Vail Edwards Rotary Potluck returns to Riverwalk
Annual fundraiser blends food, friends, like music and maybe a few costumes
Tricia Swenson/Vail Daily
Come and dine with your friends and neighbors and give to a great cause at the third annual Vail Edwards Rotary Community Potluck. Held on the streets of Riverwalk in Edwards, the outdoor event celebrates summer and promotes a fun way to connect and reconnect.
“We started the Edwards Community Potluck three years ago to provide an opportunity to bring the greater Edwards community together in a fun way. This year includes the merging of Vail Rotary and Edwards Rotary to form the Vail Edwards Rotary Club. This brought more creativity and ideas with the end result being the third annual fundraiser to bring in more funds to help the communities we serve,” said Linda Hill of the Vail Edwards Rotary Club.
The potluck invites attendees to cook or bake their own creations or some groups opt for to-go items from area restaurants. Many tables have costumes and a theme and may even have the meal fit that theme. When the “Barbie” movie came out two years ago, one group had a pink theme and carried that into their meal. Another group had a tailgate theme, with members wearing their favorite team’s jerseys and bringing typical food you’d fine at a tailgate party before a game. Hawaiian, western, patriotic themes and more have been carried out and could earn you prizes. Awards are given out for best theme or table decoration, best dressed and most elaborate potluck.
In addition to costume and themes, the Vail Edwards Rotary Community Potluck hosts a band. This year local band The Chaotics will be playing a variety of classic rock tunes and crowd favorites.
“We do have people coming back each year and bringing new friends, business associates and family members,” Hill said. “We hear comments like ‘where else can you join the community for as little as $25 a person and it includes your first beverage?’ to ‘this is like a street dance with friends and family,’ people have a lot of fun with it.”
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Tickets are available for individual seats for $25 each, or you can buy a table and invite your friends to participate. Sponsorship levels vary,
Sponsorship Levels and Benefits
$500 – Community Builder
- Entire table with 8 seats
- Display company provided banner at event
- Sponsorship promotion on Edwards Rotary Facebook page
- Premium placement of logo on website
- Sponsor verbally recognized by emcee at the event
$250 – Teamwork
- Entire table with 8 seats
- Sponsorship promotion on Edwards Rotary Facebook page
- Placement of logo on website
- Sponsor verbally recognized by emcee at the event
$150 – Fellowship
- Entire table with 8 seats (for the price of 6)
$100 – Good Neighbor (no seats)
- Logo placement on website
- Sponsorship verbally recognized at the event
$25 – Unity
- Individual seat at a community table
“We are an all-volunteer organization and 100% of funds raised throughout the year go to a myriad of programs like scholarships for high school seniors, Rotary Youth Exchange, grants to non-profits in the valley and local and international projects focused on education, literacy, clean water and eradicating Polio worldwide and much, much more,” Hill said.
This is only one of the Vail Edwards Rotary’s fundraisers. Its biggest fundraiser is the annual Vail Duck Race held Labor Day Weekend. If you’d like to become involved with the community, Hill said they would love to have you serve with them.
“One of the core values of Rotary is ‘service above self’ followed by creating a welcoming atmosphere for networking, fellowship and camaraderie at our weekly meetings,” Hill said. “Rotary is a global network of more than 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite to create lasting change across the globe, in our communities and ourselves. It all begins at the local club level and Rotary has been in our valley for over 50 years.”
This year’s community potluck event will be held on July 24 from 6-8 p.m. To get tickets, go to EventBrite.com. To learn more about Vail Edwards Rotary Club, visit VailRotary.com.
