CLEARLAKE ? The beauty of The Islands was recreated at Austin Park on Saturday. Complete with tiki statues, surf boards, bamboo, colorful parrots and a giant volcano, the “Spirit of Aloha” fundraiser transformed the community park into a tropical paradise.
“I think people enjoyed it. It was different enough for people to come back next year,” Alice Reece, event coordinator said. “It took a lot of imagination and lots of back-breaking work from a lot of volunteers over four weeks of time. To create the volcano and the tikis – it turned out great!”
The fundraiser was held in benefit of Lake County Youth Services (LCYS). Guests enjoyed a festive dinner followed by dancing entertainment at the foot of the “active” volcano. One hundred teriyaki chicken dinners were prepared and donated by Sam Polo, of Main Street Bar & Grill. After dinner, guests were enthralled by the troupe of young dancers and others who volunteered to perform for the event.
Reece recruited volunteers to entertain the crowd and then personally taught them Polynesian hula dances specifically for the event. “We just volunteered to do this for one of our regular customers,” Nichole Fore?, who is a waitress at Main Street, said. “She said she wanted to raise money for the youth center and we were all for it.”
Fore? along with Tamary Bordessa and Tori Tucker collaborated in the hula number that closed the evening. Prior to the trio”s performance, the audience was pleasantly entertained by a group of young dancers that performed pieces illustrating concepts from beauty to war. “I though for their first time on stage they did an exceptional job,” Reece said.
An enthusiastic group led by Rachael Baldwin of the Parent and Community for Kids (PACK) Community Arts Center, of Middletown; thrilled the audience with its rendition of “Wipe Out,” complete with beach balls and a life guard.
Carol Hewlett was also among the list of performers. She revisited the piece she graced audiences with at a recent luau fundraiser, celebrating “Beautiful Kauai.”
LCYS operates a youth center on Golf Avenue in Clearlake. Children 10 to 16 are welcome to participate in program activities. According to Youth Center Supervisor Nick Logoteta membership fees have changed. “Instead of $10 a month per child or $20 for two or more children, we have changed the prices to $50 for entire year for one child or $75 for two or more children. But still, here at the youth center, we turn no child away for lack of funds. That”s where the community really comes in with support for our sponsorship program,” he said.
The sponsorship program enables the center to provide for all children of the community despite financial limitations of the family. For more information regarding donations to the program, or other youth center activities, call the center at 994-7281.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call her directly at 994-6444, ext. 11.
