On April 17, 2027, the Park Circle Community Building becomes a gallery. Twenty-plus original paintings hang on its walls, and beside them, Charleston Symphony musicians perform the very pieces of music that inspired each one. Entry is free. Everyone is welcome. And every dollar that moves through the day goes to scholarships and music education in Charleston.
That last part is only possible because of sponsors. The Art Serenade runs on a simple model: local businesses fund the event's real costs up front, each claiming one specific, visible piece of the day. Once those pieces are claimed, the event costs the mission nothing, and the auction, the merch table, and every donation go straight to students.
Scenes from a previous Art Serenade
Two years, real results
The first Art Serenade drew more than 300 people to a first-time event. Two years in, the Serenade has raised more than $15,000 for students, and it feeds a scholarship program that is changing real lives.
A day people remember
The Serenade is a festival built so that art and classical music feel like they belong to everyone: live painters creating in front of you at instrument-themed stations, an instrument discovery zone where kids try a violin for the first time, a market of local makers, food trucks, and music inside and out from 11 to 3.
Every sponsorship, in depth
Each sponsorship below funds one real cost of the day, is claimable by exactly one business, and puts your name where the thing you funded happens. All sponsors are recognized on event signage and the website with a social media thank-you; sponsors at $1,000 and up also get their logo on the official merch and a table at the event.
The Print Sponsor
What it funds: every poster, flyer, and sign at the event, from the gallery signage beside each painting to the wayfinding that moves a thousand people through the day.
What it means: the artists' stories get told. Each painting hangs with signage about its creator and the music behind it, and that's what turns a crowd into bidders.
The Merch Sponsor
What it funds: production of the dated posters, totes, and shirts featuring all of this year's artwork.
What it means: with no tickets, merch is one of the day's biggest fundraisers, and your logo rides on every piece, out in Charleston long after April 17.
The Vendor Market & The Instrument Discovery Zone
What they fund: the local makers market, and the hands-on zone where anyone, at any age, can pick up a real instrument and play.
What it means: the discovery zone is where the mission gets physical. A kid who tries a cello at the Serenade might be the student our scholarships send to music school in ten years. Your logo stands at the zone you make possible.
The Live Painting Stations
What it funds: the thank-you gifts for the painters creating live all day at instrument-themed stations, with each station carrying one sponsor's logo.
What it means: live painting is the most-photographed part of the event. People stand and watch a blank canvas become art, and those finished pieces join the auction the moment they dry.
The Team Sponsor
What it funds: food, drinks, and supplies for the volunteers who build, run, and tear down the day.
What it means: a free festival runs on volunteers: the setup crew, the station helpers, the merch table, the teardown team. Your sponsorship keeps them fed, hydrated, and equipped from first load-in to last box out, and your name stands at the volunteer table all day.
The Canvas Sponsor
What it funds: covers the cost of the canvases we provided to every artist.
What it means: the smallest check with the clearest story. Every painting in the auction began on a canvas you covered, recognized beside the gallery wall.
Experience & In-Kind Sponsors
What it funds: donated experiences (a dinner, a workshop, a harbor cruise) become thank-you gifts for our artists, and donated services offset real costs.
What it means: you give something only your business can give, and get zone-sponsor-level recognition plus a named thank-you when the gift is given.