By Barb Van Atta
The Broome County Arts Council (BCAC) is awarding $231,246 in United Cultural Fund (UCF) grants for 2017. General operating grants will help support operations of seven major arts organizations. Seventeen project grants will support projects by community non-profits and individual artists.
The recipients were to be honored at a press conference Tuesday (March 14), followed by a “Pi Day” celebration and fund-raising event at the Water Street Brewing Co. in downtown Binghamton. The press conference has been canceled due to the impending blizzard, but the celebration is rescheduled for Thursday, March 16.
Major donors, whose charitable gifts help make UCF grants possible, include the Stewart W. & Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, Broome County Government, the Dr. G. Clifford & Florence B. Decker Foundation, the Miller S. & Adelaide S. Gaffney Foundation, the M&T Charitable Foundation, the IBM Corporation, the Security Mutual Life Insurance Co. of New York and other local businesses and individuals who believe in the value of arts investment. Complete list:  http://www.broomearts.org/united-cultural-fund/donors/
The 2017 UCF ampaign raised a total of $277,055, 85 percent of which was allocated to this year’s grant awards. The BCAC received 15 percent for administration. Last year, UCF grantees collectively returned more than $4.6 million dollars to Broome County’s economy.
And the grant recipients are:
General Operating Support
ART Mission & Theater, $12,200; Binghamton Philharmonic, $55,000; Cider Mill Playhouse, $12,200; Endicott Performing Arts Center, $16,000; Goodwill Theater, $12,200; Roberson Museum & Science Center, $56,000; Tri-Cities Opera, $52,000
Project Grants
• Binghamton Center for Writers — $1,000, The Binghamton Poetry Project
• Binghamton Community Orchestra — $690, Southern Tier Music Teachers Association’s Concerto Competition
• Binghamton Downtown Singers — $,1000, Spring 2017 Concert
• Binghamton Youth Symphony — $1,000, Spring 2017 Concert
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Binghamton — $1,000, Exploring Documentary Photography: After School Program for Underserved Youth
• Brian Murphy — $856, Transient Visions: Festival of the Moving Image
• Kopernik Society of Broome County — $1,000, 2nd EXPOSURE: a screening of art films with astronomical images
• Lori Dayton — $1,000, Original Production of the musical “Ascend”
• The Nanticoke Valley Historical Society — $500, The Gallery at Maine, NY
• Phelps Mansion Museum — $1,000, Chamber Music Series at the Phelps
• Roberta Kopakas — $1,000, “Installation | Music” – Installation of an original art exhibit to original music at the Bundy
• Scott Danzig — $600, Original Film Production entitled “The Restaurant”
• Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition/Southern Tier Solar Works — $1,000, Light Up the Night: Solar Art Workshop
• SPARE Productions — $1,000, SPARE Productions presents “Legally Blonde: The Musical”
• SRO Productions III — $1,000, SRO’s Production of “Avenue Q”
• Summer Savoyards — $1,000, The Summer Savoyards Present “The Sorcerer”
• Vestal Museum – $1,000, Original Production of “Wildcat: The Great Vestal Train Wreck of 1901”

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Pi Day celebration rescheduled 
Did you know March 14 is Pi Day, as in 3.14 (actually 3.14159)?
The BCAC had planned a Pi Day celebration, which would have followed the UCF press conference. That celebration has been moved to Thursday, (March 16) at the Water Street Brewing Co., 168 Water St., Binghamton. From 4 to 8 p.m., the community is invited to celebrate the arts in Broome County and the impact of arts on innovation.
Join with artists, arts organizations, donors and patrons of the arts — including the newly named recipients of United Cultural Foundation grants – in savoring “Pie, Art and Brew.” This is a casual event perfect for sporting your BCAC “Keep the Arts Thriving” T-shirt (or adding one to your wardrobe).
Why Pi, a mathematical term? To remind us of the importance of STEAM, a focus on Arts as well as Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
Several of the project recipients of the 2017 United Cultural Fund awards are technical and non-traditional projects incorporating the arts and science. FYI: For her internship with the BCAC, SUNY Broome student Shawna Stevenson researched how arts are integrated in innovation in Broome County. Details: http://www.broomearts.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Innovation-and-the-Arts.pdf