Telling Our Story: Transforming Communities through Arts & Culture
The Local Cultural Council 2012 Statewide Assembly

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Please join the Massachusetts Cultural Council and members of the State Legislature at the State House in Boston to celebrate the Local Cultural Council (LCC) Program. Council members from across the state will gather to connect with each other and share stories about how arts and culture transform, revitalize, and energize our communities.

• Program
• Registration
• How to Prepare for this Event and What to Bring
• How to Participate if You Cannot Attend this Event
• Speakers and Performers
• Lunch Information
• Raffle Prizes
• Bus Information
• Directions

Program

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Registration

This event is free and open to all LCC members. Chartered buses will be available from sites around the state. The State House is fully accessible.

The last LCC event was filled to capacity; be sure to register soon to ensure you can attend.

Walk-in registrations are strongly discouraged; without pre-registering, we cannot guarantee you a spot on a bus or entrance to the event.

Make sure that you don’t miss out on this exciting celebration.

Council Chairs, please update your online member list and contact information so that event invitations and reminders go to all active members on your council.

In case of inclement weather, please also mark your calendars with the snow date of Thursday, March 15, 2012.

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How to Prepare for this Event and What to Bring
Speaking about the importance of art and culture in your community is particularly important this year. Collectively consider your council's impact on your community so that you can prepare some of your favorite stories to convey to your legislators. Talk with your council members to brainstorm positive effects your LCC has had on your community, and what you’d like to share with your legislators:

• Exemplary grantees and projects
• Impact on youth, elders and underserved constituents
• Economic impact on the community
• Success in fostering collaboration or galvanizing community action

Once you have collected the stories you would like to share, decide who can attend the State House event and represent the council. Find your legislators online.

Don't be disappointed if your legislators can't meet with you in person - their staff members are dedicated and are key people for you to introduce yourself to and get to know. Legislators receive briefings from their staff, so your voice will be heard.

This event is a networking opportunity. Bring business cards, council brochures, paper, and pens with you. If you’d like, put together a small packet of information about what you do to give to your Senator or Representative. You could include a list of council members and funded projects from the last two years, or information about programming your council has put on itself, such as a festival or art walk. You may also want to add a hand written card or note along with your promotional materials. Remember to collect business cards from your legislators and their staff members. We always recommend sending a hand written thank you note as a follow up.

There will also be a resource table for you to display your council’s materials for an idea swap. Bring a few copies of council fliers, posters, community input surveys, brochures, stationary, event material, or local guidelines, etc. Anything you are proud of or want to share. You’ll also have the chance to look at what other councils have developed that may inspire new ideas.

On the day of the event, enter the State House via the General Hooker entrance on Beacon Street. (If you are facing the State House, this is just to the right of the main gate.) For handicap access, please proceed around the corner to Bowdoin Street (Bowdoin Street is the first street on the left) to access the Ashburton Park entrance. Due to the security checkpoints and metal detectors at each entrance, please enter the building quietly and be prepared to take off your coat and put your belongings on a conveyor belt. Once inside, take the elevator to the second floor and look for the Great Hall.

There are no drinking fountains at the State House. We will provide bottled water with lunch, and there will be water coolers and paper cups available in the morning and afternoon. Please feel free to bring a personal water bottle if you would like to fill it at the water coolers.

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How to Participate if You Cannot Attend this Event
Even if you cannot attend the LCC Statewide Assembly, you can still tell your story locally. We urge you to find out who your State Senator and State Representative are. You can set up an appointment to visit your legislators' district offices. Don't be disappointed if your legislators can't meet with you in person - their staff members are dedicated and are key people for you to introduce yourself to and get to know. Legislators receive briefings from their staff, so your voice will be heard.

Use the tips in the "Prepare" section above to help you get ready to sfor your Legislative appointment.

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Speakers and Performers

KATE BURTON
Her film roles include Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours with James Franco and the indie Puncture with Chris Evans. Past film roles include: Remember Me (Alan Coulter), Max Payne (John Moore), What Just Happened (Barry Levinson), Celebrity (Woody Allen), The Ice Storm (Ang Lee), First Wives Club (Hugh Wilson), August (Anthony Hopkins), Big Trouble in Little China (John Carpenter), Unfaithful (Adrian Lynne), Swimfan (John Polson), Stay (Marc Forester), Sherrybaby (Laurie Collyer), Quid Pro Quo (Carlos Brooks), The Kings of Appleton (Bobby Moresco) and the indie Consent. Her upcoming movies include Josh Radnor's Liberal Arts; 2 Days in New York from writer/director Julie Delpy; and Mariachi Gringo.

Television audiences will see Kate recur in the upcoming Shonda Rhimes series Scandal for ABC. They can also see her recurring role on the CBS hit drama The Good Wife. Additional current series include recurring roles on the NBC series Grimm and the upcoming HBO series Veep with Julia Louis Dreyfuss. Prior pilots include the ABC drama pilot Boston’s Finest and the HBO comedy pilot The Washingtonienne. Past recurring roles also include both Grey’s Anatomy (2 Emmy Nominations) and Rescue Me. Recent television guest star roles include Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, Eleventh Hour, Justice, The West Wing, The Practice, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, 100 Centre St., and Notes For My Daughter (Emmy award). Kate appeared in HBO’s Empire Falls, the Lifetime feature Obsessed (John Badham) with Jenna Elfman and The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer for ABC.

