Celebrating Valley Arts…and Valley Vets

DERBY – Sen. George S. Logan and Rep. Linda Gentile on Feb. 6 visited the Valley Arts Council to celebrate the Council’s recently awarded state grants. The grants are funded through the state Department of Economic Development’s Office of the Arts’ Regional Grant Initiative Program (REGI) and supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. The REGI program supports small, collaborative projects that promote access to the creative process or the creative experience, especially those which experiment with new ways to apply the arts within communities. The REGI program is administered by the nine regional arts service organizations around the state, including the Arts and Culture Collaborative and the Waterbury Region, which services the lower Naugatuck Valley. The Valley Arts Council is receiving $3,200 for a project called “Support Our Veterans Through the Arts” which focuses on Derby, Ansonia, Seymour, Oxford, Naugatuck and Beacon Falls. On the web: www.valleyartscouncil.org , www.SenatorGeorgeLogan.com, and www.housedems.ct.gov/Gentile . Sen. Logan represents Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Derby, Hamden, Naugatuck, and Woodbridge. Rep. Gentile represents Ansonia and Derby.

l to r: Rep. Linda Gentile, Sen. George S. Logan, Arts and Culture Collaborative Administrator Diane Ploch, Valley Arts Council President Richard DiCarlo, Veteran Artists Bob Kukiel, Brian Flinn and Bill McGowan.