May 6, 2021 (Hyannis, MA) – Joseph Carr, Napa Valley vintner and founder of Josh Cellars, who calls Cape Cod home, will be recognized for his contributions to the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod (AFCC) as the honorary chair of the nonprofit’s annual Prelude to Summer on Thursday, June 17, at the Hyannisport Club.
Carr has been a generous supporter of the AFCC’s work and Josh Cellars, the popular wine brand that he founded and produced, has served as a sponsor for several AFCC events, including its annual Citizens Bank Pops by the Sea concert.
“Joseph has quietly and passionately strengthened not only our mission, but the arts on Cape Cod,” said AFCC Executive Director Julie Wake. “His personal story of how he became a vintner and achieved success is incredibly inspiring. What’s even more remarkable – and what we’ll be celebrating in June – is Joseph’s willingness to give back and support causes, like arts and culture, that are vitally important, not only to him, but to our community.”
Since he was a child growing up in upstate New York, Carr has had an affinity for the arts which he credited to his mother who would take him and his twin sister to the theater and the Clark Museum in nearby Williamstown, Massachusetts. “I grew up in a place that was gritty and blue collar and 20 minutes away was this other world,” he said. “That was my first real exposure to the arts.”
He has held firm to that passion as an adult by throwing his support behind organizations like the AFCC, touting its programs to support the arts in our region, especially AFCC Access which funds and creates artistic and cultural opportunities for youth between the ages of 7 and 17 who live at or below the poverty level on Cape Cod. “That is where we’re going to be lost if we keep having government cuts to the arts in school,” he said. “When you have people like Julie Wake and her team encouraging access to the arts for all youth, it is a very powerful proposition.”
He expressed excitement for the Prelude to Summer which will feature an auction that includes this year’s Pops by the Sea commemorative piece that is being created by visual artist Carl Lopes of Marstons Mills.
“It’s certainly something I’m very proud of and I’m certainly honored to play a small role in being on the sidelines of the Arts Foundation and supporting them however I can,” Carr said.
Tickets for this year’s prelude will be limited.