Arts

manage a visiting artist series for the Alsace Township Summer Playground program. The program will culminate in a community event to showcase the various forms of art that were created.

• $4,520 to Clay on Main to continue the program it began in 2015 of setting up booths at local festivals where people can create and decorate their own pieces of art. In addition, in winter Clay on Main will bring fused glass workshops to rural communities.

• $4,500 to the Reading Choral Society to bring its Summer Sing! program to two additional communities. The Reading Choral Society invites local residents to be part of a day of music, where they learn the pieces early in the morning, practice and perfect mid-day, and perform in the evening. The concerts traditionally draw 50 to 60 singers ranging in age from 18 to 80. The outreach concerts will be held at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Hamburg and New Life Bible Fellowship Church in Oley.

• $4,000 to the Reading Pops for a side-by-side concert at Oley Valley High School in an effort to repeat the successful side-by-side concert held at Tulpehocken High School in 2015. A side-by-side concert allows Berks County students to practice, play, and perform with the Reading Pops musicians.

• $3,300 to the Ringgold Band for a traditional Americana concert at the band shell at Hamburg Community Park in 2017.

Berks County Community Foundation is a nonprofit corporation that serves as a civic leader for our region by developing, managing and distributing funds to meet existing and emerging community needs. More information is available at www.bccf.org.