Nearly 400 guests recently filled the banquet hall of His Hands Church in Woodstock for a fundraiser gala to raise money to convert the Reeves house into an arts center. Elm Street Cultural Arts Village hosted the event.

Mayor Donnie Henriques opened by addressing the construction timeline of the Reeves House, touching on the legal issues arising from the former builder, which delayed the project after the initial groundbreaking.

Guest of honor Atlanta developer John Wieland announced that his company, the JW Collection, would build the Reeves house pro bono to serve as Elm Street's new Visual Arts Center. The structure will serve as a community centerpiece in the heart of downtown Woodstock and will contain a gallery, art classroom, artist studios, as well as the Juanita Hughes History Room.

The program concluded with two short talks by Board President Ann Litrel and Executive Director Christopher Brazelton, who spoke on the transformative power of the arts in peoples lives and in the community.

The response was very encouraging, said Brazelton. Guests are still responding with their pledges, so we dont have a final fundraising total. We hope to announce something soon, and of course, we are busy thanking those who generously gave that night.