We were looking forward to bringing year 4 of our popular music series held in the Old Town Artisan Village, which brings our community together through the power of free live music. Believe me, this decision did not come easily. It impacts so many people in our community, including our dedicated staff and sound crew, musicians, artists, partners, volunteers, vendors, sponsors, and interns - in addition to the thousands of family, friends and neighbors who enjoy free Levitt AMP concerts in Old Town every summer. It takes us months to successfully plan and coordinate a Levitt AMP concert series, from securing musicians from all over the country to forging media partnerships to amplifying the lawn experience through impactful community and vendor partnerships.

Even though we won't be together in the traditional sense this summer, we'll be back in 2021. We've been assured by the Mortimer and Mimi Levitt Foundation that the series will return to Berea next year. Our $25,000 in grant funding for this year’s series - hard won by a public online voting campaign - will be rolled over to 2021. We will not have to re-apply next year and we will not have to vote again. We are already working to reschedule the bands we planned to feature this summer.

The Levitt Foundation and our network of Levitt AMP friends across the country have given us tremendous guidance and support. We are working very closely with the Levitt Foundation to re-imagine how we still might bring music and connect community this year.

• The Levitt foundation will be hosting a 10 week, virtual music series where Berea will be right with our 19 other Levitt AMP grantee cities, and we'll be able to highlight some of our local talent on a national platform. Berea's concert airs in mid-July.
• Our team is also exploring a new bridge grant that the Levitt Foundation created to help us still bring our community together in 2020. 

Levitt is a people first organization, a musician friendly series, and is committed to diversity and inclusion, and we look forward to continuing to advance those values this year. Please head over to our Facebook and Instagram pages to stay in touch and keep up to date on our plans. 
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Words can't express how much we're going to miss seeing you this summer. Old Town Friday concerts have become part of Berean culture and certainly part of the summer routines for all of us. Until we can safely gather again, please take care of one another. We love you Berea and we will see you soon!

CALL TO ACTION: **A key factor for long-term success of the Levitt AMP program is 'community readiness,' whether there is commitment and support from local leadership and residents.

How can we work together to increase Berea's community readiness?

We are AMP-ing up fundraising efforts from the community AND asking for a greater commitment from the Tourism Commission as a partner in the coming fiscal year.

​If you support this program we ask you to share your thoughts with elected and appointed representatives on the Berea City Council and Berea Tourism as they begin their budget process over the next few weeks.

Encourage the City to embrace the series as a signature event and leverage the program as a strategy for community vitality.

NEWS:
Erica Chambers, Berea Arts Council council Vice-President, spoke at this week's City of Berea, KY Government Tourism meeting. Erica advocated for the Levitt AMP Music Series program. Other members of the Arts Council board, AMP Berea Community Committee, and Peter Hille, President of MACED (longtime sponsor) were in attendance. They were there to address funding reductions from long time program partner, Berea Tourism. The Tourism Commission responded with the majority of the board expressing comments of support for the program. What was discussed in length, were Tourism budget cuts for FY 2019-20 by the Berea City Council. The legality of this was questioned and Berea City Councilwoman Emily LaDouceur asked for a legal opinion. Councilman Jerry Little, who proposed the cut, taking a cut-the-budget-to-measure-if-it-hurts-Berea approach stated that if the budget reduction hurts tourism in the city then the funding could be raised again next year, stating to Tourism, "You don't cut one thing out, you don't change anything that you're doing, no programs change, nothing changes. It's just a $79,000 reduction." View video.

This cut has trickled down to affect all of Tourism operations, including program partnerships. In addition to general city-wide advertising, advertising funds granted to community programs was reduced, and the $3000 line item for August Concerts that had been allocated to Levitt AMP Berea was cut from the Tourism budget for 2020.

A breakdown of Tourism support for Levitt AMP:
- 2017: $3000 cash / $1500 in-kind advertising
- 2018: $10,000 / $1500 in-kind
- 2019: $7800 cash / $1500 in-kind
- 2020: $2450 advertising reimbursement

There are a few things that set this program apart:

1. In 2014, the Tourism Commission was considering a First Friday program to address reinvigorating areas of town on the decline. When First Friday Berea was proposed by a community group, the Tourism Commission chose to give financial support to those endeavors rather than hire an outside consultant;  they did not have the staffing capacity to produce the event in-house.

