Swing Street Band leader Tom Bernett and chef Donnie Wicker of 360 Catering announce that An Affair of the Arts, the recent Palustris Festival dinner dance and cabaret show, raised more than $2,000 for the Carolina Performing Arts Center. The event, held on March 26, was one of the main features of the inaugural arts festival and filled the Pinehurst Fair Barn to capacity.

"We wanted to throw a party for the community, but we also wanted to do something meaningful for the local arts scene," says Mary Lou Bernett, co-producer of the event. "The dinner dance was designed to break even from a financial standpoint, but we specified that profits from the event's cash bar would be earmarked for the Carolina Performing Arts Center and its Adopt-A-Dancer program. Those profits were increased due to a donation from an area businessman, to whom we are very grateful."

The Carolina Performing Arts Center is nonprofit classical dance studio located in Southern Pines, and its Adopt-A-Dancer program provides scholarships to many area young people who might not otherwise have an opportunity to experience the benefits that classical dance training can bring to a young person's life.

An Affair of the Arts was a complete sell-out and is being called a smashing success by the promoters, the sponsors and the audience, with many attendees enthusiastically calling for a repeat at next year's Palustris Festival.

"We'll see how it goes," says Bernett. "Right now we just need to rest. In the next few weeks we'll determine what went right, what needs improvement and if we think it is feasible to make this an annual event. In the meantime, we sincerely thank the cabaret entertainers who donated their talents and the community for its support of An Affair of the Arts."