Source: United States Senator for Ohio Sherrod Brown
Sen. Brown speaks with Eboné Waweru, Soprano Teaching Artist, Chorus Member & Community Engagement Advisory Committee Member with the Toledo Opera.
TOLEDO, OH – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined local arts leaders, artists and IATSE Local 24 members at the Stranahan Theater to show how Shuttered Venue Operators Grants (SVOG) have helped local cultural and entertainment businesses survive the pandemic and reopen. The Stranahan Theater opened for holiday performances this month for the first time in two years.
“Thanks to the investments we made with Save Our Stages and the American Rescue Plan, the Stranahan Theater is open again. Saving these arts organizations not only supports the performers and the workers, it helps local businesses and the whole city’s economy,” said Brown. “People go to a local restaurant before the show, they grab a drink afterward – more people are out and about in Toledo. We can’t have a thriving, vibrant city without the arts.”
Sen. Brown was a cosponsor of the Save Our Stages Act, legislation that established the SVOG grants, and helped pass the American Rescue Plan that expanded the program. The program awarded nearly 400 Ohio venues more than $350 million in initial and supplemental rounds of funding – ranking the state eighth for most amount of money received.
“The SVOG program helped us continue to operate through the COVID pandemic shutdown,” said Dennis Sankovich, the Executive Director of the Stranahan Theater. “Without this grant, we would not have been able to re-open as quickly and easily as we did after most restrictions were lifted. This grant also helped us to come back to the level of programming our patrons have been accustomed to for the last 51 years.”
After being closed for months, the Stranahan Theater reopened in February of this year and received $795,043 in SVOG funds. It was one of several arts organizations in the Toledo area that received SVOG funds, including the Valentine Theater which received $623,093 in SVOG funds, the Toledo Alliance for The Performing Arts, made up of the Toledo Symphony and the Toledo Ballet, which received $302,168 in SVOG funds, and the Toledo Opera which received $38,291 in SVOG funds.
“Thanks to the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, Toledo artists like me are returning to the stage and performing for the audiences we miss so dearly,” said Eboné Waweru, the Soprano Teaching Artist, Chorus Member & Community Engagement Advisory Committee Member for the Toledo Opera.
“This support helps sustain the Toledo Opera, which does so much meaningful outreach and education in our community. We appreciate Senator Brown’s support. Thank you for coming here today to meet us and for all of your support of the performing arts in Toledo.”
###