Odyssey in Bloom:
A Fundraiser Supporting the Seed of Life Access Fund
Announcing Odyssey in Bloom, April 2026
Join us at the Center for Craft for a beautiful night featuring a private performance by acclaimed jazz pianist Steve Okonski, along with drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and time to connect. Your ticket helps expand access to Odyssey’s arts-integrated, curiosity-driven education, ensuring more students can learn, create, and thrive.
Saturday, April 18 | 7–9 PM | Center for Craft
Tickets include two drink tickets (beer, wine, or non-alcoholic options) and hors d’oeuvres.
What is the Seed of Life Access Fund?
Odyssey was founded on the belief that every child deserves an education that honors their whole self — intellectually, emotionally, creatively, morally. The Seed of Life Access Fund exists to make that education available to families who would otherwise be priced out of it.
We are an independent school in the American South, and we hold that history seriously. Independent schools in this region have too often served as instruments of exclusion. We choose a different path — one grounded in our Moral Strand, which calls us to examine our choices, our history, and our impact on the broader community.
When we bring students from different backgrounds, cultures, and life experiences into the same classroom, everyone learns more. Exposure to different perspectives deepens critical thinking, builds empathy, and prepares children to navigate a complex world with both competence and compassion. Diversity isn't a feature of a good education — it's a precondition of one.
The Seed of Life Access Fund provides need-based financial assistance to students from underserved communities, and supports the professional equity training that helps our educators create classrooms where every child truly belongs. Your gift doesn't just open a door for one family — it makes Odyssey a richer, more complete community for every student we serve.
Become a sponsor:
Seed Partner
$500
One event ticket
Name on event signage
Recognition on the Odyssey website
Growth Partner
$1000
Two event tickets
Name on event signage
Recognition on the Odyssey website
Bloom Partner
$2500
Four event tickets
Name/logo on all event signage and materials
Verbal recognition at the event
Recognition in event emails and social media
About the evening
Music by Okonski
Steve Okonski is a classically trained pianist whose path led him from conservatory studies through Harlem organ trio sessions, to touring the world as a member of acclaimed soul band Durand Jones & The Indications, to leading his own jazz trio under the Colemine Records imprint.
His debut album Magnolia (2023) was recorded live over late nights in Loveland, Ohio — fully improvised, deeply felt. Critics called it "pensive, late night, piano-trio musing" — music that evokes quiet introspection rather than loneliness, presence rather than performance. His 2025 follow-up Entrance Music finds the trio laid-back yet sunny, uncluttered yet gently grooving, accessible yet artful.
Okonski's music is introspective, meditative, and new — a perfect fit for an evening about the kind of education that asks students to be present to themselves and the world around them.
Okonski performs with Michael Isvara "Ish" Montgomery on bass and Aaron Frazer on drums.
The Center for Craft has been building a future for craft in Asheville since 1996. Located at 67 Broadway Street in downtown Asheville, the Center advances the understanding of craft by supporting research, critical dialogue, and professional development — and is the only organization in the United States functioning as a catalyst for scholarly research in craft. Since 2005, the Center has awarded more than $8 million to more than 1,500 makers, scholars, and curators nationwide.
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, the Center for Craft stepped up for Western North Carolina's creative community in a significant way — launching a project to support 40 craft artists in the region, awarding $600,000 in grants to help rebuild WNC's craft community. Their commitment to this place, and to the people who make things here, is one we recognize and share.
Odyssey in Bloom will take place on the second floor of their Broadway Street building — a space where craft, ideas, and community regularly come together. We're proud to partner with an institution that believes, as we do, that what we make and how we learn are inseparable from who we become.
Learn more about CFC here: https://www.centerforcraft.org
About our Venue and Partner
Silent Auction Connection Contact:
A week before the event, we will release information about our Silent Auction. Do you or someone you know have something delightful to auction off for this cause? Drop us a note at the form here and we’ll be in touch.
