DELRAY BEACH — Featuring a fanciful evening of dancing, the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum will present its annual signature fundraiser next month.
The April 4 event at the Delray Beach Marriott will also honor select community service honorees and raise funds to support the museum’s children’s programming.
EPOCH, short for Expanding & Preserving Our Cultural Heritage, Inc. – the group that makes up the museum’s board – and staff members have expressed the cultural diversity of Delray Beach and South Palm Beach County through the Spady Museum since the museum opened in 2001.
“Live entertainment, great food and an evening of splendor,” is how Joycelyn Patrick, third-time co-chair of the event, described the gala. “It is the largest fundraiser for the Spady Museum benefiting the Kids Club.”
The Spady Kids Cultural Club features the 3T program—teach, travel and tour—for Palm Beach County’s children. Youth are
exposed to educational and historical components of African-American and Florida history, said Daisy Fulton, the museum’s executive director.
“We create miniature exhibits and take them to various after-school programs,” she said.
“Funding is so limited, schools can’t get buses to the museum,” said Brandy Brownlee, the museum’s educator. “We take exhibits to the children.”
Fulton added: “We [also] travel [with] them to the museum to experience the exhibit.’’
The Spady Cultural Heritage Museum is housed in the former residence of the late Solomon D. Spady, the most prominent African-American educator and community leader in Delray Beach from 1922 to 1957.
Currently running at the museum through March 29 is the “Rhythm & Roots” exhibit.
“Rhythm & Roots” is a 45-minute guided exhibit that pays tribute to the musical forms that helped create today’s Southern-style music—including R&B and jazz, said Brownlee, who is responsible for creating programming for the community and bringing in traveling exhibits to the museum. The “Rhythm & Roots’’ exhibit is on loan to the museum from the Southern Arts Federation in Atlanta, she said.
“It’s such an interactive exhibit that they will enjoy listening to the audio guides, and experiencing the handmade instruments,” Brownlee said.
“Anyone who is a music lover is going to appreciate this exhibit.”
This year’s fundraiser honorees include Ted Winsberg, Henry Williams, Jimmy Walker, Tim Ferrington, and Curtis Jones—members of the Spady Living Heritage Day Volunteers; Charlie, Roy, Ernie and Sandy Simon, a pioneering Delray Beach family; Juanita Bryant Goode, of The Caring Kitchen in Delray Beach; Joseph Bernadel of Toussaint L’Ouverture High School for Arts and Social Justice in Delray Beach; and the Rev. Marcia Beam, of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach.
Said Fulton: “The common thread that connects past, present and future honorees is their commitment to community excellence and pride.’’
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Photo: Spady Museum
IF YOU GO
WHAT: The Rhythm in Paradise Gala.
WHEN: April 4 at 6 p.m.
WHERE: The Delray Beach Marriott, 10 N. Ocean Blvd.
COST: $125 per person.
CONTACT: Buy tickets in advance by calling the Spady Museum, 561-279-8883. For directions to the Delray Beach Marriott, contact the hotel at 561-274-3200.
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WHAT: The Rhythm & Roots Exhibit.
WHEN: Through March 29. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
WHERE: The Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, 170 N.W. 5th Ave., Delray Beach.
COST: Admission $5 per adult, $3 per senior, students (K-12) and museum members are admitted for free, museum members are admitted for free.
CONTACT: www.spadymuseum.com or call 561-279-8883.
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