Lambton's Creative County Grant Program recipients announced

Wyoming, ON – With the adoption of the 2024 budget by Lambton County Council earlier this month, Lambton's Creative County Grant Program has announced 21 projects approved for funding for the 2024 program year, representing an investment of $65,620 in funding to support local arts, culture, and heritage initiatives.

The program makes available up to $75,000 in funding each year, with $35,000 set aside for projects that have a County-wide impact, and an additional $10,000 allocated to four different geographic quadrants of the County. The committee received 29 requests for funding, amounting to over $197,645 in asks from community organizations and individuals.

The committee evaluated each application against the program criteria and available funds, and approved the following grant contributions to support 21 cultural initiatives across Lambton County that contribute to quality of life and promote a sense of cultural identity:

• $5,000 to Sarnia-Lambton Rebound to support its Act II expressive arts program for youth
• $3,400 to Town of Plympton-Wyoming to support wayfinding signage to promote the Plympton-Wyoming museum
• $2,500 to Huron Shores Area Transit to support the engagement of Indigenous artists for a bus shelter art project at Kettle & Stony Point First Nation
• $2,000 to Inwood 150^th Celebration Committee to support the publication of a commemorative book
• $6,045 to Oil Museum of Canada Foundation to support the installation of new historical interpretive signs, an audio tour and historical flags throughout the Village of Oil Springs
• $1,500 to Community Living Sarnia-Lambton to support its Art is for Everyone arts program initiative
• $4,575 to John Howard Society of Sarnia-Lambton for its Educational Community Awareness Support Through Art program
• $2,000 to Lambton Concert Band to support a year of musical celebration to mark the 25^th anniversary of the concert band within Lambton County
• $1,000 to Dr. Eliana Elkhoury to support literacy kits offered through the Arabic Literacy Enrichment Program
• $2,000 to artist Liana Russwurm to support the Brooke-Alvinston Youth Art Workshops
• $7,350 to Electric Motion Pictures / Aaron Huggett to support the Lambton County film Within A War
• $2,250 to Esther Tolooei to support the research and writing of a book about the 1918 Flu Pandemic in Lambton County
• $5,000 to Bonnie Sitter to support a documentary film about Farmerettes, who volunteered through the Ontario Farm Service Force (1941-1952)
• $6,000 to Petrolia Volunteer Business Group to support educational plaques that will explain the historic significance of buildings in downtown Petrolia
• $2,800 to The Culture Capture Project / Ryan Lindsay to support the development of an educational holographic display of war chief Young Gull for use in museums.
•  $3,500 to Le Centre communautaire Francophone de Sarnia-Lambton to create a French-language song and accompanying video about Sarnia-Lambton.
• $1,500 to Sarnia Concert Association to work with community groups to provide free tickets to engage a more diverse audience to its concert series
•  $2,000 to IODE Margaret Stokes Chapter, Petrolia to support its 75^th anniversary high tea and luncheon event
• $2,500 to Bridgeview Public School to support a mural for its school learning commons project
•  $2,700 to Kiwanis Club of Forest to support new activities with the Indigenous Film and Food Festival

The funding provided, which cannot exceed 50% of the total project costs, leverages significant local cultural investment by applicant organizations and their respective partners.

The Creative County Grant Program was launched in 2013 to support innovative projects that build cultural capacity, strengthen the creative community, define the County's unique identity and enrich the quality of life of all residents.

The next application intake is scheduled for the fall of 2024 and will support initiatives taking place during the year 2025. For more information about Lambton's Creative County Grant Program, visit lambtononline.ca/creativecounty.

-30-

Please contact: