UpScale ReSale returns for 10th year supporting Habitat for Humanity
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A local design competition celebrating creative reuse is returning this weekend for its 10th year, raising money to support affordable housing in the Cape Fear region.
Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity’s UpScale ReSale Design Challenge will be held April 24 and 25 at the Hotel Ballast in downtown Wilmington. The two-day event brings together designers, builders and architects who transform donated items from Habitat ReStores into curated 10-by-10-foot room displays.
The pieces are then staged and sold to the public, with proceeds supporting Habitat for Humanity’s homebuilding efforts in New Hanover, Pender and Duplin counties.
“The design challenge is a great event held at the Hotel Ballast on Friday evening,” said longtime participant Carly Forman. “That’s our VIP party. That’s where we come together and you see the vignettes that the designers and stagers, architects, builders have put together with all items that we got at the Cape Fear Habitat ReStore.”
Forman said teams select items from the ReStore and transform them into fully designed 10-by-10-foot room displays, with all of the finished pieces available for purchase during the event.
She said proceeds go directly toward Habitat’s mission.
“We really try, our goal every year is really to try to raise enough money between the ticket sales, between the furniture and item sales from the booth, to build a Habitat house,” Forman said.
The event begins with a VIP preview Friday night featuring early access to the displays, food, drinks and live music. A general admission sale follows Saturday morning.
Forman said the competition continues to grow and remains focused on its cause.
“I just feel that this is a great event to be able to support that and have some fun and do some shopping and all of the above,” she said.
Organizers say the event has raised more than $160,000 over its history and attracted thousands of attendees since launching in 2014.
