Hubbardston Cultural Council finalizes 17-grant slate, redirects movie funds

HUBBARDSTON — November 20, 2025 — Hubbardston Cultural Council scraps outdoor movie grant over ADA rebroadcast barrier, funds record 17 projects. The council voted unanimously Thursday to strip $500 from the Meeting House Movies application after determining that licensing restrictions on films make full event recording — required for ADA compliance — legally impossible; the two other meeting house events, the markets and winter concerts, were cleared because they can be fully recorded and redistributed by the town's public-access cable station. The $500 was split evenly, $250 each, between the Nonsuch Fest and the Hubbardston Summer Social, both of which had been partially funded in earlier rounds, bringing their totals to $1,167 and $1,650 respectively. The council also unanimously approved revisions to its grant letter template and finalized what members called the largest grant slate in the council's history at 17 funded projects.