The Center for the Arts of Greater Lapeer, Inc. is thrilled to be awarded a $15,000 grant from the Michigan Council of Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) for 2020.
The Operational Support grant will assist the Center for the Arts with artists, educator’s fees and expenses, marketing, community outreach, production costs, and classroom supplies. The Center for the Arts offers twelve Gallery exhibitions per year and over fifty performances in the PIX Theatre per year, as well as a variety of art classes, theater classes and workshops.
Organizations receiving an MCACA grant award are required to match those funds with other public and private dollars. Local support of the Center for the Arts included: Lakestone Bank & Trust, The County Press/LAView Newspapers, Lapeer Optimist Club, Calvelli’s and Papa’s Pizza, Meijer, Sharkey Construction Corporation, State Farm Pat Cronin, Lapeer Medical Associates, Kiwanis of Lapeer, The Curt Carter Family, Burke’s Flowers, DTE Energy Foundation, The Lapeer Agency, Lesley Elizabeth, Vidon Plastics, Tri-City Times, McLaren Lapeer Region, Aladdin’s Cleaning and Restoration, Andrew Aretakis, DDS, Fenton Home Furnishings, Lapeer County Medical Care Facility, Lee’s Auto Repair, Gaye Butterfield, Dort Federal Credit Union, ELGA Credit Union, Kapala Heating & Air Conditioning, Keith Byard State Farm, Lapeer Awning and Window, Lapeer County Vision Center, Lapeer Dental Centre, Melanie DiCenso Financial Planner, Molly Maid of Metamora, Muir Brothers Funeral Home, Oesch, Sieting, and Howrylak Certified Public Accountants, Robson & McCallum, Certified Public Accountants, Ross Automotive, Rowe Professional Services Company, The Robert Rowden Jr., Karen Rowden, and Carol Fischhaber Families, Sue Gregory and Gary Herfert, Rick and Fran VanHaaften, Sovita Credit Union, Northwestern Mutual Eric Cassabon, Woodchips American Bar-be-que Restaurant, Gerlach Bowling Center, Lapeer Pool & Spa, Shoults & Brooks PLLC, House to Home LLC, Village Printing, Lola’s Design Studio, Mott Community College, Coldwell Banker Veronica Abdelnour, AAA Insurance Jerry Webb, Action Fence & Better Buy Flags, State Farm Keith Byard, and the City of Lapeer, Mainstreet DDA.
The Center for the Arts of Greater Lapeer, Inc. is the merger of the former PIX Arts Council and Gallery 194, the six-year old organization is a 501c3 non-profit serving the greater Lapeer County region.
This is the sixth MCACA Operational Support Grant awarded the Center for the Arts. At the grant review in August, the panelists found the quality and variety of programming impressive. The support of the DDA, service organizations, local businesses and community were also vital to the success of the grant application.
The grant was awarded through the MCACA peer review process and was one of 342 applications to compete for MCACA Operational Support for fiscal year 2020 funding.
The MCACA peer review process allows for each grant application to be competitively considered by a panel of in-state and out-of-state arts and culture professionals. This ensures the taxpayers, who support this project through legislative appropriations, and all other visitors or residents in Michigan will have access to the highest quality arts and cultural experiences.
It is the mission of MCACA “to encourage, initiate and facilitate an enriched artistic, cultural, and creative environment in Michigan.”

—The Center for the Arts of Greater Lapeer, Inc.