The Pointer UW-Stevens Point Student Newspaper
Voting has begun for the Levitt Foundation’s $25,000 “Levitt AMP Grant,” which helps nonprofit organizations bring free concerts to small-to-midsize towns and cities.
CREATE Portage County, a local arts and entertainment nonprofit, has led the charge for Stevens Point to win this grant. 15 entrants will win and Stevens Point currently holds fifth place. Stevens Point was one of the winners of the grant in 2017.
On its website, the Levitt foundation presents itself as “a national creative placemaking funder dedicated to strengthening the social fabric of America through the power of free, live music.” The Levitt AMP Grant is specifically structured to meet the needs of towns and cities with populations under 400,000.
In its online proposal for the grant, CREATE Portage County tells that they would use the money to host a live concert series again in Pfiffner Pioneer Park on Crosby Avenue in Stevens Point.
“The coolest epiphany we had during our 2017 Levitt AMP series,” the proposal said, “is that Stevens Point is thirsty for music they either haven’t experienced before or that is less likely to travel through our community.”
CREATE goes on to espouse their focus on presenting diverse music, saying, “Our 2018 Series will also build on the vibrancy we brought to the park by investing more in the music, supplemental programming, and marketing that drew college students, young professionals and young families to the series.”
The Pfiffner Park, and the included Pfiffner Park Bandshell where the concerts will be held, is a cultural staple in Stevens Point history.
As CREATE explains in their proposal, “the space at Pfiffner Park ties directly to the city’s history and sense of identity. The bandshell was dedicated in 1977 as a Bicentennial project, resulting from a fundraising effort to give the City Band (dating back to 1890) a permanent performance space. Since that time, Pfiffner Park has been used for City Band concerts as well as for limited community events, including the annual July 4th weekend festival, Riverfront Rendezvous.”
Students who want to participate in the voting progress can do so by going to grant.levittamp.org, creating an account with their e-mail address, and clicking the “vote” button near the bottom of CREATE Portage County’s proposal. Voting for the grant is open until 7 p.m. Nov. 20th.
Calvin Lemieux
Contributor
Calvin.G.Lemieux@uwsp.edu
