WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Hundreds of Florida arts groups are looking for other avenues for funding after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed $32 million in grants to arts and cultural organizations and nonprofits.

The governor cited what he called "sexual" festivals as part of the reason, calling it an inappropriate use of funding.

But advocates say the arts generate jobs and revenue for the state, and they call the cuts "devastating."

In places like Polk County, Elvis is shining on young kids dancing to “Jailhouse Rock” on stage at Theatre Winter Haven.

It’s a part of their summer camp program for kids, and as they rehearse their move, Dan Chesnicka enjoys being able to see the results of fun and hard work.

“I love being able to serve these kids and, you know, we change a lot of lives here,” Chesnicka, executive director for Theatre Winter Haven, said. “I mostly got involved in the theater through my children who volunteered here. So, I'm really a theater dad.”

That’s why he loves this place, because he’s seen what it can do for children and other people looking to let their artistic self shine.

But creativity in the arts now has to turn into creativity in finances after funds were vetoed from the state budget.

Despite the budget being more than $116 billion, money for a state arts grant was on the chopping block, meaning Theatre Winter Haven is going to lose about $145,000.

“I know I should probably be angry or pounding my fist about (the) budget, but my overriding emotion is just sadness,” Chesnicka said.

Performances here will still happen because many of them bring in money, but Chesnicka said it’s the non-revenue outreach activities to senior citizens or to other children who might not be able to afford participating that are affected by this.

“What I worry about is that who has access to the arts is going to change,” he said.

But, if you’ve ever been around artists, you know that problem solving on the fly is one of the things they do best.

“The arts is very resilient,” Jermaine Thornton, executive director of Florida Dance Theatre, said. “We figure things out. We, again, use what we have in front of us.”

Florida Dance Theatre was in Lakeland for years but, following the pandemic, moved to Theatre Winter Haven because they could be there rent-free.

Now, this company that Thornton said had been in survival mode for years after the pandemic has to continue with about $19,000 fewer coming from the state.

“A lot of things are going through my head,” Thornton said, “but I said, you know what? You have to keep one foot on the ground. You can't spin and spiral.”

According to Thornton, they’re going to restructure and find other ways to bring in the money needed to keep the curtains from permanently coming down.

“If you don't have the art, you don't have anything. You might as well take all the colors off the walls,” Thornton said. “You might as well take all the books out. You might as well take all the architecture out, because every single thing is influenced by the arts.”

For these two, at least, they say as long as they are around the show will go on.

Theatre Winter Haven says they plan on doing additional fundraisers to generate the money that’s being lost from the cut grant.

According to Thornton, the roughly $19,000 Florida Dance Theatre was supposed to get was a significant portion of its budget for this upcoming year, so they now need to find those funds through other means as well.

More than 600 organizations apply for the grants annually.