2. Tourism and Parks & Rec produced a August Concert Series in Memorial Park for several years. (Reports from that program: 4 Fridays, 75-100 in attendance, and musicians provided their own sound.) When we formed the partnership to apply for the Levitt AMP grant, that $3000 line item for the August concerts was allocated to the Levitt Music Series. Tourism and Parks & Rec would not have to produce the event with no drain on staffing resources, the Music Series would receive cash for general operational expenses and the program's impact could be increased.

3. The series results in national advertising for "Berea, Kentucky."
- 3 years of Time Square billboard announcements
- Levitt Foundation e-communication database of over 63,000 contacts
- Over 55,000 visits to the Levitt AMP website
- Levitt Foundation has 119K likes on Facebook
- At regional and national conferences

4. AMP Berea partners have leveraged $100,000 in Levitt Foundation grants to provide over $1 million of free cultural programming for our residents and our visitors. (Based on PollStar data.)

5. Case studies show the Levitt program is an important catalytic and contributory role in broader physical and economic revitalization efforts, leading to reinvestment in and reactivation the areas where concerts take place. Levitt white paper

6. The Levitt Foundation's mission is to strengthen the social fabric of America. The Levitt program uses arts-based strategies to promote social connectivity, fostering a deeply communal spirit - much needed here in the Berea community. Two outcomes from case studies:

• “Bonding social capital” or the ties that connect members of a group to each other
• "Bridging social capital” or having friendly interactions with people unlike themselves. 

December 20, 2019 —Today, the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation named Berea, Kentucky as one of 20 small to mid-sized towns and cities across America to win a Levitt AMP Grant Award of $25K in matching funds to present a free concert series at Old Town Artisan Village. Berea Arts Council submitted Berea’s Levitt AMP proposal. 

In July, the Levitt Foundation invited nonprofits to submit proposals that would reflect the three goals of the Levitt AMP awards: Amplify community pride and the city’s unique character; enrich lives through the power of free, live Music; and illustrate the importance of vibrant public Places. Nonprofits that received a previous Levitt AMP grant were eligible to reapply. In an effort to inspire and engage communities across the country around the power of creative placemaking, the Levitt Foundation opened the selection process to the public to choose the top 25 finalists.
The public voted on the submitted proposals over a three-week period in November, selecting their favorite projects online at http://levittamp.org. 

"We are thrilled to announce the 2020 Levitt AMP Grant Awards winners, and express our appreciation to everyone who voted online to choose the finalists,” says Sharon Yazowski, Executive Director of the Levitt Foundation. "As a fourth-year grant recipient, it will be exciting to see how the Berea Arts Council continues to inspire economic vibrancy in its Old Town Artisan Village through multi-layered arts experiences, bringing people together from all walks of life for the Levitt AMP Berea Music Series.”

The 2020 Levitt AMP winners include 5 new and 15 returning grantees from a broad range of communities: rural towns with populations of less than 5,000 like Shenandoah Junction, W.Va.; Houston, Miss.; and Soldotna, Alaska; mid-sized cities like Carson City, Nev.; Stevens Point, Wis.; and Woonsocket, R.I.; and larger cities with populations of 80,000 to 115,000 like Merced, Calif.; Fort Smith, Ark.; and Springfield, Ill. Each winner will present 10 free concerts featuring a diverse lineup of high-caliber entertainment as part of the Levitt AMP Music Series, for a total of 200 free Levitt AMP concerts across the U.S. in 2020. 

Berea, Kentucky* (population: 15,787)
The Berea Arts Council will present the fourth Levitt AMP Berea Music Series, celebrating the city’s social justice heritage and energizing its historic Old Town Artisan Village with an eclectic array of musical experiences from across the globe. The 2020 series will continue to fuel Old Town’s economic recovery and transformation into a welcoming hub for art, food and community gatherings.

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About the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation
The Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation is a private foundation that exists to strengthen the social fabric of America. Through its support of creative placemaking, the Levitt Foundation empowers communities to transform underused public spaces into welcoming destinations where the power of free, live music brings people together and invigorates community life. The Foundation's primary funding areas include permanent Levitt venues and the Levitt AMP [Your City] Grant Awards, an annual grants competition. During the past decade, the Foundation has awarded more than $20 million in grants to support access to free, high-caliber live music experiences while bringing new life to public spaces.

