L.A. Festival May Refuse NEA Grant

The financially strapped Los Angeles Festival, still short of its $4.7 million goal for the September event, may refuse a $30,000 grant from the NEA because of its anti-obscenity stance, the festival’s executive director said today.

Although the arts festival, the largest of its kind in the nation, still needs $250,000 before its slated Sept. 1 opening, the event’s board of directors is currently considering refusing the grant, already approved by the National Endowment for the Arts, executive director Judith Luther said in an interview.

Many of the board’s 20 members do not want to accept the NEA grant because of the federal agency’s requirement that all recipients sign an anti-obscenity pledge, Luther said before a news conference called to promote the festival.