Cultural Coalition could not bring our festivals to communities across the Valley without the support of funders who believe in what we do. That’s why we’re especially glad to share this next piece of news: we’ve been awarded a FY2027 grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, made possible in part by a one time legislative appropriation in the State’s FY2027 budget.
Grants like this one don’t just fund events. They fund the people behind them: the artists, the vendors, the volunteers who show up year after year to make sure our community has free access to culture, connection, and celebration. Here’s where this support is headed.
This grant will directly support three of our festivals, each in a different city:
MIKIZTLI: Día de los Muertos PHX Festival, in Phoenix. Now in its 15th year at the Arizona Center, MIKIZTLI brings altars, performances, and community together to celebrate Día de los Muertos, free and open to the public. Fifteen years in, it’s become a tradition that entire families build their October around, and this grant helps make sure that tradition keeps growing.
El Puente Fest, in Tempe. Held at the Tempe Center for the Arts, El Puente Fest connects cultures and generations through music, dance, and community programming. True to its name, it’s a bridge, and this funding helps us keep that bridge open a little wider every year.
Mask Alive, in Mesa. Mask Alive shares the tradition of mask making with the community, giving visitors a chance to see the craft up close and connect with the artists behind it. It’s the kind of festival where you walk in a visitor and walk out with a story, and this support helps us keep telling it.
Public funding like this allows us to keep all three festivals accessible and free for our community, and to keep working with the artists, vendors, and volunteers who make them possible. We’re proud to be one of hundreds of Arizona nonprofits, arts festivals, and arts learning programs supported this year, and grateful for what this means for the communities we serve in Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa.
This kind of support doesn’t happen without local leadership backing public funding for the arts, and we want to recognize the city councils in each of our host communities for their part in that.
City of Phoenix: Mayor Kate Gallego, and Councilmembers Ann O’Brien (District 1), Jim Waring (District 2), Debra Stark (District 3), Laura Pastor (District 4), Betty Guardado (District 5), Kevin Robinson (District 6), Anna Hernandez (District 7), and Kesha Hodge Washington (District 8).
City of Tempe: Mayor Corey Woods, Vice Mayor Arlene Chin, and Councilmembers Nikki Amberg, Doreen Garlid, Randy Keating, Bobby Nichols, and Brooke St. George.
City of Mesa: Mayor Mark Freeman, and Councilmembers Rich Adams (District 1), Dorean Taylor (District 2), Francisco Heredia (District 3), Jenn Duff (District 4), Alicia Goforth (District 5), and Scott Somers (District 6).
Thank you to all of you for supporting public funding for the arts in your communities.
Thank you to the Arizona Commission on the Arts for this support. We look forward to putting it to work, and we hope you’ll be there with us to see it in action.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or check our events page for dates and volunteer opportunities as the festival season gets closer.