The Levitt network of permanent outdoor music venues and AMP concert sites collectively serves more than 750,000 people annually through 600+ free, family-friendly concerts in 28 towns and cities. As an example of the high-caliber talent presented across the Levitt network, the 2020 GRAMMY nominees include 17 artists who have performed on Levitt stages in recent years. Learn more at http://levitt.org

What a week, Berea! This past Friday is in the running for our biggest dance party YET! Thanks to some wild tunes by The Lowdown Brass Band, Fritz Schindler and The Handshake Deals! 

Not only did we have rockin' music, we also had a great week for LOCAL FOOD! Featured vendors included Noodle Nirvana, serving up KY Proud Chicken from Pilgrim's Pride in Hickory, KY - a cooperative of 176 families, as well as Elmwood Inn black tea in their delicious Thai Tea. 

We also hosted KY Strong BBQ for the first time this week. Their commitment to serving up ONLY Kentucky grown and produced products is right in line with our values and commitment to sustainability!

Big special shout-out to our weekly vendor, Fannie's Country Fried Favorites. Each week, they've shown a dedication to working on goals of sustainability - they've switched to all compostable dishware, source their meat locally, and home make just about everything! WE LOVE YOU, THANK YOU!

Throughout this concert series, we are doing our best to ensure the events have a minimal impact on the environment. Thank you all for your compliance in sorting your waste at our recovery station - each week, we divert recycling and compost from the landfill. Curious for more information about why sorting waste is important? Check out this resource for more information. Diverting waste can create soil, mitigate impact of climate change, and reduce energy consumption. As this article says, "Translating recycling and composting into climate change impact reminds us that recycling and composting are a powerful and significant part of the solution. They are not trivial." THANKS FOR DOING YOUR PART TO SUPPORT OUR VISION!

See you this Friday for more stellar music, and don't forget to stop by our featured non-profit booth, Kentucky Heartwood. 

Last week, we had yet another amazing event, seeing all your beautiful faces and listening to the more traditional bluegrass and country bands! Thanks again to the Cumberland River Band, Blind Ricky, and Berea's own Parallel! The music draws us all together, and it's so great to see so many people turn out week after week, no matter the genre of music -- the spirit of the community gathering continually brings us all out!

At this last event, we had a few more community engagement activities -- Leah Van Winkle and Joana Amorim were set up at the info booth with a sign that read WHAT DOES COMMUNITY MEAN TO YOU? They had numerous people come up and add their thoughts to the board, such as "family," "friendship," "strength in numbers," "resilience" and many others.

As people reflected on the intellectual question of what does community mean, another booth with Centered Yoga Studio, Thrive Massage and Laughter Yoga brought people into the experience of community. Throughout the evening, many people gathered for short yoga sessions with Lauren Higdon and Joshua Saxton, including a laughter yoga experience with Jamie Brown, and took turns receiving chair massage from Andri Kukas, LMT. Did you participate? What did you enjoy about these activities?

Each week, we'll continue to explore the threads of what weaves all the members of our community together -- music, dance, laughter, movement, food, fun and what else?

What does your community mean to YOU? I'll end this week's post with my thoughts :

Community is a harmonious interweaving of interdependent individuals, made more resilient through the threads of love, interests, shared experience and so much more that unite us all.

Share your thoughts in the comments, and bring your ideas to discuss this week! Come out for an evening of psychedelic rock with Johnny Conqueroo and Indighost! Check in at the Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center Booth, our non-profit spotlight of the week - see the website for more information. Don't forget to SAVE THE DATE for the next Permaculture Action Day at the Glades Community Garden on August 12th, 10 AM - 6 PM. See you Friday!

Week 5:  August 4th. Indighost from Bristol, TN - Johnny Conqueroo & Sour Cream from Lexington, KY.

We believe music is one of the best ways to draw diverse people together - something reflected in our line-up last Friday night. With Madison Lewis opening the night on the guitar, sharing her sweet song, The Local Honeys tearin' into some traditional and original banjo and fiddle tunes, and Cheick Hamila Diabate taking us to West Africa and on a world tour, we experienced a diverse range of musical talent. 

