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Austin arts and cultural groups urge inclusion in 2026 bond, outline project costs
Summary
Representatives from the Austin Celtic Festival, Austin Theatre Alliance, Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum and Mexic-Arte Museum asked the Bond Election Advisory Task Force to recommend cultural projects for the 2026 bond, citing accessibility, preservation and tourism benefits and providing budget estimates and prior bond awards.
Representatives from several of Austin's arts and cultural organizations told the Bond Election Advisory Task Force on Dec. 15 that the 2026 bond should include funding for cultural facilities, accessibility projects and historic preservation.
Danielle McCaskill, director of the Austin Celtic Festival and a board member of the Austin Celtic Association, asked the task force to recommend a Celtic Cultural Center for the bond, saying the city lacks a permanent public facility dedicated to Celtic culture and that a center would serve tourism and intergenerational programming. "This would not just benefit Austin, but our tourist industry," McCaskill said, noting U.S. Census estimates that more than 1 million Texans identify as having Irish or Scottish ancestry.
Jim Ritz, executive director of the Austin Theatre Alliance,…
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