A Concord nonprofit that turns raw wood into art and hands about 800 spinning tops to kids at the Cabarrus County Fair each year has secured a $4,132 state-funded grant to keep its studio doors open.

The Southern Piedmont Woodturners received the fiscal year 2026 Grassroots Grant from the Cabarrus Arts Council, one of 18 organizations across the county to share in the competitive funding this cycle. The grant covers essential operating costs, including studio rent and lathe maintenance at ClearWater Arts Center & Studios on Crowell Drive NW, according to the arts council's spotlight on the group posted Aug. 17.

"The Grassroots Grant is really important for us," the club said in the Independent Tribune's grantee feature published Tuesday, Aug. 18.

The club has leased Studio 122 at ClearWater since 2012. Board president Larry Nottingham discovered woodturning after moving to Virginia, where a neighbor who turned wood invited him to a meeting. He got hooked on both the craft and the community around it, according to the arts council.

SPW now counts 65 to 70 members, ages 16 to over 80, drawn from Concord, Harrisburg, Kannapolis, Charlotte, Davidson and Huntersville. The studio holds 15-plus lathes on mobile cabinets and can seat 10 students at a time. Members teach workshops for Scout troops, 4-H clubs and other youth groups, and they give public turning demonstrations every second Saturday during ClearWater's open-studios event.

The Grassroots Grant program is funded by the North Carolina Arts Council and the Mariam & Robert Hayes Charitable Trust. A panel of community citizens reviews applications each year, and no organization is guaranteed funding. Applications for the next cycle (FY26-27) are due Tuesday, Sept. 15, at noon; a virtual grant workshop for prospective applicants is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 19, from noon to 1 p.m.

SPW's next monthly meeting is Saturday, Aug. 22, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. in Studio 122. Visitors can attend their first meeting free.

Upcoming community arts events

  • Saturday, Aug. 22: Good Morning Makers Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., ClearWater Arts Center & Studios. Local artists, makers and small businesses.
  • Monday, Aug. 31: Deadline to return painted tiles for Harrisburg Presbyterian Church's Community Mosaic Art Project, an 8-by-5-foot installation made of 160 community-designed tiles. Unveiling targeted for mid-September.
  • Saturday, Sept. 12: Art Walk on Union, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., downtown Concord. Handmade artwork, live music, food trucks, local brews and wines.