The Lakes District Arts Council (LDAC) received $6249 as part of a recent round of grant adjudications from the B.C. Arts Council, an independent agency funded by the provincial government.

The B.C. Arts Council is distributing more than $7 million to 313 artists and arts organizations throughout the province.

According to John Barth, member of the LDAC, public funding for volunteer arts organizations such as LDAC is extremely important.

"If we have to rely just on our community, ticket sales and sponsorship, we would have to scale down tremendously and increase the cost [of tickets]," said Barth. "And then we would lose our audience because when the ticket price goes up, the audience goes down."

The LDAC's season 10 ended on April 7, 2016, with Cayla Brooke in 'How can I keep from singing?'

Shows for the upcoming eleventh season - 2016/17 - are already booked. The season starts Oct. 6, 2016, with Jim Byrnes, a blues musician, guitarist, and actor. Lakes District residents can expect to enjoy a variety of performances in the eleventh season, including a classical pianist, a vocal quartet and even tap dancing.

In 2015-16, the B.C. Arts Council provided $24 million to help artists and cultural organizations flourish in communities throughout B.C. The province says this investment supports a thriving creative economy, with recipients representing 93 communities.

"People working in the creative sector are one of the drivers of the B.C. Jobs Plan and contribute to healthy and vibrant communities," said Peter Fassbender, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development." Investing in artists and arts organizations throughout the province strengthens our creative economy and helps make British Columbia a great place to live, work and play."

The LDAC is currently accepting more volunteers. If interested, contact John and Sandra Barth at 250-692-3371.