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For Immediate Release

Thousands of Local, State and National Leaders Join in Coast-to-Coast Cultural Celebration

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The fifth annual month-long celebration of culture kicks off this week as thousands of cultural organizations and advocates across the country commemorate National Arts and Humanities Month 1997. This October event, which has been hailed by President Bill Clinton as a time to "pay tribute to America's rich cultural heritage and honor our own unique cultural contributions to our society," is sponsored by the National Cultural Alliance and coordinated by Americans for the Arts.

A National Open House will take place on Saturday, October 4, when theaters, libraries, museums, dance companies, schools and others will offer free events that provide the community with a glimpse of the cultural activity that takes place year-round. This year's effort includes a county-wide event in Los Angeles featuring more than 100 sites; Annual Museum Day in Panhandle, Texas; "Free Fall" at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo in Michigan; and the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation's Family Archaeological Dig in Williamsburg, Va.

The 1997 National Arts and Humanities Month celebration also features a variety public service campaigns that each highlight the value of the arts and humanities. A CBS television network campaign featuring stars Bill Cosby, Judd Hirsch and Gregory Hines, "The Arts Enrich Us All," was done in conjunction with Americans for the Arts to illustrate the role of the arts in the economy, community revitalization, education and individual lives; the 10-second spots will air during prime time throughout the month of October in honor of National Arts and Humanities Month. OVATION - The Arts Network, the lead sponsor of National Arts and Humanities Month, distributed a public service announcement illustrating the depth and breadth of local arts programs to hundreds of cable operators nationwide. Borders Books & Music collaborated with the American Arts Alliance Foundation to create PSAs promoting the importance of the arts to society and featuring celebrated actor Paul Newman; these PSAs were distributed to more than 1,000 television stations across the country for broadcast during October.

President Clinton - who recently honored 21 of the nation's cultural leaders with the 1997 Medal of Arts and Medal of Humanities awards - issued an official proclamation of National Arts and Humanities Month for the fifth year since the celebration's inception in 1993. National Arts and Humanities Month grew out of National Arts Week, which was started in 1985 by the National Endowment for the Arts and sponsored by Americans for the Arts.