'Big Night In for the Arts' raises $349K for local arts

WRAL has teamed up with arts councils from Chatham, Durham, Orange and Wake Counties for a live event Thursday to help benefit the arts community devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Posted 11:00 a.m. Mar 11, 2021 — Updated 4:58 p.m. Mar 17, 2021

RALEIGH, N.C. — Performers from the stage and screen teamed up to help raise more than $349,000 for local arts councils on Thursday night.

The Big Night In for the Arts aired on WRAL about a year after the first stay-at-home orders were implemented.

WRAL teamed up with arts councils from Chatham, Durham, Orange and Wake Counties for the fundraiser which addressed the impact of COVID-19 on the arts and highlighted the missions of the four organizations that lead and support the Triangle’s local arts infrastructure.

Donations are still being accepted via the Big Night In website. The site is also hosting an auction of local art inspired by the night's performances. That auction runs through the end of the month.

Money raised from the event go toward arts programming, initiatives for equity in the arts and artist/arts organizations’ relief.

The lineup for "Big Night In for the Arts" included country music star and Garner native Scotty McCreery, Tony-nominated actress and Raleigh native Ariana DeBose, who originated the role of The Bullet in the Broadway hit "Hamilton," Chapel Hill-based folk music duo Mandolin Orange, three-time Grammy Award winner Branford Marsalis of Durham, and Chatham County-based actor and playwright Mike Wiley.

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