OACC Builds Community with Small Communities and rural Placemaking Grant from Blandin Foundation.

By increasing the visibility of culture and arts, nurturing local pride and revitalization, and effectively engaging residents on the unique issues affecting towns with populations under 5,000, funding to support these community-identified priorities can spark lasting and meaningful impact.

the idea of creating a gathering place for people to celebrate where they live and who their neighbors are is inspired by a concept created by sociologist Ray Oldenburg. He wrote a book, “The Great Good Place,” that explored the loss of “third spaces” as we lost that old main street closeness after World War II. There is home and work, but people need a “third space” to find their place in a community.