PIERRE, S.D. — The South Dakota Arts Council awarded six grants of $5,000 each to support community-based arts and cultural initiatives celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States, the agency announced.
The grants were awarded through SDAC’s America 250 Community Arts program, which encouraged organizations across the state to create public programming highlighting local stories, history, culture, and civic engagement through the arts. The council received 31 applications before selecting six recipients for projects taking place between May 18 and Sept. 30, 2026.
“As we commemorate America’s 250th anniversary, these projects help tell the unique stories of South Dakota communities through creativity, history, and community pride,” said James Hagen, Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Tourism. “We are proud to support programs that bring people together, celebrate our shared heritage, and inspire meaningful community engagement through the arts.”
The six grant recipients and their planned projects are as follows. Washington Pavilion Management in Sioux Falls will present free public concerts in July featuring patriotic musical selections by the Sioux Falls Municipal Band, including performances at the Sioux Falls fireworks celebration and the USS South Dakota Battleship Memorial during a nationwide synchronized reading of the Declaration of Independence.
Yankton Area Arts will host a free public celebration June 30 at Riverside Park Amphitheater featuring a live patriotic band concert, a special gallery exhibit, and a design contest to create a wearable keepsake distributed free to attendees.
The Bison Education Enrichment Foundation will hold a free public event in July inviting residents to share spoken histories of rural life on the shortgrass prairie. Those stories will be incorporated into an original theatrical production developed with a youth theater camp.
The Codington County Historical Society and Heritage Museum will transform downtown Watertown into a festival space in early July and August, closing streets for three evening concerts themed around Red, White, and Blue and featuring storytelling, readings from founding documents, and a passport-style scavenger hunt connecting the public to local history.
The Dacotah Prairie Museum in Aberdeen will host a free public art competition during the Brown County Fair, where regional adult and youth artists will create original works live on-site while attendees observe and participate in activities focused on American identity and local history.
The City of Yankton Task Force for America Celebrate 250 will present two free public events on July 2 featuring a presentation by Jeff Gould tracing the American experience through history, music, poetry, and visuals, held in an ADA-accessible downtown Yankton theater.
The South Dakota Arts Council is an office of the South Dakota Department of Tourism and distributes grants to artists, arts organizations, and schools across the state with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the State of South Dakota.