Chamber News

Below is a list of the latest news from the Chamber office:

Deadline for state mini-grants set for Feb. 24 ROSCOMMON – The deadline for various groups or organizations to apply for state mini-grants to help local fund artistic or cultural projects is quickly approaching, according to Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs Region 19 coordinator Beth Petrik.

The mini-grant program is a grants-giving partnership funded by the State of Michigan through MCACA and administered by agencies, such as Kirtland Community College, in each region of the state. Mini-grants provide up to $4,000 for locally developed, high quality arts and cultural projects, which are special opportunities to address local arts and cultural needs and increase public access to arts and culture.

For the 2010 fiscal year, MCACA officials recently announced only one round of mini-grants will be offered this year. That will be for projects that occur April 1 through Sept. 30. The deadline to submit mini-grant applications is Wednesday, Feb. 24.

“The MCACA mini-grant program helps arts projects and programs in our six-county region survive,” said Petrik, also a support specialist at the Kirtland Center for the Performing Arts on Kirtland’s main campus near Roscommon. “This program provides opportunities for adults and children in our communities to experience high quality arts and cultural events.”

Non-profit organizations, located in the state of Michigan, including (but not limited to) service organizations, arts organizations, parks and recreational organizations, churches, professional associations, public and non-public schools, cities, townships and villages may apply for funding.

The Region 19 mini-grant program includes Alcona, Crawford, Iosco, Ogemaw, Oscoda and Roscommon counties.

Up-to-date information, as well as an application and guidelines, are posted online at www.kirtland.edu/mcaca. Or, for additional details or to request a copy of the material be mailed to you, contact Petrik by calling 989-275-5000, extension 397, or via e-mail at petrikb@kirtland.edu.

ROSCOMMON – Area elementary and middle school students might want to mark Monday, April 19, on their calendars. That’s the new, earlier deadline for entries in the 2010-2011 Young Artist Calendar Contest sponsored by the Kirtland’s Warbler Wildlife Festival.

The annual calendar contest is open to all students, kindergarten through the eighth grade. Last year, contest officials received nearly 1,100 entries picturing northern Michigan’s jack pine ecosystem, the summer home of the Kirtland’s warbler, or the rare song bird’s wintering grounds in the Bahamas.

Entries will be judged prior to the annual festival, held on the third Saturday of each May, by committee members and special guests. Twenty “winning” students will have their artwork selected for the covers of the calendar, as well as to be displayed above each month of the 16-month publication.

Except for the entry deadline, most other contest rules remain unchanged. Entries must be drawn horizontally and be completed on an 8.5-by-11 inch sheet of white paper. Complete rules and the entry form may be found online at http://warbler.kirtland.edu/calendar/default.htm.

KWWF committee members are hoping that, by moving up the date of the deadline, they’ll have more time to properly recognize the winning entries prior to the festival on Saturday, May 15, at Kirtland’s main campus near Roscommon. All of the entries will be on display at the Kirtland House conference center the day of the festival, with the winning and honorable mention entries also displayed on the festival’s Web site.

“The Young Artist Calendar has developed into a very special project, as it’s both artistic and educational,” Mansfield added. “Just having students do the entries helps them learn about the unique ecosystem we have here in northern Michigan and the wildlife it supports, so we hope that more students and more schools decide to participate each and every year.”

Calendar entries should be mailed to: Kirtland Community College, Attention: PR Office, 10775 N. St. Helen Road, Roscommon, Mich. 48653. Entries will not be accepted after 4 p.m. on Monday, April 19.

For more information, persons may contact Mansfield via e-mail at mansfied@kirtland.edu or call 989-275-5000, extension 242.