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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 13, 2006

Schumer Announces Over $17,000 For Arts Programs In The North Country

National Endowment for the Arts Grants will Provide Support for Arts Programs in Essex and Warren Counties

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced two federal grants totaling $17,500 have been awarded to two cultural programs in the North Country by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The Adirondack Theatre Festival, Inc. of Glens Falls in Warren County will receive $10,000 to produce a world-premiere play. Ausable Press of Keene in Essex County will receive $7,500 to publish poetry books. New York State received 28 NEA Grants, totaling $446,000 in federal dollars for arts programs.

"This is great news for the North Country,” Schumer said. AThe arts enrich the region’s quality of life and revitalize the local economy by boosting tourism. These local shows, concerts and art programs foster creativity and give our entire community more opportunities to experience the arts in a diverse number of ways.”

Adirondack Theatre Festival, Inc. will use federal funds to support the world premiere production of Slap Happy, a new play by Leslie Ayvazian. Developed with Adirondack Theatre Festival (ATF) and its audiences in mind, the play will be directed by Blair Brown. Ausable Press, Inc. will use federal funds to support the publication and promotion of books of poetry. The press will advertise its titles in catalogues mailed to 5,000 individuals and bookstores.

The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts and bringing the arts to all Americans. Established by Congress in 1965, the Endowment is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. The grants awarded this round will support arts education projects for children and youth, projects that present and/or preserve artistically excellent work, and grants that distribute 40 percent of the agency=s program funds to the 56 state and jurisdictional arts agencies and six regional arts organizations. Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts require at least a one-to-one match and generate, on average, seven dollars for each dollar awarded.

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