SACRAMENTO — October 26, 2026. California State Parks, the California Arts Council and Parks California announced more than $2.8 million in grants to 33 community organizations through the Arts in California Parks initiative. The funding supports arts events and programming in parks, including collaborations with cultural organizations, tribes and nonprofit community partners.

State Parks described the grants as part of a five-year pilot. Including previous awards, the initiative reports investing more than $8.2 million in 94 organizations and supporting more than 300 events across California’s parks. These program totals are statewide; a specific city’s grant award or event should not be inferred without checking the actual awardee list.

What residents can look for locally

Participating organizations may organize arts activities that connect visitors with the environment, community history and cultural traditions. In State Parks’ account, close to 79,000 people took part in initiative events during 2025 and about 40% of event participants reported visiting their local park for the first time. These are program-reported participation figures, not estimates of unique visitors to every park.

To find the program’s official updates and grant information, consult the California State Parks newsroom and Arts in California Parks. Primary announcement: State Parks newsroom, October 20, 2026. California58 will identify individual grant recipients and the communities they serve before writing separate local stories.

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