Online votes will be a key factor when the Levitt Foundation selects up to 15 winners
Waterville, Maine — Waterville Rocks!, a summer concert series of free, family-friendly outdoor concerts in downtown Waterville’s Castonguay Square hosted by the Waterville Opera House, is now in the running to bring a 10-week live music series to the City of Waterville next summer. The series, designed to provide free cultural programming for the community and offer a new way to animate downtown Waterville, now needs to rock the vote as the Top 25 grant finalists will be selected through online public voting. The Levitt Foundation will then review the proposals of these 25 finalists and will select up to 15 Levitt AMP winners, who will be announced on January 2, 2018.
Sponsored by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, a national foundation dedicated to strengthening the social fabric of America through free live music, the Levitt AMP [Your City] Grant Awards are an exciting matching grant opportunity designed to serve small to mid-sized towns and cities with populations up to 400,000. Up to 15 nonprofits will receive $25,000 each in matching funds to produce their own Levitt AMP Music Series—an outdoor, free concert series featuring a diverse lineup of professional musicians.
The Waterville Opera House and Waterville Creates! submitted the proposal to expand the existing Waterville Rocks! concert series, which for the past two summers has consisted of four evening concerts in Castonguay Square, to a weekly, 10-week series in 2018; Waterville’s proposal is now posted on the Levitt AMP website for public voting.
A successful campaign for Waterville Rocks! depends on community participation to get as many online votes as possible to bring the concert series to town. Community support, as measured by the number of online votes received, will be one of the key factors when the Levitt Foundation selects up to 15 winners.
Supporters are asked to visit https://grant.levittamp.org/voter-registration-page/ to register and vote. Online public voting opens on November 1 and ends November 20 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. The Top 25 finalists will be selected through online public voting. The Levitt Foundation will then review the proposals of these 25 finalists and will select up to 15 Levitt AMP winners, which will be announced on January 2, 2018.
“This is an incredible opportunity for this growing community event as we head into the planning phase for year three of Waterville Rocks!,” says Shannon Haines, President and CEO of Waterville Creates! “We know from our recent cultural planning process that community members want to see more free and accessible arts programming, and are especially interested in live music, so this funding would allow us to respond to an expressed community desire.” Waterville Creates! provides funding and marketing support for Waterville Rocks! through its Partner Incentive Grant program.
“Expanding our Waterville Rocks! summer concert series from four to ten performances would allow us to bring in more diverse professional acts and incorporate more of our community’s grassroots talent into these concerts – from the Snow Pond Center for the Arts, to our High School music programs to local musicians – and make this the perfect community event to showcase the incredible musical talents we have here in Central Maine.”
Waterville Creates! asks supporters to start spreading the word to family, friends, colleagues and neighbors and rally the community to sign up and vote for the Waterville Rocks! proposal.
Learn more about this grant opportunity at http://levittamp.org
About Waterville Rocks!
Waterville Rocks! is a free, family-friendly concert series held in downtown Waterville’s Castonguay Square. Established in 2016 by local business leaders and arts-focused organizations, Waterville Rocks! has become an annual community celebration of all-things-music held in the great outdoors. Keep up to date on all the latest and greatest news and event updates at operahouse.org/watervillerocks/ or on Facebook at facebook.com/WatervilleRocks.
About The Waterville Opera House
The Waterville Opera House has been Central Maine’s cultural center since 1902, treating audiences of all ages to the magic of the performing arts. The 810-seat venue has been host to theatrical productions, ballet performances, concerts, vaudeville and comedy acts, touring shows, as well as a variety of community celebrations and special events. Each year, the Opera House draws 30,000 patrons, reaches 4,000 students through its education performances, and features 250 youths in their theater camps and productions. From the classics to new releases the Waterville Opera House has a seat for you. For more information, visit http://www.operahouse.org/
About Waterville Creates!
Waterville Creates! promotes increased awareness of cultural opportunities and events while supporting enhanced programming and operations for its community partners and audiences. Waterville Creates! provides marketing, administrative, and development services to arts and cultural institutions in the greater Waterville area. Learn more at https://www.watervillecreates.org