Partners for Parks Bringing Vegas Glam to Town For a Cause

It’s Viva Las Lakewood.

Or, at least, it will be Friday night as Partners for Parks takes over the McGavick Center at Clover Park Technical College to raise money to enhance and expand .

The Black Tie and Blue Jeans Ball, which starts at 6 p.m., is Partners for Parks’ fourth annual event and aims to bring in enough funds to purchase a little more than an acre of property adjacent to the 3.5-acre park. Adding additional parking and picnic tables are also on the wish list for the park, which sits in one of Lakewood’s lowest-income areas.

“It’s kind of economically and geographically isolated from the rest of the community,” said Mary Dodsworth, director of Lakewood's Parks and Recreation Department. “The community has really come together. It’s a real transient population out there, but there are people who have lived out there for quite a while.

“That core group is working hard to create a sense of community,” she said. “And the park is the core place to create that – to create opportunities for people to gather and be safe and secure.”

Launched in 2001, Partners for Parks is a collaboration of Lakewood service organizations, community groups, educational institutions, the military and businesses working together for the purpose of assisting in the improvement of Lakewood-area parks. The group feels that healthy communities need healthy spaces and places to gather and play.

The Lakewood First Lions host an annual Easter-egg hunt, summer day camp in partnership with the city, a back-to-school fair in conjunction with Caring For Kids, and a Halloween event at the park. St. Leo’s Food Connection also has a Mobile Food Bank at the park every weekend.

“There’s a whole lot of people working toward (making) that area a great place to be,” Dodsworth said.

Caring For Kids founder Diane Formoso has said that it is important for kids to have a place to go.

“We want to make sure that the park is usable and friendly for all of the kids in the neighborhood,” she said prior to the Lions’ fall auction, which raised enough money to put a covered area over the park’s basketball hoops.

To accomplish just that, Dodsworth said Friday night will be a “fun night – not just a bunch of auctions” featuring blackjack, roulette, putt-putt golf and more. Carr’s will cater dinner, and Elvis and some showgirls will be there for ambiance.

So why Vegas?

“Why Vegas?” Dodsworth repeated. “It’s a great theme!”

With a laugh, she added that a gaming night sounded fun and different, and that previous themes have been “Dancing With the Stars” and a Western Night.

“There are a lot of groups who do dinner and an auction and we wanted to do something where people come and play – it’s going to be very interactive.”

Dodsworth said they have sold quite a few tickets, but that the more they sell, the more people come and the more they can do for Springbrook Park.

Tickets are $50 and can be purchased at the door. There is no age limit, but she said that the event is geared toward adults.

“Any time you can come out and have fun and support a good cause, we hope they will come and have a good time,” she said. “Lakewood has great places to play, so we want to give back a little bit to the people who support us and then they can come support the parks.”

For more information or to purchase tickets, call 253-468-9885 or visit www.partnersforparks.net.