Longboat Harbour hosts Fourth of July party

Longboat Harbour Condominium hosted a Fourth of July celebration for their residents to connect and engage on the holiday. The party was filled with great conversation, delicious food and patriotic music.

Husband and wife duo, Karen and Richard “Sparky” Pashkow, are the co-chairs of the recreation committee and hosted the event in the recreation hall. Karen Pashkow explained that she recently had ear surgery so a group of volunteers stepped forward to help set up for the event when she needed to rest.

Karen Pashkow said that originally there were only supposed to be 48 people in attendance but the list grew to 65. “We have a lot of new people. I was looking at Friday afternoon. The secretary sent me the list. I was so surprised because it's off season, but there's new members here at the residence.”

Marilyn and David Bottger bought a condo at Longboat Harbour in 2015 and are finally getting to utilize it for the summer. “It's so nice for them to organize this because we are down here and we don’t know exactly what to do,” said Marilyn Bottger. 

The volunteers decked out the hall in red, white, and blue and made a dinner and dessert spread. They also helped with serving, handing out name tags, and playing music.

“I love the camaraderie. I am always meeting people,” said Gregory Bodkin, who has been residing in Longboat Harbour for over a year now. He has been taking new residents under his wing such as the Bottgers and Ted Lowder who has been testing out if he wants to live at Longboat Harbour. 

Bill Coughlin has lived on Longboat Key for 20 years and runs the Yacht Club and the Men’s Club at Longboat Harbour. He and his wife Bonnie are super involved in the community as Bonnie Coughlin is the president of the board of Longboat Harbour. Bill Coughlin explained there are about two events a month between the different clubs and committees.

Bill Coughlin said, “This is by far the most active community on Longboat Key. No one's even close.”