On stage, Kate starred in the new A.R. Gurney play The Grand Manner at Lincoln Center Theatre, playing the legendary Katherine Cornell. Previous theatre credits include the Tony Award winning musical Spring Awakening, the Williamston production of The Corn is Green directed by Nicholas Martin, starring opposite her son, Morgan Ritchie, and the City Center revival of Applause with Christine Ebersole. Kate was Tony nominated as the title character in The Constant Wife for the Roundabout Theatre, directed by Mark Brokaw and appeared in The Water’s Edge opposite Tony Goldwyn at the Second Stage Theatre. She appeared as Olga in the critically acclaimed West End production of Three Sisters with Kristen Scott Thomas, directed by Michael Blakemoore. Kate received two Tony nominations in 2002 on Broadway for her title role in Hedda Gabler, directed by Nicholas Martin, and for the role of Mrs. Kendall in The Elephant Man, directed by Sean Mathias. Kate has also starred on Broadway in The Beauty Queen of Leenane (also UK/Ireland tour), An American Daughter, Jake's Women, Some Americans Abroad (Drama Desk nomination) and Present Laughter (Theater World Award). She has appeared for thirteen seasons at Williamstown Theatre Festival.

DAVID GERGEN
David Gergen is a senior political analyst for CNN, and served as a presidential adviser during the Nixon, Reagan, Ford, and Clinton administrations. Gergen is currently a public service professor of public leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School, and he is the director of its Center of Public Leadership. He published the best-selling book Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton in 2000, and has worked for many years as a political journalist, including formerly being an editor of U.S. News & World Report, and contributing a monthly column to Parade Magazine.

BERKSHIRE BATERIA
Beginning as a community drum group with its base in Great Barrington, MA, the Berkshire Bateria is a versatile ensemble specializing in a wide variety of Brazilian music – from hot samba rhythms to cool bossa nova jazz. The group features a roster of 30 talented performers of all ages and backgrounds, including drummers, dancers, singers, and melodic instrumentalists. The ensemble conjures the beat and connects to audiences in a variety of locales – from parades to university concert halls, elementary schools to festivals, first night celebrations to percussion workshops. Berkshire Bateria programs and performances have been supported by Local Cultural Councils across the state.

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Lunch Information
Box lunches will be a selection of traditional sandwiches on freshly baked bread, served with Cape Cod potato chips and a bottle of water. Available sandwiches varieties will include: ham, chicken breast, tuna, turkey breast. The vegetarian option will be grilled vegetables and provolone.

You can indicate whether or not you would like the vegetarian option on the registration form. We are unable to accommodate all diet restrictions, therefore if the options provided do not meet your needs, you are welcome to bring your own lunch.

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Raffle Prizes
To thank and recognize Local Cultural Council volunteers, many prominent Massachusetts museums have donated admission passes as raffle prizes to be given to event attendees. A special thank you to all of the Massachusetts cultural organizations who donated tickets and admission passes to be raffled at the event in appreciation of the dedicated local cultural council volunteers!

• Berkshire Museum
• Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra
• Cape Cod Museum of Art
• The Discovery Museums
• Handel & Haydn Society
• New Bedford Whaling Museum
• Old Sturbridge Village
• Smith College Museum of Art
• Worcester Art Museum

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Bus Information

Bus 1 - Cape and South Shore

Stop 1:
Harwich Park-and-Ride Lot
Route 124 at Route 6, exit 10
Depart: 7:05 AM
Return: 5:45 PM

Stop 2:
Plymouth
Plymouth Park-and-Ride Lot
5 Long Pond Road at Route 3, exit 5
Depart: 8:30 AM
Return: 4:45 PM

Bus 2 – South

Stop 1:
Taunton Park-and-Ride Lot
Silver City Galleria Mall
at Route 140 exit 11, near route 24, exit 12
Depart: 8:05 AM
Return: 5:00 PM

Stop 2:
Braintree Logan Express Park-and-Ride Lot
Route 128, exit 6 on Forbes Road
(There is a fee for parking at the Logan Express lot.)
Depart: 8:35 AM
Return: 4:15 PM

Bus 3 – West

Stop 1:
Prime Outlets, Lee
50 Water Street, Route 20 East
Mass Pike exit 2
(Located across from the main entrance in the paved lot.)
Depart: 6:50 AM
Return: 6:15 PM

Stop 2:
Springfield Park & Ride
Five Town Plaza Shopping Center
Springfield, MA
(Located near Friendly’s & Springfield Liquors.)
Depart: 8:20 AM
Return: 5:00 PM

Bus 4 – North Shore

Faith Lutheran Park & Ride, Andover
360 South Main St. (Rte 28)
Andover, MA
(Located near I-93 exit 42; I-495 exit 41.)
Depart: 8:30 AM
Return: 4:35 PM

