The Muskoka Lakes Music Festival’s Kaleidoscope Arts Education programs will reach more children in Muskoka, thanks to a $53,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF).

Norm Miller, MPP for Parry Sound–Muskoka, joined OTF representative Bill Roberts Friday evening in congratulating the festival at a special event in support of the programs.

“This is a very ambitious program in support of the arts,” said Miller. “Thanks to the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s generous grant, many students, teachers and local gifted artists will participate together in educational arts-based programs provided by Kaleidoscope Arts in Education. What an exciting learning opportunity this will be for our youth. I am so pleased the creative spirit is alive and well in Muskoka.”

With the help from the foundation, Muskoka Lakes Music Festival and its partners, the Huntsville Festival of the Arts and the Arts Council of Muskoka will offer local students their KITS (Kaleidoscope in the Schools) program. The funding will be used to enrich student and community-based learning experiences by linking schools and children with professional artists to deliver arts-based education programs.

“This grant will help us take local professional artists into the schools, support a children’s choir, present an annual children’s festival and a summer music and arts camp,” said program developer Gayle Dempsey. “We are thankful for the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s commitment and continued support of arts education in our community.”

Established in 1996, the Muskoka Lakes Music Festival has become a leader in Arts Education programming. During the summer season, the festival presents concerts by international and local artists in intimate settings in the natural beauty of Muskoka. This newly formed collaborative of major arts and culture organizations in the Muskoka region have come together to ensure that all students and youth have access to the arts. For more information, please visit www.kaleidoscopeartsined.ca.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an agency of the Government of Ontario. For 25 years, the foundation has supported the growth and vitality of communities across the province. OTF continues to strengthen the capacity of the volunteer sector through investments in community-based initiatives. For more information, please visit www.trilliumfoundation.org.