Downtown Henderson came alive well after 5 Thursday, and the Chamber of Commerce had nothing to do with it.
Be warned, however: Alcohol was involved.
But so was charity, as well as fun, entertainment and culture.
The poetry reading and wine tasting at The Java House was a success for all involved, from the more than 80 people who attended, donating at least $10 each, to Habitat for Humanity, which raised about $1,000.
“It was fun,” said lawyer Stella Jones, one of the organizers. “I can’t believe how it turned out.”
People drank their fill of a variety of good wines, feasted on hors d’oeuvres, strawberries and cake, and heard a variety of poems. Many were about love and the things men and women do to each other in the name of love, real or imagined. Suffice it to sat that the content and language wouldn’t have worked at the simultaneous Storytelling Festival a few blocks away at the H. Leslie Perry Memorial Library, but they fit the mood of an adult night out in Henderson.
Bernard Alston, a lawyer, City Council member, event organizer and one of the night’s performing poets, said he was excited to give “talented people the chance to express themselves.”
He also gave the crowd the night’s highlight (or lowlight). District Judge Weldon Lloyd held an impromptu auction of the shirt off Alston’s back and the hat off his head.
The auction raised $180 for Habitat, and, fortunately for everyone, Alston got his clothes back.
By the time Andre Robinson popped the cork on the Taittinger Champagne about 9:30, it was clear Thursday night was just the beginning. The only real questions were how often the group would hold such events and whether Habitat, some other nonprofit group or no one in particular would be the beneficiary.
Java House owner Alan Norwood said Friday that he was talking with organizers about scheduling the next two poetry readings and wine tastings.
“We’ve started something,” Alston said.