Bus 5 – Worcester/Framingham

Stop 1:
Millbury Park-and-Ride Lot
Mass Turnpike exit 10A, near Blackstone Mall & Burlington Coat Factory
Depart: 7:50 AM
Return: 5:00 PM

Stop 2:
Framingham Park-and-Ride Lot
Shopper's World at Flutie Pass, near Routes 9 and 30
(Please Note: The bus will meet at the Mass Highway Park-and-Ride Lot, not the nearby Logan Express Lot. The Mass Highway Park-and-Ride Lot is near the AMC Movie Theater between the Natick Mall and Shoppers World. This lot also serves as additional parking for the movie theater.)
Depart: 8:25 AM
Return: 4:15 PM

Bus 6 – Northwest

Stop 1:
Buckland Park & Ride
Rte 2 West of 112
East Charlemont, MA
Depart: 6:20 AM
Return: 6:40 PM

Stop 2:
Ocean State Job Lot – Lord Pond Plaza
62 Freedom St. – Rte 2A
Athol, MA
Depart: 7:35 AM
Return: 5:30 PM

Stop 3:
Leominster Park-and-Ride Lot
45 Sack Blvd.
Route 13 at Searstown Mall, near Route 2 exit 32
(The park-and-ride lot is located in the parking lot for the movie theater; the spots dedicated for the park-and-ride are located closest to the street.)
Depart: 8:25 AM
Return: 4:45 PM

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Directions
Roadways throughout Boston are currently under construction. These directions are accurate to the best of our knowledge, but may change with little notice. Please be sure to verify your route.

By car from the North
Take Interstate 93 SOUTH to Exit 26, Storrow Drive and North Station. Stay in the LEFT lane and follow signs to Storrow Drive. Once out of the tunnel stay in LEFT lane and take the first exit on the LEFT towards Government Center and Kendall Square. Stay LEFT; at the blinking red light enter Charles Circle. Turn RIGHT onto Charles Street at the CVS. At the fifth light turn LEFT onto Beacon Street. The State House will be on your LEFT.

By car from the South
Take Interstate 93 NORTH to Exit 23, Government Center. Stay in the LEFT lane onto North Street. Go through one set of lights. At the second set of lights, turn LEFT onto Congress Street. Take the first RIGHT onto State Street. State Street turns into Court Street. Turn LEFT onto Tremont Street. At the third light turn RIGHT onto Park Street. Follow Park Street up the hill to the State House.

By car from the West
Take the Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate 90) EAST through the Boston tolls. Take Exit 22, Copley Square/Prudential. Stay in the RIGHT lane and follow the signs for Copley Square. This will lead you to Stuart Street. Continue straight through five lights. At the sixth light, turn LEFT on Charles Street South. Continue through two traffic lights passing by Boston Common. At the third light, make a RIGHT on Beacon Street. The State House will be on your LEFT.

By car from Logan International Airport
Follow signs to the Sumner Tunnel to Boston, stay in the LEFT hand lane of the tunnel. Upon exiting the tunnel, follow the signs for Government Center. Take a LEFT at the first light. At the first traffic light continue straight onto New Chardon Street. Go through the next traffic light, (a Mobil gas station will be on your RIGHT). Continue straight, and at the next light make a LEFT onto Cambridge Street. Continue through three traffic lights. At fourth light, make a RIGHT on Park Street. Follow Park Street up the hill to the State House.

By car from the Northwest
Take Route 2 EAST into Cambridge, MA. This will lead you to the Fresh Pond Parkway. (This is a winding road.) Follow signs for downtown Boston and Storrow Drive EAST. Take Storrow Drive for approximately 5 miles. Get off at the exit for Government Center and Cambridge Street. At the end of the ramp at the traffic light, turn RIGHT onto Charles Street. At the fifth light turn LEFT onto Beacon Street. The State House will be on your LEFT.

Parking
The Massachusetts State House does not have public parking facilities. We recommend using public transportation, as it is more convenient and less expensive, however, the nearest parking facility to the State House is the Boston Common Garage, operated by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. Information can be obtained by calling them at (617) 954-2096 or visiting their website.

By Public Transportation (MBTA)
Red Line (from Alewife, Ashmont or Braintree Stations)
Take train to Park Street Station. Once outside the station walk up Park Street toward the State House.

Orange Line (from Oak Grove or Forest Hills Stations)
Take train to Downtown Crossing. Walk up Winter Street (away from Filenes and Macy’s) and turn RIGHT onto Tremont Street. Take first LEFT onto Park Street. Walk up Park Street to the State House.

Blue Line (from Wonderland or Airport Stations)
Take train to Government Center Station. At Government Center Station, take a LEFT onto Cambridge Street, which turns, into Tremont Street. Take first RIGHT onto Beacon Street. The State House is on the third block on the RIGHT.

Green Line (from the Riverside, Cleveland Circle, Boston College and Arborway Lines)
Take train to Park Street Station. Once outside the station walk up Park Street toward the State House.

Commuter Rail (take train to either South Station or North Station)

• From South Station, take the Red Line to Park Street Station. Once outside the station walk up Park Street toward the State House.
• From North Station, take the Green Line to Park Street Station. Once outside the station walk up Park Street toward the State House.

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