In a report to the City of North Vancouver and District of North Vancouver councils, cultural development officer John Rice has recommended $73,500 in its first installment of grants for special events and festivals in 2010.

That's down from $82,950 in funding in the first installment in 2009.

The two councils split the cost, which means each is being asked to approve $36,750 this year compared with $41,475 last year.

Both councils  are expected to  vote on the recommendation at their meetings  on Monday (December 7). The funding levels are based on a peer assessment by a jury, which wasn't identified in the staff report.

This year, fifteen applicants made grant requests, which totalled $115,790. This was off significantly from last year, when 21 groups applied for $170,154 in funding.

"The reduction in the number and amount of grant requests may be attributable in part to the recently announced cuts in BC Gaming Grants and other sources of provincial support for the arts," Rice wrote in the report.

Three examples were cited:

* The North Shore High School Drama Festival, which has received  municipal funding  in the past, chose not to submit a grant request after it lost its gaming grant.

* The North Shore Writers' Festival was reliant on provincial grants to support authors' travel costs. Cuts to this program mean the Friends of the City and District Libraries can't invite authors to participate next year.

* The Seymour Art Gallery has cut back significantly on the hours of its curatorial staff because of the loss of its gaming grant, and it didn't apply for municipal funding this year.

The jury declined a $10,000 funding request from  the Creative Dominion Society to produce the Blue North Festival of Arts & Sustainable Culture.

"While the jury considered that there were certainly some potential for an event combining environmental arts and sustainability practices, their consensus assessment was that the current application does not effectively articulate or integrate these possibilities," Rice wrote.

Below  is a list of the organizations  recommended to receive grants:

Capilano Performing Arts Theatre (North Shore Jazz): $15,000

Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival: $13,500

Presentation House Theatre (Edward Curtis Project): $11,000

Hard Rubber New Music Society (Ice Age 2010): $5,000

North Vancouver Community Arts Council (Art in the Garden Tour): $5,000

Cascadia Society (Concert with Sonofia): $5,000

Lynn Valley Community Association (Celebration 2010, Lynn Valley): $5,000

Deep Cove Heritage Society (Echoes Across Seymour): $4,500

North Shore Neighbourhood House (City Fest 103): $3,000

Sea Theatre (Plan B): $2,500  

Lynn Valley Lions Club (Lynn Valley Day): $2,000

Blueridge Community Association (Blueridge Neighbour Day): $1,000

Save Our Shores Society (Discovery Waterfront Walk): $500

St. Andrews United Church (Teddy Bears' Picnic): $500