In celebration of 10 years of Legacy Arts funding, Lake Region Arts Council (LRAC) is pleased to feature Del Rae Williams, Mayor of the City of Moorhead, Minnesota talking about the impact of the arts in her community. Mayor Williams: “The City of Moorhead welcomes any kinds of ideas for creativity in our community. It just makes for a more beautiful, more welcoming, more fun community. So, I think that’s how we’re going to build our downtown. Arts will be a major component about it. It kind of gathers the community to be prideful of our own community, to be excited about, to make our own community better. And I get really excited about that, because one of the best things I love about Moorhead is how we are, we’re like one big neighborhood. And the arts is one of those kinds of things that lets us continue to do that. We are setting the table for what will be a great place for businesses to be.” To learn more about living and working in Moorhead, Minnesota, visit their website at: http://www.ci.moorhead.mn.us/ Lake Region Arts Council (LRAC) serves artists and arts organizations throughout the nine counties of West Central Minnesota. To learn more about, visit the website at: https://lrac4.org/ For updates on art opportunities, workshops and events, please “like” and follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LakeRegionArtsCouncil/ This video was created and produced for LRAC by AMS Digital. We create websites and produce videos for business and nonprofit organizations. You can learn more on our website at: https://amsdigitalproductions.com/ Please “like” and follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/AMSDigitalProductions/

Legacy Fund grants distributed through Lake Region Arts Council (LRAC) have made it possible for small communities to experience a level of entertainment and also allow students to participate in residency opportunities that would otherwise not be available to them.

Lake Region Arts Council and Minnesota Citizens for the Arts celebrate 10 years of arts funding through the historic Legacy Amendment. Maxine Adams, Executive Director of Lake Region Arts Council (LRAC), shares how this anniversary will be commemorated in our region. Maxine: “November 2018 commemorates the tenth anniversary of the Legacy Amendment in Minnesota. Lake Region Arts Council, in those 10 years, has supported many projects and artists with these funds. In the next year, we will be telling you the story of the impact that those grants have had in our region. We’ll be talking about projects, about artists, and communities that are better because of the Legacy Fund. We want to thank the voters of Minnesota for this huge vote of confidence that the Arts are worth investing in in our state.” Lake Region Arts Council (LRAC) serves artists and arts organizations throughout the nine counties of West Central Minnesota. To learn more about us, visit our website at: https://lrac4.org/ For updates on art opportunities, workshops and events, please “like” and follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LakeRegionArtsCouncil/ This video was created and produced for LRAC by AMS Digital. We create websites and produce videos for business and nonprofit organizations. You can learn more on our website at: https://amsdigitalproductions.com/ Please “like” and follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/AMSDigitalProductions/

In this video, Amy Stearns, Executive Director of the Historic Holmes Theatre in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, speaks about the impact that the Legacy Amendment has had in bringing the Arts to the people of this region. Amy: “The impact of the Legacy Amendment, in Detroit Lakes, is just huge. Over the past ten years at Holmes Theatre, we’ve been able to do so much more than we ever would have been able to do before the Legacy Amendment passed. It’s just been remarkable. The tag line at the Holmes is ‘Step inside and see the world’ and we’ve truly been able to do that. We have been able to bring the world to Detroit Lakes through the Raganala Dance Company, through Ananya Dance Company, through Minnesota Orchestra, through so many great incredible musicians and dancers and theatre folks from around the world, and also from within our own state. The impact has been immeasurable. We have brought school groups to the Holmes Theatre. Three, four, five times a year, some kids get to come to the Holmes and experience music and art. But also, we bring the artists out to the schools and to where the people are – nursing homes and senior citizens, to businesses in town – so they can actually learn from these incredible musicians and artists and get a glimpse into what that life is like and to see beyond what they know in their small region.” More information about the Historic Holmes Theatre can be found on the website at: https://www.dlccc.org/holmes-theatre.html Please “like’ and follow the Holmes Theatre on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/historicholmestheatre/ This video was produced for Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA). To learn more, please see the website at: http://artsmn.org/ Please “like” and follow Minnesota Citizens for the Arts on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mncitizensforthearts/ This video was created and produced by AMS Digital. We create websites and produce videos for business and nonprofit organizations. You can learn more on our website at: https://amsdigitalproductions.com/ Please “like” and follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/AMSDigitalProductions/

