The Strowd celebrates Christmas early for a good cause

They say Christmas comes but once a year — unless you're DJ Chucky T. 

The DJ, whose real name is Jack Vesta, will be providing "Jingle Bells" and more tunes at The Strowd this Sunday when the nightclub is hosting Toys for Tots Christmas in July event. 

Instead of being charged at the door, attendees wanting to enter The Strowd must donate a toy, which will go to children in Orange County this Christmas. 

Vesta had the idea for the event after wanting to share his abundance of holiday mixes.

“I’ve been collecting some great Christmas tunes for years now and making playlists to give to friends or family at Christmas time, and a lot of them are decidedly secular,” he said. "So I was looking for a club to do this, and found The Strowd."

When Vesta approached Managing Partner of The Strowd Michael Rosenbacher, he said the event's potential impact on the children of Orange County encouraged him to host the event. 

“We really want to be able to give back to the community," he said. "When I saw the numbers of how many people that Toys for Tots reaches, it really blew my mind so I want to be able to participate with a group like this.”

Vesta then got in touch with Orange county’s Friends of Department of Social Services, who is sponsoring Christmas in July.  

The volunteer orginization collects toys every holiday season to give to children in families below the poverty line. 

“There are 7000 children in families in Orange county who live 200 percent or more below the poverty line, and I think that’s hard for people to recognize," said President of Friends, Pat Garavaglia. "We’re the richest county in North Carolina, and it’s hard to imagine that.”  

Despite the department giving out 10,000 toys to over 3,000 kids last year, there was still a shortage of gifts. 

“They had families camping out in their cars overnight so they would be part of the third who did get toys on (that) Saturday,” he said. “So anything we can do to have even more toys this holiday season is really gonna help.”

The Strowd will be specially decorated to make attendees feel like they’re a part of a winter wonderland, despite the 90 degree temperatures outside. 

Big screen televisions will play Christmas YouTube clips and classics like "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Miracle on 34th Street" throughout the night. 

“We’re gonna be decorating the club a bit,” Vesta said. “We’ve got a Santa — Santa’s gonna be coming in from the beach, probably still drinking his mai tais and daiquiris.”

Garavaglia said she thinks the childhood nostalgia associated with Christmas in July will encourage others to attend and donate.

"I think it harkens back to our childhood, and we can understand how it feels to be surprised on Christmas morning with a gift and we all want to be a part of making Christmas special for people who are less fortunate than we are," she said.

Making Christmas special for the children receiving toys from FRIENDS is the whole purpose of Christmas in July, Vesta said.

He hopes the event will put people into the giving spirit in a time when donating holiday gifts is not on people's minds.

“There’s a lot of kids out there that we could make their Christmas a lot happier," Vesta said.

"The need doesn’t get filled and this is a way to help that need."

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