DOVER-FOXCROFT – The community has reaped its first benefit from the town’s designation as one of three Preserve America Communities in the state.

A $50,000 grant request from the Center Theatre for the Performing Arts, in the pipeline since last year to fund a light and sound system, was awarded recently.

“The status of the town as a Preserve America Community was critical,” Patrick Myers, executive director of Center Theatre, said in a prepared press release. “The Preserve America designation was taken into account when the grant was being reviewed and helped make this award possible.”

Myers said this week that he had applied for the funds through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development’s Cultural Facilities Grant program in 2005, and the application apparently languished on a desk until this summer.

The grant award will be announced officially by a USDA Rural Development representative at a reception to celebrate the designation at noon Thursday, Sept. 28, at the theater. The public is invited to attend.

Preserve America is a White House initiative that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy the nation’s cultural and natural heritage.

Dover-Foxcroft met the criteria for the community designation – one of three in the state because of it commitment to its historic and cultural assets such as Center Theatre, the two museums in town, the annual Civil War celebration, and the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council’s Cultural Heritage and Ecotoursim Committee.

Gardiner and Camden also are Preserve America Communities.

Congress approved up to $5 million for Preserve America grants in fiscal year 2006. Individual grants range from $20,000 to $150,000.

Center Theatre’s grant was one of 81 grants awarded in 23 states and one of only six in Maine.