In Monday’s Butler Eagle, we learned about some serious support for the Butler Cultural District.

On Saturday, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts announced the cultural district was one of 18 recipients of a Creative Communities grant. The grant offers up to $25,000 annually for four years.

The Butler Cultural District was one of more than 200 groups that applied for the grant. That’s a sign of the progress the cultural district project has made in just about a year.

First proposed in 2021, the cultural district project is headed by the Rotary Club of Butler PM and is bounded by East Jefferson, North Main, Howard, North McKean and Franklin streets.

The area, which includes seven churches, the former Butler Middle School, Butler Area Public Library, Butler Little Theatre, the Maridon Museum and the soon-to-reopen Penn Theater, is envisioned as a place where multiple artistic and cultural events could happen at any time, from art exhibits to concerts and plays.

In June 2022, during the early planning stages for the district, Leslie Osche, who leads both the cultural district and the Butler County commissioners, explained what she wanted from the project.

“Part of the goal really is to try to foster ways that we can work together to promote our current arts organizations and organize things around those,” she said.

The grant announced Saturday should further help with that goal. Not only will the project receive funding from the grant, leaders will have a chance to connect with other organizations statewide that are also Creative Communities grant winners.

Sarah Merritt with the council on the arts will offer insight on other grants that are available on both the state and national levels, giving project leaders access to more funding to expand their efforts. On Saturday, Merritt’s reaction to the cultural district echoed what many residents have also said.

“We are really excited to be coming into this program,” she said. “The work going on in this community is wonderful.”

We, like so many others, are excited to see what’s next.

— JK