LOWELL — U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan is putting up her dukes for Lowell’s theater and festival gems.
In a letter sent on Friday to Senior Advisor Mary Anne Carter with the National Endowment of Arts, Trahan “urgently” requested the immediate reversal of the cancelation of $20,000 each in federal grant funding to the Lowell Festival Foundation, which manages the annual Lowell Folk Festival, and the Merrimack Repertory Theatre.
“Together, the Lowell Folk Festival and MRT represent the heart of the arts in the Third District,” Trahan wrote. “They showcase local musicians, actors, and artists while providing residents with meaningful opportunities to engage with culture and creativity. Their loss would be a profound setback for our community,”
On May 2, the NEA notified the Lowell Festival Foundation and the MRT that it had “withdrawn” the $20,000 grant funding already promised to each organization for fiscal 2025. MRT had already expensed its grant to support the artist fees for the production of “What You Are Now,” by Sam Chanse, which is set in Lowell.
The play opened in April, and was one of the performance activities connected to Proleung Khmer (Khmer Soul): A 50-year Journey of Remembrance and Resilience, a series of events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime of Pol Pot and the Cambodian diaspora.
“Over the past four decades, MRT has served more than two million residents, producing seven plays annually – many of them original or world premieres,” Trahan wrote. “Beyond its artistic achievements, MRT is a champion for arts education, providing thousands of young people with access to theater, whether through discounted matinees or immersive youth productions with professional-level staging.”
The letter was good news to MRT Executive Director Courtney Sale, who previously said that the nonprofit would appeal the decision.
“We are grateful for Rep. Trahan’s advocacy in our appeal and her constancy in supporting ALL organizations impacted by these damaging cuts,” Sale said by email Saturday. “Our state and local officials truly understand the value of arts and culture.”
The MRT is the Merrimack Valley’s only professional theater company. Located adjacent to the Lowell Memorial Auditorium on E. Merrimack Street, its Liberty Hall theater holds 279 patrons.
The LFF’s grant was meant to support folk and traditional arts at this year’s 38th annual festival.
“The Lowell Folk Festival is the longest-running and second largest free folk festival in the nation,” Trahan said. “For more than 40 years, with the exception of a pause during the COVID- 19 pandemic, it has been a cornerstone of the region’s cultural and economic vitality.”
The festival opens Friday, July 25 and runs through Sunday, July 27. The 2025 lineup features performers on four stages, more than a dozen food vendors, numerous exhibits, dance tents and a variety of distinctive cultural experiences. It regularly draws 150,000 people from the Greater Merrimack Valley and from as far as California to Canada, and states in between.
The festival generates approximately $7 million in local economic activity each year, boosting patronage at restaurants, hotels, and institutions such as the Lowell National Historical Park.
“We at the Festival Foundation thank Representative Trahan and all our federal, state, and local officials for their steadfast support of Lowell’s vibrant arts community,” Festival Director Lee Viliesis said by email Saturday. “We stand with the call for the NEA to restore this critical funding, not just for the Lowell Folk Festival, but for all organizations that enrich our communities through the arts. Public support is essential to keeping cultural experiences accessible to all.”
Viliesis and Board Chairman Arthur Sutcliffe posted a donation appeal letter to the festival website on Thursday, titled “The Future of the Folk Festival.” Sutcliffe has helped manage the festival for all 38 years of its operation — more than half his lifetime.
Trahan has long been a supporter of both the festival and MRT. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she secured $416,949 for the Lowell Festival Foundation and $544,686 for MRT to ensure they were able to resume operations.
The funding came from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program, which was created when Congress passed the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act, and supplemented later by the American Rescue Plan Act.
Carter was recently nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the vacant chair position, and she has overseen cuts that have hit nonprofit organizations across the country. Trump has proposed eliminating the agency altogether next year.
“I respectfully urge you to restore the $20,000 in grant funding to these institutions without delay,” Trahan wrote in closing. “The return on this modest investment is immeasurable for our economy, our culture, and our community.”