Did you recognize the instrument Cheick Hamila Diabate was playing? If not by sight, then by sound? That's called a ngoni, a traditional West African instrument and ancestor of the banjo. Diabate elaborates in a recent interview, "“Ngoni is the father of the banjo,” Diabate explains. “People speak about the banjo, how it came from the ngoni, but I hear the connection all the time. Every song I play on ngoni, I put onto the banjo and it works perfectly." (source: http://cheickhamala.com/blog/). Diabate weaves countless cultural influences together to produce this innovative sound, including traditional music from Mali, the U.S., and more modern beats from around the world. 

We loved experiencing the thru-line of the banjo from The Local Honeys to Cheick Hamila Diabate, and the influence of traditional music present in all three of our acts that night. What a reminder of what we all have in common, no matter what diverse origins we come from. Be it musical tradition or any other aspect of culture and humanness, there is always a thru-line to tie us all together. That was clear Friday night, seeing everyone hootin' and hollerin' on the dance lawn! 

Part of the vision behind these events that bring people together for fun is to enhance these bonds of community resilience. We may all come from diverse backgrounds, but what's our common thread? Live music, this place we all love, the values and experiences we all share? What's yours? 

Find us at the info booth this Friday to begin to explore these questions, and our Facebook to stay up to date on the line up for the rest of the summer! Don't forget to comment or reach out and let us know what you're thinking about!
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Who's playing Berea in 2017?? Check it out...

For a little listen to our Artists, press PLAY.

We were featured in a recent article from PolicyLink alongside our friends and Levitt AMP Berea sponsor, Mountain Tech Media. 

A ten-week outdoor music series may take place in Berea this next summer, if a partnership between the Berea Arts Council, Berea Tourism, First Friday Berea, and the Berea College’s Entrepreneurship for the Public Good (EPG) program results in funding from the Mortimer and Mimi Levitt Foundation.

The Levitt AMP grants, though the Levitt Foundation, strive to strengthen the social fabric of America through free, live music. Ali Blair, one of the organizers of First Friday, became interested in this grant as one way to fund the outdoor concerts that have been offered in Berea through the First Friday evening concerts, and Berea Tourism’s August concert series.

“We’ve been working on the partnerships for this grant for around 2 ½ months,” Blair said. “Both the First Friday concerts and the tourism summer concert series would be folded in if we receive the grant.”

If Berea’s grant application is successful, the concert series would take place in Old Town Artisan Center, in front of the old cabin, and would run from June to August for ten consecutive weeks. The Levitt Foundation’s goals are for these live concert series to appeal to a diverse population, and be accessible for people from all socio-economic levels and abilities. According to Blair, successful grant applications must also include a vibrant use of public spaces for the events.

All of the grants have been posted to the https://grant.levittamp.org website. The 25 grant applications that receive the most online voting will be selected for review, and the Levitt Foundation will then select 15 of the strongest applications from the 25 for funding. Winning organizations will receive matching grants of $25,000. The Berea grant is listed under the Berea Arts Council, which applied for the grant.

People can vote once per email address; the voting deadline is Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. The winners will be announced on Jan. 5, 2017.
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A quote from Berea art application reported that, “Art and specifically music, is seen as a communications bridge between differing worldviews and socio-demographics. The Levitt AMP Berea Music Series would offer an accessible, diverse cultural enrichment opportunity and serve to increase public awareness of and appreciation for the work of musicians as artists, helping Bereans reconnect with our roots, asserting the kinship of all people. When we meet together with a playful spirit, we are more likely to recognize our humanity during controversy.”

The College’s EPG program will be collecting data, if the grant application is successful, to measure the economic and cultural impact of the event.

Berea College EPG, Berea Tourism, and First Friday Berea ask supporters to spread the word to family, friends, colleagues and neighbors to sign up and vote for Berea’s proposal. Learn more at http://levittamp.org


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Winners receive $25,000 to produce a 10 week free outdoor concert series.  

​Performances by Dana Sipos, Hope Nunnery, The Jeff Richey Experience, Zoe Speaks with The Sisters. Spotlight on Madison County Chapter of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth. You are also invited to Clear Creek Festival grounds in Rockcastle Co following First Friday, for a full weekend of art, music, food and community. More info found at: clearcreekfest.org 

Presented by Berea Tourism and supported by the Kentucky Foundation for Women and Alternate ROOTS. 
Poster designed by our friends and First Friday Berea Sponsors -Mountain Tech Media!!