High Tea
A Music & Arts Festival and Fundraiser
in Celebration of the Music, Arts, Culture & Cuisine of our BIPOC communities
by The Hill Street Country Club
Reclaiming Community, Culinary & Culture
𝙰 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚜, 𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎, 𝚌𝚞𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝚘𝚏 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝙱𝙸𝙿𝙾𝙲 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜
What is High Tea?
“High Tea” is a concept that originated in England during the 1700s, preserving the idea of catering/serving tea and confections to the white-elite, aristocrats and the wealthy throughout the hours of afternoon to supper in a leisurely and posh fashion. In the early 19th century, Black Tea Rooms were created for the upper crust of black society after being excluded from white-run tea rooms post-slavery.
In 2021, the women of the Hill Street Country Club came together to celebrate our 10 year anniversary as a fundraising gala in support of education and arts programming at the Hill Street Country Club for the 2022 Fiscal Year. What began as an idea for a small, intimate picnic with music and art ended up becoming a large scale music festival open to everyone, as we felt that our community’s of color deserved a space to celebrate joy, music, and our chosen families.
High Tea is a modernized, culturally inclusive version of traditional High Tea. It is our reclamation of traditionally non-inclusive practices and spaces that we are repurposing to highlight and celebrate Black and brown artisans and leaders, as well as our allies. Through this event and fundraiser we celebrate Hill Street's autonomy, our community’s diversity, and vision for the future of inclusive art institutions.
High Tea 2021: Press Releases, Featured Articles, Videos, and more!
High Tea - 2021RECAP
High Tea 2021 Recap Video by Vincent Phathanak
Photo Gallery
High Tea 2023: Coming soon!
High Tea is a series of community cultivated events through biannual collaboration of Boutika and the women of The Hill Street Country Club highlighting BIPOC culture, contributions, and influences.
It’s a modernized, culturally inclusive version of traditional high tea with entertainment of public speakers, performance/installation artists, cuisine and confections, and local vendors.
High Tea conceptually originated in England, preserving the idea of catering/serving tea and confections to the white-elite and wealthy throughout the hours of afternoon to supper. Historically, Black Tea Rooms were created for the upper crust of black society after being excluded from white-run tea rooms post-slavery, in the late 18th century. Black Tea Rooms were created to socially unify black wealth and were a source of culture, used to communicate and relay important information on events within the black community such as black sports, NAACP events, and national conventions
