Earlier this May, the Jacksonville Beaches Woman’s Club (JBWC) and New Age Hippy hosted an Upcycle Fashion Show to showcase sustainability and creativity to the Jacksonville community. 

“[The] Upcycle Fashion Show was a huge success due to all the love we have throughout Jacksonville & the Beaches,” says Sheri Nicholson, Founder of New Age Hippy. “We helped to educate people on the importance of upcycling (reusing/recycling), the value of music and art, and how meaningful it is to bring the community together to help others. I am proud to be a part of this amazing community.”

Due to the unexpected and isolated fire in our Studio Theatre, we were unable to provide the space for the fashion show as originally planned. However, members of the women’s club found a way for their event to still go on. The fashion show ended up taking place down the road at the Beaches Museum Chapel on Saturday, May 17.

The afternoon and runway was lit up with bold, inventive looks crafted entirely from repurposed and recycled materials. Every piece told a story—not only of innovation, but of purpose. In addition to the fashion show, there was a special performance of “Don’t Rain On My Parade” sung by Julia Blasi who portrayed Fanny Brice in our Season 60 opening production of Funny Girl.

“We like to support our local community. It became more meaningful after the fire because we were all working together towards the goal of getting Players back up and running as quickly as possible,” says Joanne Mattingly, President of GFWC Jacksonville Beaches Woman’s Club. 

As a community-focused theatre, Players by the Sea is honored to work with organizations that align with our values of inclusion, community and giving back. We look forward to future projects that continue to make waves—both on stage and off. 

“Working with the JBWC was rewarding. The opportunity to meet and connect with other women around the Jacksonville area to promote such an impact-driven project in the world was so eye opening,” says MacKenzie Kelvington, Marketing Manager. “These women are truly empowering and are the definition of community.”

Thank you to the Jacksonville Beaches Woman’s Club for this opportunity. Together, we proved that with a little imagination and a lot of heart, fashion can truly make a difference.