The popular PAC MAC Festival that ran for a week last October in Patchogue Village has missed out on a crucial $25,000 county grant that helped get last year’s inaugural festivities rolling.
But the organizers, spearheaded by Patchogue Arts Council president and Patchogue Village Trustee Lori Devlin, say the show must go on.
“We got the grant money [in 2014] but then the county changed the criteria,” Devlin said. Those changes made it impossible for the Patchogue Arts Council (PAC) to compete for government funding for a second Music, Arts & Cinema (MAC) event.
“We have a lot of support from the community, so even without the grant, if I scale back some expenses and we can fundraise, I think that we’re going to be fine,” she said.
To help in those efforts, PAC has set up an online fundraising effort.
And, on Aug. 12 PAC will be hosting a fundraiser at 89 North Music Venue called “An Evening of Food and Wine. Celebration of the Culinary Arts.”
For a $50 ticket, attendees can sample food from about a dozen or more Patchogue area restaurants.
Buy tickets here.
“There will be fine wine, and, of course, with this being Patchogue, craft beer,” she said.
More info from The New York Times: A Festival Testifies to a Village’s Turnaround, Oct. 10, 2014
As for this year’s PAC MAC Festival, it will run from Oct. 2 to Oct. 11 and involve Artspace, the Plaza Cinema & Media Arts Center, Roast Coffee & Tea Trading Company, the Brickhouse Brewery and other local businesses and organizations.
“There will be a sculpture walk,” Devlin said. “The Tri-Valley Brass band, which is fantastic. They come from all over the region. They’re going to play in the New Village, the mini amphitheater there on the closing weekend.
“We’ll have a Saturday afternoon event at the Brickhouse with alternative cinema, shorts, animation,” she continued, mentioning these components among others. “There might even be some spoken word.”
Photo: The Blue Velvet Lounge at the Plaza Cinema & Media Arts Center. (Credit: Michael White)
