The fifth Valentine’s Day Gala in support of the North Kitsap Boys and Girls Club was a huge success, once again due to the generosity of the Kingston community and other folks from around the Puget Sound area and the hard work of all the volunteers that helped Judy and Dick Osborn pull it off again.
Everybody was dressed in their finest glad rags — the men in tuxes and women in gowns with balloon corsages made by Caring Clowns International to finish their outfits. Some women dressed in the fashion of the ’50s, emulating the movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” which Firehouse Theater owner Craig Smith played free of charge. Professional photographer Tim Todd took beautiful pictures as mementos of a wonderful night of fun, food wine and chocolate treats that were all over the place.
Little City by the Sea Catering did a superb job of feeding the attendees, and none of this could have been possible without Ross McCurdy, owner of the Oak Table Café, letting the gala take over his restaurant for this exciting event. In addition, Ross was the auctioneer at the live auction and if he decided to be a stand-up comedian that would be a very successful new career.
Members of Caring Clowns International worked as spotters at the live auction to ensure that folks would not miss a chance to bid, and Duffy and Bo-Bo raised the paddle for direct contributions of more than $5,000. What a great community!
Our club has some very interesting speakers, but one of our own members, Mary-Lou Iverson, enlightened us with an in-depth look at the development of amusement parks for major companies like Disney and Universal Studios. She is a professional playground developer and inspector who makes sure the play areas are safe.
Mary-Lou showed us detailed schematics of how amusements at Universal Studios are designed and built. It seemed as complicated as building a Boeing 777. It was amazing the work and planning that goes into building a dinosaur mouth kids can walk through. Mary-Lou also makes sure your children and grandchildren are safe at local fast-food restaurants and our own Village Green Park Playground.
Another highlight in February was a joint dinner with the Kingston Rotary Club, sponsored by our club at the fire station common room. It was a great opportunity to discuss what Kiwanis and Rotary do for the community and how we can combine efforts to do a better job of helping and supporting citizens and children in the Greater Kingston area. There are plans to make these dinners a regular event.
Fundraiser for the Summer Food Program
Date: April 6
Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Jewel Box Theatre, 225 Iverson St., Poulsbo.
Jewel Box Theatre presents “Bark,” a musical that is set in a doggie daycare. “Bark” follows six canine characters for one day at Deena’s Doggy Day Care, presented from a dog’s point of view. (If you need more about what the play is about, you can call me at 297-4462 or go to the theater web site.)
If you are interested in being involved in Kiwanis, we meet at the Oak Table Café at 7 a.m. on Thursdays or contact our President Pat Bennett-Forman (360) 697-4849 or me at (360) 297-4462.
— Contact Bob Lee at GLENCARIN@aol.com
