Chouteau County Performing Arts (Subsidiary of Fort Benton Community Improvement Association
EIN
81-0267701
501(c)3 nonprofit
2203 Franklin Street
Fort Benton
59442
Main Contact
Jenice
Fugere
Treasurer
4068557675
Organization objectives (check all that apply)
We currently have a series and want to improve the quality of performing arts events., We currently have a series and would like to reach a new audience.
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Communities Impacted
Name the cities or towns where your programming has an impact
Fort Benton, Loma, Big Sandy, Geraldine, Square Butte, Coffee Creek, Denton, Shonkin, Highwood, Carter Floweree, Great Falls, Chester
Name the counties where your program has an impact
Chouteau, Cascade, Liberty
Name all schools, community centers, and other facilities where you program outreach events. Please format as "name of school/facility, city/town" (e.g. CM Russell High School, Great Falls)
Elementary School/Fort Benton MT, Big Sandy School, Golden Age Senior Center/Fort Benton, Sunrise Bluffs/ Assisted Living/Fort Benton.
Describe any other specific program, practicies, or strategies your organization employs to make a great impact in your area
Students from Highwood, Big Sandy, Carter, Geraldine, Homeschooled students and Hutterite Colony students have access to the Fort Benton Elementary outreach performances. Last year we just started offering a couple of ourtreach programs to our closed in/senior individuals that could not attend evening concerts after the COVID interruption to these events. We hope to expand that this year.
Application Narrative
How is the proposed season different from past programming
We have made a concerted effort to find programming that will appeal to younger audiences. We are starting off our season with "She will Rock You" to start us offl. We're mixing it up with local Montana talent, some Blues & American Roots music, some Canadian folk, and an update from classig piano to a great piano due to jazz things up. We feel our Ollee Ownes will please both seasoned and young concert goers and we'll end with an energetic Uptown group. We feel that our season has something for everyone and should please young and old alike.
If you are taking an artistic risk in programming, what is it and why is it a risk?
One risk is that sometimes in trying to bring in a younger crowd, our older seasoned concert attendees feel their desired country western/classical programming is missing. We have to ensure we include something for them too.
Another risk is that programming artists that target younger audiences tends to be higher in cost. We have increased ticket sales but there is a risk if sales do not make up that difference.
How is your performing arts series significant to your community?
Chouteau County Performing Arts serves a rural area that does not offer opportunities for it's residents to attend quality performing arts programs without traveling a distance and spending a significant amount in tickets, gas and lodging. Many of our season ticket holders could not afford to attend events of this quality elsewhere. Our organization provides a very important cultural experience that most of our students and seniors would not experience without our program.
​What is the audience you wish to reach? (E.g., Describe your current audience or new audience segments you wish to target.)
- Even three years ago, I would describe our season audience as predominanty the 60 and over seniors. We have made a concerted effort to seek out programming that will bring in a younger crowd and include a wider reach throughout the county. The past two years have show how effective it is to select programming to attract the 35-59 and even younger crowd (if even for 1 or 2 concerts) We'd like to expand on this. We off free admission to school age children in the county and we've noticed that outreach programs from the artists that are attractive to younger audiences have resulted in more of the students taking advantage of the free admission and they bring their parents and grandparents to an evening performance.
How do you propose to reach this audience? (E.g., Describe program, operational, or marketing strategies that you will use to meet your goal.)
We plan to bring in the more popular 50s to 70s rock and 80s-90s music mixed in with some good folk, jazz, blues and soul music. For advertising, it may be helpful to explore publicizing our series events on some event calendars. It would be great to learn what other small commuities do to putlicize their events.
Promotion
Websites and social media
https://
Season Brochure
Other online marketing
Do you use email marketing?
no
Subscription URL
Event calendars used
Marketing questions or goals:
It would be hellpful to find out what other organizations do to market their programs. What works for others, what doesn't work so well and why.
It would be very helpful to explore event calendars and tips on publicizing our series on these calendars.
FY25 Season Info
Artist 1
Name
She Will Rock You
Date(s)
August 27, 2024
Performance Fee
4000
Outreach Fee
500
Artist 2
Name
Big City Lights
Date(s)
September 24, 2024
Performance Fee
2500
Outreach Fee
500
Artist 3
Name
Gary Negbaur
Date(s)
November 19, 2024
Performance Fee
1500
Outreach Fee
200
Artist 4
Name
The Wardens
Date(s)
January 22, 2025
Performance Fee
2500
Outreach Fee
500
Artist 5
Name
Piano Heist
Date(s)
February 4, 2025
Performance Fee
2500
Outreach Fee
500
Artist 6
Name
Ollee Ownes
Date(s)
March 18, 2025
Performance Fee
4000
Outreach Fee
500
Artist 7
Name
Uptown
Date(s)
April 9, 2025
Performance Fee
5500
Outreach Fee
500
Artist 8
Name
Piatigorski
Date(s)
April or May 2025 TBD
Performance Fee
700
Outreach Fee
0
Total Artist Fees
26400
$
Explanation for unusually low or high numbers
Uptown is more expensive but we are hoping that it will be a draw for the season as a couple of our concerts such as the Beatles Tribute and the Eagles Tribute were.
Piatigorski is an offering by the Piatigorsky foundation and has been part of our programming for years.
Artists based in, or originating from Montana
Big City Lights - inspired by the landscapes of Montana. Melding of a NYC and Montana artist
Application Files
Some applicants have multiple PDF's for contracts. Please use the link below to open a folder on the cloud with all artist contracts/letters of intent.