Streams Community Hub welcomes back its annual Surge Gala

November 2, 2023 · 0 Comments

Written By Danielle Williams

This Saturday (Nov. 4th), Streams Hub is hosting its 2nd annual Surge Gala at Hockley Valley Resort. Streams Community Hub is based in Shelburne and was founded by two local residents, Juli-Anne James and her husband.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Streams Hub’s annual Gala was put on hold for the past few years. Now, as the organization prepares for their second annual Gala, they understand that people may have “competing priorities” and anticipate a bigger turnout next year.

“We take it as a good sign that at this Surge Gala, we have more people attending than we did at [our] last Surge Gala,” said James, with enthusiasm for the 140 tickets already sold.

The Surge Gala is Streams Community Hub’s biggest fundraising event of the year. The theme of this year’s Gala is “Art and Soul,” a concept that captures Streams Hub’s goal of connecting art and the human soul. Attendees will be met with unique experiences through interactive art activities, highlighting the organization’s commitment to developing creativity and self-expression.

The Gala’s main purpose is to connect the people in the community. Juli-Anne James, the Executive Director, passionately said, “If you support Streams, you’re supporting the community. You are supporting the future.”

This goal for the Gala is to raise funds for Streams Hub’s operating budget and raise more awareness about the organization’s work in the community. Streams Hub decided to shift its focus to “friend-raising,” to minimize their reliance on and usage of grants to increase the total involvement of the local community.

“I want to empower those who attempt to be ambassadors to our cause and to go out there and talk about our mission,” said James, who hopes to use this year’s Gala to gain more donors.

The Surge Gala has many activities and presentations planned for the evening, but Executive Director Juli-Anne James wanted to highlight a specific activity. Streams Hub will provide 4×4 ceramic tiles for the attendees to create designs on. All tiles will be shown as a peak of inspiration for those who walk the halls of the Streams Hub building, as they will be a permanent fixture.

Streams Hub is also planning an auction with many enticing items, including an OVO jacket and two CDs signed by the principal engineer and producer for Drake’s music. Streams are also auctioning off a private dinner and fresh vegetables for an entire winter.

Without putting themselves in a box, Streams Hub has no plans for next year’s Surge Gala. Juli-Anne said, as Streams Hub is an arts organization, “There is no telling what the next Gala will bring.”

“It could be in a different season, it could be outdoors, there’s no telling, and we don’t like to restrict ourselves.,” said Juli-Anne.

As Streams Hub gears up for the Surge Gala, it would like to thank two of its main event sponsors: S Burnett & Associates and Visco Industrial.