- October 16, 2024
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After the surge of Hurricane Helene hit businesses hard, the Kiwanis Club of Longboat Key decided to postpone its annual fundraiser, the Lawn Party, to February or March of 2025.
Usually hosted in December, the Lawn Party is the Kiwanis Club's biggest event of the year. It gathers prominent restaurants, such as Cafe L’Europe, Harry’s Continental Kitchens, Columbia and the Lazy Lobster, to provide samplings of their favorite menu items at Ken Thompson Park.
For over 30 years, Longboaters have brought trays to hit all booths for the elite tastings of the area. All funds go to the Children’s Guardian Fund. Last year, it raised $102,150 from its raffle sales, sponsors and ticket sales combined.
After Helene and Milton, the event's biggest sponsors received major damage and most are closed indefinitely to reconstruct and assess how to move forward. Cafe L' Europe received about six feet of water in flooding in Helene. Harry's Continental Kitchen received flooding in all of its buildings from Helene and damage to its roofing from Milton.
Kiwanis Club President Chris Sachs said after seeing this damage, they felt the restaurants needed time to recover before they could think of sponsoring an event coming up soon.
“Having done this already for so many years, we already have most of it planned," said Sachs. "It is really the yearly logistics, such as confirming with the restaurants and the location, which would happen in September. But that is when the hurricanes started, so that is why we decided to pull the plug now and postpone. We know the restaurants won't be ready for December. So, it's better to let them get their bearings in order.”
The Kiwanis Club plans to start communicating this new plan to postpone with its yearly sponsors with the hope they will be able to contribute to its new 2025 date.
Similar to the Kiwanis Club, The Garden Club of Longboat Key is weighing its options on whether it will put on its biggest event, Taste of the Keys, usually held in February. With this being one of the prominent fundraisers for the club, the annual event is perfect to sample Longboat Key's prominent restaurants while mingling and dancing with your neighbors.
Garden Club President Melanie Dale said its whole season is up in the air after this hurricane season. Its calendar has events lined up for November, but it is hard to confirm the locations for these events as the island works to recover. In regards to the Taste of the Keys, Dale said it isn't appropriate to ask the restaurants to donate their time and supplies to raise funds for the club.
"We have had trouble getting together to make a decision because of the impact of the storms," said Dale. "But, we will be weighing our options for a while because of the hardship the restaurants are dealing with. We are just trying to do what is best for our community right now."
