Herndon Town Council Approves Grant Funding for Local Arts Organizations

In a landscape where funding for the arts is growing increasingly scarce, the Town Council of Herndon, Virginia recently took decisive action to demonstrate the community's commitment to having a vibrant local arts scene. At a public hearing on Tuesday, April 26th, Mayor Lisa Merkel and the Town Council unanimously passed the Town's FY16 operating budget, which included an amendment to fully fund the grant requests of the Town's four major non-profit arts organizations. Those organizations include the Herndon Council for the Arts, the Herndon Foundation for the Cultural Arts, NextStop Theatre Company and Herndon Community Television.

"Our arts organizations are an integral part of our community," said Mayor Lisa Merkel. "People come from all over the metropolitan area and beyond to visit the gallery at ArtSpace and to see the award-winning theatrical productions at NextStop Theatre. These companies are shining examples of what makes Herndon such a wonderful place to live, work and play. We all share in seeing them succeed and thrive."

In Herndon, like most of the country, public funding for the arts has diminished dramatically over that past ten years. Yet earlier this year, the Town Council passed a revised Vision Plan for Herndon, one of the few incorporated townships in Northern Virginia. Among the plan's five main pillars was "enriching lives through arts and entertainment." The FY16 funding amendment is a first step is insuring that vision is realized.