Vote to win the city a concert series next summer

PAWTUCKET – The city has been chosen as a finalist to potentially receive a $25,000 grant for a series of 10 public concerts at Festival Pier next summer.

Anthony Hebert, senior planner for the city, said Festival Pier was selected for a potential Levitt AMP Music Series because a significant part of the criteria for the grant is that it be used to bring life to underutilized spaces. Festival Pier off School Street fits the bill, he said.

This grant, if secured, will bring an area that’s “tucked away,” in comparison to amenities such as Slater Park, out into the spotlight, providing residents in this area of the city a chance to check out a great facility and see that the riverfront is a wonderful place to be, he said. Festival Pier is perhaps the best point in Pawtucket for accessing the river, he said, and a concert series is a great way to bring new life here.

From Nov. 1 to Nov. 20, residents have the chance to vote online and the 25 communities with the most votes of those in contention will be taken to a final selection process. Visit www.concerts.levittamp.org to vote starting Nov. 1.

The Pawtucket Foundation, in partnership with the city and Lindsey Lerner, are the applicants on the grant.

This is the same grant previously won by Woonsocket to bring concerts to that city.

With the exception of the wildly popular Dragon Boat Races, Festival Pier is generally not used for many official events, said Hebert, with no other real large-scale events here over the spring and summer.

Each year, the Levitt Foundation awards $25,000 matching grants for 10 free concerts that inject new life into public spaces and create vibrant community destinations. Voting determines the top 25 finalists.

The Levitt AMP Grant Awards is a matching grant program made possible by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, a national creative placemaking funder dedicated to strengthening the social fabric of the country through the power of free, live music.