Friends of Lake Panorama will host its fourth Beach Ball fundraiser on Friday, July 30, at Lake Panorama National. The format for the event will be similar to the 2020 Beach Ball, with seating available either in the LPN banquet room or outside under tents on the grass between the conference center and the golf course.
The 2020 Beach Ball had a profit of $30,000. Those funds, along with many direct donations over a year’s time, made it possible to purchase $70,000 worth of playground equipment for Shady and Boulder beaches. The equipment at Shady Beach was installed last fall. The Boulder Beach playground equipment is scheduled to be installed in late April.
A Beach Ball in 2016 raised money for the Sunset Beach playground, while the 2017 Beach Ball helped finance the sports courts at Boulder Beach.
The Friends board of directors discussed plans for the 2021 Beach Ball at their spring meeting March 15. Rather than having a single project to which funds will be directed, the board plans to offer several options.
The board will make a final decision at its May meeting on what projects to promote at the 2021 fundraiser, but the plan is to have information on a handful projects available. This will allow donors interested in a particular project to make a direct donation to that project.
The nonprofit charity’s current priority is the Lake Panorama dog park, which will be one of the projects those attending can learn more about and to which they can make a direct donation. By the end of March, $34,000 had been raised towards the park goal of $50,000.
Other projects being considered by the Friends board are improvements to the trail near Panorama West, a disc golf course, a basketball half-court at Sunset Beach and other beach amenities.
Projects chosen by the Friends board to promote at the Beach Ball will receive a percentage of pooled funds raised at the event, plus all direct donations designated to a specific project.
The 2021 Beach Ball will feature live music, a 50/50 raffle, both live and silent auctions, and other fun, and fundraising, events. Prices for table sponsorships and admission tickets are being finalized, with event registration beginning in early May.