Because of the coronavirus, The Center of Creative Arts (COCA) will embark on unchartered territory on Friday, April 24 for its 2020 installment of COCAcabana.
An evening that has been putting the fun in fundraising since 1988 launches into the virtual space tomorrow night at 7 p.m.
“We knew quickly that our party was not going to be able to happen as planned,” said Kelly Pollock, executive director at Center of Creative Arts (COCA).
Regional preventative social distancing orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic prohibited gatherings larger than 10. COCA’s annual COCAcabana fundraiser drew more than 600 people last year – and raised more than $800,000 for arts education programming.
Because the event accounts for nearly one-fourth of the organization’s contributed revenue and is a large source of funds for student scholarships, cancellation was not an option for their spring event.
“It’s known for being a wildly creative, fun party,” Pollock said. “The great part of doing this is that we are on the leading edge [in the region] for putting a virtual fundraiser together – and we can be wildly creative because there aren’t a lot of roadmaps right now.”
Themed as COCAchella, the 2020 virtual reimagination is free = and will feature headlining sets by Tonina and The Knuckles, with special performances showcasing the talent of COCA student companies, COCAdance and COCA Hip Hop Crew. The evening also includes an online auction and raffles. Following the formal program, guests can head to COCA’s Instagram account for the after party that includes live streaming performances by 18andCounting, Agile One and Makeda Kravitz.
“We hope that it is a night to lift people up and to offer a bit of fun and engage with each other,” Pollock said. “We wanted to make sure that we would still be able to build and connect community – which is what COCA does so well.”
COVID-19 has resulted in the delay in a huge reveal of expansion and growth of COCA’s University City headquarters – that includes a new state-of-the-art theater space with two tiers of seating with a capacity of 454.
The building, which is an epicenter for arts education, is now closed through May 3.
“We are excited at some point soon to unveil our expanded campus, but what we don’t want is to be isolated,” Pollock said. “We know that we can still connect through the arts. We quickly adapted to our online learning platform. Our teaching artists are still connecting with our students.”
Through virtual technology, editing and a bit of archive footage, the talent that normally flows through the halls of Trinity Avenue will be overflowing at COCAchella.
There will be a segment from last year’s COCAcabana which featured Kennedy Holmes and the Hip Hop Crew, as well as a virtual flash mob woven together through videos of individual performances.
COCA saw the possibility and opportunity in COCAchella, which opened the local event to the nation – and the globe – through the world wide web. But there was a bit of natural anxiety with the event’s repackaging.
The biggest fear was whether supporters and sponsors accustomed to the traditional form would be along for the ride. “This is a huge event for us in terms of our revenue stream each year,” Pollock said. “We’ve had to lean heavily on our sponsors and those who had already purchased tickets to ask them to stick with us and make the case for how desperately COCA and other arts organizations need your support right now.”
The response has been overwhelming.
Their key sponsors – including Anheuser-Busch, a presenting sponsor that has been COCAcabana’s presenting sponsor for the past decade – stayed put. So did the patrons and donors.
“If not for their support, all of the other sponsors and all of the other individuals who are sticking with us. We would not be able to get to the other side,” Pollock said.
Event co-chairs for COCAchella include Gregory Glore and Sherry Sissac, Abby and Michael Goldstein, Elizabeth Mannen and Elizabeth and Richard Nix, Jr. Jane and Dave Peacock are COCAchella’s Honorary Chairs and Erin Moore is this year’s Alumna Chair.
Because of the event, Pollock and COCA are hopeful for the future of the organization and the region as we prepare to restore and rebuild following COVID-19.
“We know that sometime soon we will have the best present to unwrap, but we are not there yet,” Pollock said of COCA’s expansion. “But I think in the meantime we want is to inspire people, to keep people connected and to keep hope alive – and know that we still have a bright future ahead of us and that this time right now is temporary.”
COCAchella will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 24. For more information, or to RSVP, visit www.cocastl.org
