The Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts is welcoming the community’s bright, creative ideas for its annual fundraiser this February.

“Lamp It Up” will be held on Feb. 23 at the Suffolk Center. The evening is for ages 21 and older and tickets are running out fast, with only 27 tickets left as of Thursday evening, according to Executive Director Susan Lawrence. Tickets are $125 per person.

“We’re heading for a sellout,” Lawrence said.

Festivities will be from 6 to 11 p.m., and attendees are encouraged to wear either fine cocktail attire or put their own creative spin on their outfits that will “light up” the evening, Lawrence said. The sponsors’ reception will be from 6 to 7 p.m., with three different sponsorship levels available. The deadline for sponsorships is Feb. 4.

Food provided by Holland’s Country Gourmet will be served starting at 6:30 p.m., along with libations, music and the silent auction. Guests will enjoy French cuisine during the gala and specialty beverages at the bar.

There will be 10 items up for bid in the silent auction at 6:30 p.m. and 35 items in the live auction that follows at 8 p.m. Lawrence said the full list of items should be available soon, and it will include oyster roasts, deep-sea fishing trips, dinners of food and wine pairings and more.

DJ WooWoo of 94.9 The Point Radio will be the emcee for the evening. The dance floor will be electric, with musical performances by Connected and The Gentlemen and Their Lady.

Creative members of the community can also prepare their entries in the lampshade decorating contest. Inspired by “Bra-ha-ha” — an event featuring decorated bras to raise funds for mammograms and breast care services by the Chesapeake Regional Health Foundation — each entry will be an originally decorated lampshade obtained by the entrants themselves. The shade can be of any size, as long as one person can still carry it. Materials must be non-perishable.

Submissions will be judged based on subject matter, artistic merit, creativity and craftsmanship. Winners will be selected for Best Business Display, Most Creative, Most Humorous and Most Spirited. The Best in Show winner will receive a $100 Jester’s Gallery Shop gift certificate.

“We’ve never done anything like this,” Lawrence said. “We like the look of it, and we like the idea of the illuminating the arts for the community. We just tied it all together to present it as something different for the community.”

Each lampshade requires a non-refundable $10 entry fee, and the SCCA Gala Committee reserves the right to refuse to accept or display any entry. The committee also reserves the right to keep all lampshades to sell or auction off during the night of the event, and lampshades that are not picked up by March 1 will become property of the Suffolk Center.

Entry forms must be completed and submitted with each lampshade. Forms are available online at suffolkcenter.org/annual-fundraiser-2019, along with additional information on the event itself. Lampshades and completed entry forms should be dropped off from Feb. 12-14 at the Suffolk Center, 110 W. Finney Ave.