The Fraser-Fort George Regional District’s Select Committee on Arts, Culture and Heritage Grants approved recommendations to disburse just over $50,000 in funds to local groups on Friday, May 9.
Coming into the meeting at the regional district's building at 155 George St. in Prince George with 15 applications from groups asking for a total of $127,071 and a budget of $50,000 for 2025, the committee forwarded nine grant recommendations for the regional district’s board of directors to go over at its Thursday, June 19 regular meeting.
The recommended grants were for:
- $9,921.45 for the Mackenzie Community Arts Council to level and install new flooring at their new location,
- $8,000 for Dunster Fine Arts School Society to host a youth film camp (original request was for $10,000),
- $8,000 for Wishbone Theatre to help pay for artist and production fees for Mourning After — A Rock Musical, which is being performed in November and December (original request was for $10,000),
- $7,500 for The Exploration Place to help with redeveloping an upper biome gallery into a hands-on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) gallery for younger visitors (original request was for $10,000),
- $6,000 for the Method Dance Society for the annual Community Moves arts festival being held in late July in Prince George (original request was for $8,000),
- $4,000 for the Prince George Community Band to purchase new sheet music and percussion equipment,
- $2,275.18 for Theatre Northwest in Prince George to install a baby changing station and three menstrual product dispensers in its bathrooms (original request for $10,000),
- $2,500 for the Fraser Lyric Opera Society to host a summer camp titled Opera Unleashed: The Art of Acting for participants aged eight and older (original request was for $10,000) and
- $2,000 for the Northern BC Queer Connection Society to help with the costs of the annual Pride Picnic being help on July 6 at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park (original request was for $7,650).
Together, that comes out to $50,196.63 worth of grant applications.
The other applications that were received but not recommended were from:
- $10,000 for the Prince George Folkfest Society to host the Dak’et, Shun Inli event in November 2025
- $10,000 for the Robson Valley Music Society to host the Robson Valley Music Festival from Aug. 29 to 31 in Dunster,
- $8,000 for the White Spruce City Chorus Chapter of Sweet Adelines International to purchase choral risers
- $7,500 for the Alban Classical Artists Society to host free concerts in Beverly and Blackburn,
- $7,000 for Inspiring Women Among Us at the University of Northern British Columbia for its 2025 series of events in November,
- $5,000 for Downtown Prince George to host Winterfest in February 2026,
During discussions over which applications the committee should recommend to receive funding, members discussed whether the applicants aligned with the regional district’s cultural plan, what parts of the regional district were being served, the level of detail provided in each application, whether the recipients had received funding in previous years and how crucial potential funding would be for each event or project.
