizations to support cultural, educational and artistic initiatives in the greater Athol community.

The Athol Cultural Council is part of a network of 329 Local Cultural Councils (LCCs) serving all 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth. The LCC Program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, sciences and humanities every year. The state legislature provides an annual appropriation to Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, which then allocates funds to each community.

The grants include a variety of art, science, music, and cultural opportunities provided by local schools and organizations. These range from art programs for students, to a picnic for seniors. There are also a wide variety of free and reasonably priced programs open to all.

Below is a list of the grant recipients

  • Quabbin Valley Pro Musica 2025-2026 Season – $500
  • 1794 Meetinghouse Summer Concert Series – $500
  • Athol Bird and Nature Club: expanding natural history education – $650
  • North Quabbin Senior Picnic – $450
  • Community Canvas – $1,150
  • Downtown Athol Fests – $1,000
  • Bollywood Dance Lessons – $1,000
  • Buildwave: A creative, hands-on building program – $545
  • North Quabbin Nature and the Arts – $250
  • GALA Annual Arts & Music Festival – $500
  • Performance: “Frances Perkins: A Woman’s Work” – $400
  • Delvena Theatre Company: Bon Voyage, Forever A Murder Mystery – $600
  • The Victorian Lady’s 1900’s Edwardian Era Fashion with Kandie Carle – $300
  • Teen Open Studio – $1,000
  • Habitat Map and Native Plant Signs of the NEECA equestrian park – $360
  • Farm and Forest Summer Camp – $500
  • Starry Starry Night – $1,000
  • Bilingual Music & Movement – $2,000
  • Turtle Dance Music – $325
  • The Zoo Show – $500
  • Athol Library and Hero Shack Comic Book Fest – $500
  • Concert by the Green Sisters – $800
  • Owls Up Close – $770
  • Meet John Adams: A Lively and Revolutionary Conversation with America’s Second President – $300
  • Uniquely Quabbin magazine – $250
  • 100 Years of Boston Comedy – $250

The Athol Cultural Council will seek applications again in the fall. For guidelines and information on the Athol Cultural Council, please contact Robin Brzozowski, Council Chair at 978-249-9515 or via email at culturalcouncil@townofathol.org. More information about the Local Cultural Council Programs are available online at www.massculturalcouncil.org.