Celebrating 15 Years!
Our Birthday Bash was a joy-filled evening of live music, poetry, and storytelling, celebrating 15 years of programs at CultureWorks!
Nine students performed original songs or cover songs, along with our SAC Choir, which assembled for the event and performed Wonderwall. Miranda Craig, Jackson Nickolay, and Hannah Barker Nickolay anchored the event, performing as the Rag Tag Radio Show, and several students and staff shared original poems. It was fantastic to celebrate with alumni, former board members, supporters, partner organizations, families, and former Executive Directors…CultureWorks has grown into a mighty flock!
With roughly 200 guests in attendance, we toasted the remarkable people, community partners, and achievements that have marked CultureWorks’ first 15 years, and we shared our vision for launching a music production program and finding (or building) a space that could better accommodate programs, which have doubled in enrollment over the last year.
Over the past year, independently conducted surveys and analysis have indicated that CultureWorks programs positively impact academic success, mental health, career preparedness, and social-emotional learning. Our teens are thriving! Survey responses indicate that they’re building long-lasting relationships with peers and mentors; they’re experiencing greater confidence in who they are and in their ability to express themselves; they’re getting off screens and engaging in conversations; and they’re growing in their ability to lead others with confidence and humility.
When we posted spring classes in 2026, nearly every seat was filled after just 24 hours, and we’ve had 88 students on the wait list since pivoting from pay-what-you-can-afford to tuition-free programs in June! This rapid growth led us to hire 2 additional staff members in January, and we blew through our projected budget for snacks, supplies, equipment, and materials. Every dollar raised through our Birthday Bash campaign (which goes through the end of May) goes toward building our capacity to meet the growing need for free, accessible art programs for teens.
We’re so grateful for everyone who made our Birthday Bash amazing, from the incredible poets and musicians on stage to all the staff, SAC, board, and volunteers working behind the scenes on planning, prepping, baking hundreds of cupcakes, rehearsing, greeting, photographing, and cleaning up! Many thanks to The 205 Coffee Bar for sponsoring the coffee, to Margarita’s for the amazing taco bar, and to Park Theater for hosting our event! Thanks to Emmanuel Silva-Lopez for these beautiful photos, and to Robert Francois IV for helping with photography and videography.
