Shakespeare Festival / LA Is Grant Winner After All : Arts: Though it was one of the big losers for a city grant, the festival grabs the largest of 13 county grants.

Shakespeare Festival/LA has been awarded a $20,000 grant, the largest of 13 awarded in an arts funding program administered by Los Angeles County.

The festival was recently denied a grant by the Los Angeles Arts Endowment, which is administered by the city of Los Angeles. City fund officials cited a lack of documentation of the “cultural diversity” of the company and its efforts to serve “the under-served community.” Theater officials said they planned to appeal that decision and pointed to their free admission, trilingual (English, Spanish and Japanese) program notes, educational programs and “non-traditional” casting of minorities.

The festival opens its sixth season tonight at Ford Theatre with a multiethnic production of “Love’s Labour Lost.” In lieu of admission, theatergoers are asked to bring canned food which is then donated to the Salvation Army.

The county-administered grants, the National/State/County Partnership, draws money from federal, state and county sources. Funds are awarded twice a year. This round’s grants totaled $122,500.

Other theater recipients are the Aresis Ensemble ($5,000), Los Angeles Children’s Theatre ($5,000), Stages ($6,500) and the West Coast Ensemble ($8,000).

Dance organizations receiving grants are Dance Kaleidoscope Festival ($7,000, Avaz--fiscal receiver), the Dance Resource Center of Greater Los Angeles ($7,500), Loretta Livingston and Dancers ($18,000) and Rhapsody in Taps ($7,500).

Music groups getting grants are the Gay Men’s Chorus ($10,000) and the International Assn. of Jazz Appreciation ($10,000).

Interdisciplinary awards are going to Highways ($10,000) and the Rachel Rosenthal Company ($8,000).