ROCKINGHAM — When Arthur Gilliam decided to put on a free musical event last April, he imagined Nectar — the coffee shop at Hive Recreation Center — would be the perfect venue for the 25-50 people he expected to attend.
“I had an idea to give the people of Richmond County something to do,” he said. “Because, you know, people are always saying, ‘Oh, there’s nothing to do here.’ I wanted to give them something to do. And I don’t think there are enough positive outlets, positive streams. My thing is music, and what better way to bring people together?”
Gilliam said he never imagined the overwhelming response his fledgling effort received from social media.
“I wanted to promote local businesses that were doing amazing things in the county that people are not aware of,” he said. “So I spoke with Rebecca Sparks and Sarah Furguson and we put it out on Facebook and Instagram. RSVPs started coming in on the even page I set up on Facebook, and 75 people became 80, and 80 went to 90 and we met again and they said, ‘We can’t do this in the coffee shop.”
As RSVPs continued to pour in, the decision was made to move the concert out of Nectar and into the recreation center — a good decision, Gilliam said, considering that about 125 people showed up.
“People came through Nectar and got coffee, then went in where we gave them about an hour and a half of music,” he said.
This year there are more than 100 RSVPs, and more people are expected to attend.
“How it started was me and a group of friends got together, there are 7 of us, and I told them my idea to bring love, hope and grace to people,” he said. “Out of that, #AcousticCoffee was born.”
Gilliam explained that including the hashtag symbol in the event’s official name is no accident, and served to get the word out.
“Really, it’s all about hope, to believe things are going to get better, love, to release fear, and grace to try again,” he explained. “Whatever that may be — a job interview, a book. I think people who give up are not experiencing love because they lose hope, and they forget they have the grace to do it again. I’m really strong in my Christian faith.
“A lot of people are not going to church, but every person deserves to experience love, hope and grace. I feel like it is my responsibility to bring the church to them, to bring those things to them. Because with all the things going on in this world, we need love, hope and grace.”
Gilliam said the biggest reason he wanted the event to remain free of charge is because he knows that love, hope and grace are also free.
“It doesn’t cost anything to love someone,” he said. “I want people to patronize these local businesses and realize all of the amazing things they are doing in this community. In a lot of cases, people just don’t know about them. And I want them to be able to come out and experience this through music, in this intimate setting. People think that #acousticcoffee is a group. It’s not. It’s an event.”
Reach reporter Melonie McLaurin at 910-817-2673 and follow her on Twitter @meloniemclaurin.