The annual hiking event, a fundraiser for the Christian Center of Park City to support the work of its food pantries, will also be a day-long celebration with fun for the whole family.
Eli Shackleford, the center’s new programs director, said they’re pulling out the stops for the anniversary celebration.
“So, we are going all out and just throwing a huge party to thank our volunteers, to kind of bring our clientele and our volunteers and our donors and our volunteers all together, staff, just everybody that's part of the Christian Center we are hoping will show up on that day,” Shackleford said on the KPCW “Local News Hour” Tuesday, Aug. 12.
Christian Center Executive Director Steve Richardson says they’ve rented out the Utah Olympic Park for the party and everything – the activities, the food and live music are free.
“All the activities are going to be free,” Richardson said. “The band is going to be Hothouse West [Swing Band]. And so, everything is just as good as you could possibly imagine. We want to honor the community, and we really want to highlight the needs the community have, get donors, together with volunteers, together with especially our clientele, and create some community.”
There is no cost to attend but they encourage attendees to make a donation.
Although Richardson just started as director late last year, he says he’s become aware of the accomplishments of the Christian Center has made over the last 25 years.
“One of my favorite experiences was the first month I was here,” he said. “One of the local stores had sponsored a 5k race, and the entrance fee was to bring two cans of food to the food pantry. I was talking to the two workers and saying how much it meant to get this food and how much of a need there was in the community, and they both started to laugh at me. And the reason they laughed at me, they explained, was because they both used to be customers of the food pantry, and that's why they were volunteering to put this on. That they no longer needed it, and they wanted to help others.”
The Sept. 6 event will feature live music, food trucks and family-friendly activities to support the Center’s decades-long commitment to fight hunger and support local families in need.
