On Tuesday, April 2nd, Encore, along with many other Arlington cultural groups joined together for a Celebration of the Arts prior to the much-anticipated County Board budget hearing. Passersby were entertained by the musical stylings of the Arlingtones and the Potomac Harmony Chorus, as well as hearing testimony from arts representatives on how the proposed budget cuts would impact their organizations. Immediately following the Celebration, many arts supporters attended the budget hearing, with several members of the arts community signing up to speak before the County Manager and Board. While the official budget ruling is not until the end of April, the Board seemed positively receptive to our advocacy efforts. Read on for a celebratory message from Encore Executive Director, Sara Duke:
Thank you! What an amazing show of support from our Encore family [Tuesday] night!
I am deeply grateful to each of you for your energy and dedication to our advocacy efforts. We made our message to the County Board loud and clear – and they heard us! #ArlSaveOurStage was a success. The Celebration of the Arts and our large presence at the FY2020 Budget Hearing showed the strength of the arts community in Arlington and that Encore is a leader among our peers.
A link to the video recording of the budget hearing speakers can be found here. You can hear the County Manager’s updated Arts proposal starting at 11 minutes and 17 seconds. Encore speakers are at the following: Kerstin Fagerstrom & Matthew Bloss-Baum (1:16:20), Sarah Bolles & Ryley Rogers (1:18:40), Evan Holt (2:27:00). You all did an outstanding job representing Encore!
The final vote on the budget will be held on April 23. If you still want to make your opinions known to the County Board, please visit our website for more information.
Thanks again for your support!!
Sincerely,
Sara
We’re so grateful for all of the support that the Encore family has put behind this important issue. Please continue to share the importance of Arlington arts in your social media posts, using the hashtag #ARLSaveOurStage. To check out video from the Celebration of the Arts, follow @EncoreArlington and click here.
Photos by Aileen Pangan Christian. Blog contribution by Shannon McCarthy.