With support from the California Arts Council, June Lake Loop Performing Arts Association—doing business as June Lake Arts (JLA)—will expand equitable access to music and performing arts for residents of California’s Eastern Sierra, a region geographically isolated from major cultural districts and with limited local arts opportunities. Funding will support essential general operating costs—including personnel and program development—enabling JLA to strengthen and grow its arts opportunities for young people and its community-based performances. These investments will particularly benefit low-income youth and residents of small, remote communities. By bringing high-quality arts programming directly to California’s often-overlooked high desert and alpine regions, June Lake Arts is working to remove barriers to access and to cultivate vibrant, locally rooted cultural experiences.
June Lake Jam Fest is our annual music festival that brings top-tier performances into an isolated region where access to cultural events is limited. Beyond the stage, the festival serves as a vehicle to bring professional musicians into school assemblies—connecting youth directly with the arts—and as our primary fundraiser, supporting year-round programming for underserved communities. This programming includes theater festivals, free concerts in rural communities, free musical instruments for children, and scholarships and grants to assist children from low-income families to access supplies, instruction, and summer camps for artistic exploration and skill development.