Under the tent at the 20th annual Spring for the Arts | Photo by zstopstudios
More children in Northeast Florida will receive vital arts education and therapeutic programs thanks to a record-breaking $837,100 raised at the Cathedral Arts Project’s 20th annual Spring for the Arts celebration!
The event, held on Friday, April 4, 2025 at Epping Forest Yacht & Country Club, was a powerful infusion of support for CAP’s REIMAGINE Campaign: Empowering Children Through the Arts, aiming to broaden and deepen the organization’s impact across Northeast Florida.
Since its inception, Spring for the Arts has generated more than $9 million for arts education in the region.
“The record-breaking generosity demonstrated at Spring for the Arts’s 20th anniversary sends such a clear message that our community believes in the potential of every child,” remarked the Rev. Kimberly Hyatt, CAP President & CEO. “This support will give kids what every child deserves: the opportunity to develop their full potential. CAP students see how hard work pays off. And once they’ve seen that on the stage or in the studio, they carry that same determination into everything they do.”
Anthony and Frances Jabbour at Spring for the Arts 2025 | Photo by zstopstudios
Spring for the Arts also celebrates community engagement in support of funding arts education initiatives throughout the region. Frances and Anthony Jabbour were celebrated as the 2025 Guardians of the Arts. The Jabbours have been vocal supporters of CAP for many years, serving on the board of directors and working to foster partnerships with corporate and community leaders.
The couple was presented with a ceramic piece created for the occasion by Sonia Nowak-Vera, Studio Operations Director for the Linda Berry Stein College of Fine Arts & Humanities at Jacksonville University. The woven red clay and gold leaf artwork embodies the strength, resilience and interconnectedness of the arts community that the Jabbours have helped CAP to build.
Emcee Darnell Smith of Florida Blue on stage | Photo by zstopstudios
Florida Blue’s Darnell Smith emceed the event and led the live auction, encouraging attendees to donate more than $215,000 through the Ignite A Dream paddle raise. Speakers included Honorary Chairs Karen and Greg Montana, as well as Lillian Blanco, a CAPSO alumna and UNF sophomore who spoke of the enduring impact CAP has had on her life.
“I often wonder where I’d be if CAP hadn’t been there for me — if I hadn’t learned to play the viola, if I hadn’t had a mentor, if I hadn’t had the consistency of music in my life,” said Blanco, in a moving speech to the more than 300 event attendees. “My world is always changing, but one thing has remained the same — my viola and CAP.”
To further celebrate two decades of the unifying power of the arts, CAP Clinical Creative Art Counselor LaRhonda Britton-James and Teaching Artist Fellows in Visual Arts Priscilla Allen, Lindsay Bowyer and Ashlee Collins led a live art activity which allowed guests to add their own detail to a collaborative watercolor piece.
The 20th annual Spring for the Arts would not have been possible without the generous support of Honorary Chairs Karen and Greg Montana; Event Chairs Marisa and Frank Martire; presenting sponsors Fidelity National Financial and Frances and Anthony Jabbour as well as the many other sponsors who made the event possible; the Delores Barr Weaver Forever Event Fund; as well as The AutoValet, Bold City Classics, Harlow James Floral, Epping Forest Yacht & Country Club and numerous board members and volunteers for helping execute another successful event.
CAP’s REIMAGINE: Empowering Children Through the Arts campaign aims to raise $21 million by 2026 in order to triple the number of students CAP serves, evolve its teaching model and double its annual operating budget to ensure organizational sustainability for the future. \
