By Cathy Terwedow
The Becket Cultural Council recently awarded $10,456.75 in grants to local organizations and individuals for a wide range of arts, humanities, and science programming. All events will be held in Becket. Funds were provided by the town of Becket and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
Grant decisions were finalized on January 21st. The council reviewed and discussed forty-six applications totaling $34,406—more than three times the amount the council had in its budget. Sixteen grants were approved in amounts ranging from $200 to $2,000.
The Council makes granting decisions based, in part, on community surveys. Last year, eighty-seven people responded. When asked which types of programming were most important, the top five responses were music, community-based programs, kids’ and after-school programs, and educational programs for adults. The most popular source for learning about events was the Becket Beat.
The following is a list of the successful applicants and projects for 2026.
- Becket Arts Center for general programming
- Berkshire Arts Center (IS183, Inc.), for the ARTcentric after-school program at the Becket Washington School
- Becket Athenaeum for community programs and museum passes
- Becket Beat for student and local journalism
- Becket Washington School for BTG PLAYS, their 2025 Science in Motion Traveling Program, Jacob’s Pillow Curriculum in Motion, and Interactive Science Exploration
- Becket Washington School PTO for STEAM Activities & Events and their 2026 picnic
- Berkshire Music School, Inc. for Music for Young Minds: The Woodwind Quintet
- Community Recreation Association, Inc. for After School programming
- Laura Lenski for First Steps Dance Discovery
