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Project/Program <br />Summary <br />Last Fridays & the Art W alk has come to define the culture of downtown <br />Hillsborough as a hub for the arts. The Hillsborough Arts Council organizes <br />this year round, monthly event by promoting gallery openings, musical <br />performances, and other happenings around downtown and in W est <br />Hillsborough on the last Friday of each month. During the months of May <br />through October, HAC also provides a full offering of free activities on the <br />old courthouse lawn: a Maker’s Market with 25+ art vendors and <br />community booths, 3 hours of performances in a new Live on the Lawn <br />Performance series, and interactive community art projects. These events <br />attract 1,000-3,000 visitors to downtown Hillsborough each month, which <br />has a positive impact on our local business community, encouraging <br />tourists as well as locals to shop and eat downtown. <br />The Live on the Lawn Performance Series is designed to offer <br />opportunities to multiple artists each month and provide the audience with <br />free, culturally significant programming. By listening to community members <br />who attend Last Fridays, we have determined that live entertainment is one <br />of the biggest draws to our events. This new series allows us to offer a 3 <br />hour lineup every month that audiences can count on. W e will hire acts in a <br />variety of genres such as comedy, music, drum circles, poetry and spoken <br />word, dance, puppetry, and even a fashion show. <br />Project Start Date <br />(no earlier than July <br />1, 2025) <br />July 1, 2025 <br />Project End Date (no <br />later than June 30, <br />2026) <br />June 30, 2026 <br />Project Goals The Live on the Lawn Performance Series is aligned with the mission of <br />HAC to advocate for local artists and provide access to inclusive <br />community arts programming in Hillsborough, NC. The overall goal of this <br />project is to attract a diverse audience to the event each month while <br />providing a greater number of multicultural artists with paid opportunities. <br />Hiring multicultural artists creates a vibrant arts experience and improves <br />representation and voice of our community. This also fosters appreciation <br />for members of our community that bring a different cultural perspective <br />than one’s own. <br />HAC Last Friday events have always contained a performance element. <br />However, when Covid imposed distancing rules, the days of community <br />members gathering to listen to music was temporarily over. W e have been <br />gradually building back up to full performance programming over the past <br />few years. The launch of the 2025 Live on the Lawn Performance Series <br />reflects HAC’s ability to have the capacity again for more robust <br />programming. W e are committed to 3 hours of free entertainment on the <br />lawn in May-October where diverse community members can gather once <br />again to participate in a shared art experience. <br />Docusign Envelope ID: 10E85B85-3DF9-4F09-88B4-92BB780493B7