The three companies kindly pledged to donate a percentage of all sales to the HCAC during their busy holiday rushes and raised this sum during the month of December.

The donating companies — J Gabriel, Moonlight and Garbo, and Tia Dana — are all important parts of the Waynesville community. Mike Coble is the owner of J Gabriel Home and Gifts and Moonlight and Garbo, both located in Downtown Waynesville. 

J Gabriel has unique gifts, including local art, jewelry, and home accessories. Moonlight and Garbo is a clothing store that calls itself “the boutique of the mountains,” offering customers affordable and stylish women’s apparel and gifts. 

Dana Davidoff owns Tia Dana, a lifestyle boutique and yarnery, which curates and sells items that are both beautiful and functional.

The recipient of the donation, the Haywood County Arts Council, promotes artists, art education, and innovation in art in Haywood County.  The many programs it has offered over the past 43 years aim to enhance the quality of life in Haywood County. 

Programs the HCAC runs and sponsors include Art After Dark, Winter Arts Smokies Style, monthly free exhibits, the Young Audience Series for middle-schoolers, and Mind the Music! music lessons for seniors. 

The money raised will go toward supporting the Junior Appalachian Musicians Program (JAM), another one of the HCAC’s valuable initiatives. In JAM, young students learn how to play traditional mountain music from expert teachers. Coble and Davidoff’s donation will go toward purchasing banjos, guitars, and fiddles, which the JAM program desperately needs. These instruments are crucial for the ongoing success of JAM.

www.haywoodarts.org.