Kiwanians plan ahead for Gourmet Lawn Party

By Robin Hartill
| 4:00 a.m. September 26, 2012

Longboat Key
News

Don’t let the fact that the Longboat Key Gourmet Lawn Party lasts only two hours fool you.

The Kiwanis Club of Longboat Key begins planning for the November event in June or July of each year, continuing up until the big day.

Here’s the dish on this year’s event:

Longboat Observer owners Matt and Lisa Walsh are co-chairing the event, which is scheduled for noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, at the Longboat Key Club and Resort’s Islandside golf course.

This year’s raffle-prize winner will have the choice of $20,000 cash, $20,000 toward any vehicle at Gettel Automotive Group dealerships or an exotic vacation courtesy of Admiral Travel.

The second prize will be a package from the Key Club, and the third-prize winner will take home an oil painting by artist Malenda Trick.

Kiwanis Club of Longboat Key members are giving themselves room to make the event even bigger and have an 80-foot-by-80-foot tent, compared to last year’s 80-foot-by-40-foot tent.

“We’ve learned our lesson and will leave more room to maneuver inside an expanded-size tent,” said Kiwanis Club President John Wild.

Last year’s event netted more than $69,000 for charitable organizations, and this year’s goal is to raise even more money, according to Wild. The club is also hoping to draw at least 30 participating restaurants for the event.

This is the third year in which the event will be known as the Longboat Key Gourmet Lawn Party instead of its former name, the St. Jude Gourmet Luncheon.

A small portion of proceeds will still benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., but most funds raised will stay closer to home, going toward the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and Manatee counties, Child Protection Center, Children First and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Sarasota County — all of which, according to incoming Kiwanis Club President Jim Burmeister, relate to Kiwanis’ national motto:

“Changing the world one child at a time.”

“We’ve rebadged it because Kiwanis has done this for seven or eight years,” Wild said. “We’ve been wanting a stronger brand identification for what Kiwanis does.”