Tara Bitzan, Executive Director of Alexandria Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, speaks of how Legacy Funding for the arts enhances local communities. The video begins with instrumental music playing while showing performers dancing on stage. Tara: “Legacy Funding has greatly impacted the Douglas County area by simply bringing people of all ages together to enjoy the universal language of the arts. From offering students at the Alexandria Area High School the opportunity to work with renowned musicians and artists through residency programs to helping to upgrade our local facilities such as the Andria Theatre, or the Legacy of the Lakes Museum and the Legacy Gardens, all of these are instrumental in helping to make this a great place to live, work and play.” A group of musicians is shown playing on the courthouse steps in Alexandria, Minnesota. To learn more about living, working and playing in the Alexandria Lakes Area, please visit the Chamber of Commerce website at: https://www.alexandriamn.org/chamber.html Lake Region Arts Council (LRAC) serves artists and arts organizations throughout the nine counties of West Central Minnesota. To learn more, visit the website at: https://lrac4.org/ For updates on art opportunities, workshops and events, please “like” and follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LakeRegionArtsCouncil/ This video was created and produced for LRAC by AMS Digital. We create websites and produce videos for business and nonprofit organizations. You can learn more on our website at: https://amsdigitalproductions.com/ Please “like” and follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/AMSDigitalProductions/

In celebration of 10 years of Legacy Arts funding, Lake Region Arts Council (LRAC) received a note from the Director of College for Kids and Teens, sharing how the program has positively impacted families. Guitar strumming is heard as we see a classroom of students learning to play guitar. Director: “This spring, two parents reached out because their children, who had been in the program taking classes for years, wanted to know if their kids could help in some classes this year. I love that they have had such positive experiences that they wanted to come back and share their love of the arts with kids who were taking the same classes that they had taken.” Children are shown singing a song while signing the words. Parent: “As a single parent with one income, finding affordable, engaging, high quality opportunities for my children in the summer is very important to me. The last two years, they were able to participate each week in College for Kids - writing, publishing, pottery on the wheel, clay and polymers, Art for the Heart. My family is grateful for the scholarships we’ve received and the opportunity to participate in such a wonderful experience, thanks to the Legacy Arts funding.” To learn more about College for Kids and Teens at Minnesota State University Moorhead, please visit their website: https://www.mnstate.edu/engaged-learning/collegeforkids/classes.aspx Lake Region Arts Council (LRAC) serves artists and arts organizations throughout the nine counties of West Central Minnesota. To learn more, visit our website at: https://lrac4.org/ For updates on art opportunities, workshops and events, please “like” and follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LakeRegionArtsCouncil/ This video was created and produced for LRAC by AMS Digital. We create websites and produce videos for business and nonprofit organizations. You can learn more on our website at: https://amsdigitalproductions.com/ Please “like” and follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/AMSDigitalProductions/

Community advocate, Reba Gilliand, describes the many ways that Legacy Funding of the arts has impacted Battle Lake, Minnesota. Reba: “I live in a small town, in Battle Lake, lived here almost 18 years. And as soon as I moved here, I realized that things are different in small towns, especially in Greater Minnesota. One of the things that’s really made a difference is the Legacy grant. When I moved here, downtown was kind of in, a little bit disheveled looking, a little bit tired. But just about the time that the Legacy grant was voted in, I was working on a project in downtown Battle Lake and it had to do with using money from the Legacy grant to create some public art and I have to say, it has made all the difference in our town. It has brought many, many restaurants and new stores. It’s been great for economic development. Now people come. They see the public art. They ask, ‘How did this happen?’ And we always tell them that it was the Legacy grant. I’d just like to thank all the legislature and the people of Minnesota for giving the entire state this opportunity for, not just arts and culture, but also, for natural resources. Because, in Minnesota, that’s what we’re about – natural resources. And right now, I think we’re also about art and culture and it’s a great place to live.” To learn more about life in Battle Lake, visit their website: https://ci.battle-lake.mn.us/ Lake Region Arts Council (LRAC) serves artists and arts organizations throughout the nine counties of West Central Minnesota. To learn more, visit the website at: https://lrac4.org/ For updates on art opportunities, workshops and events, please “like” and follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LakeRegionArtsCouncil/ This video was created and produced for LRAC by AMS Digital. We create websites and produce videos for business and nonprofit organizations. You can learn more on our website at: https://amsdigitalproductions.com/ Please “like” and follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/AMSDigitalProductions/