NH State Council On The Arts Awards $20,000 Grant To Opera North

Opera North applied for and won a Cultural Conservation Award ("moose plate" grant) through NHSCA to build an ADA-accessible restroom that will be available to disabled guests. staff and artists inside the historic Beaman Farmhouse adjacent to the company's performance "big top" at Blow-Me-Down Farm.

The grant comes from the NH "moose plate" program. The NH Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) receives a percentage of the "Moose Plate" funds raised from the sales of the state Conservation License Plates. These funds are directed back into communities through grant programs facilitated by the State Library, Division of Historical Resources and the State Arts Council to promote, conserve, and protect New Hampshire's natural, cultural, and historic resources.

This $20,000 grant -- the maximum amount awarded -- perfectly aligned with one of the program criteria: " projects that make publicly owned historic cultural facilities and the arts programming that takes place in them, more accessible to the public."

In announcing the award, NHSCA said, "Our funding is intended to benefit communities in New Hampshire and improve the quality of life through the arts."