Elks plan friendly family festival

Malia Spencer

Friday, Aug. 29, 2003 | 4:30 a.m.

Labor Day weekend has long marked the unofficial end of summer for many people, and the Henderson/Green Valley Elks Lodge is offering Las Vegas Valley residents another way to celebrate.

On Monday the lodge will host a Labor Day Family Fun Festival at its Henderson location, an event that members hope will become an annual occurrence.

The day begins at 7 a.m. with a $3 per person pancake breakfast and will last until 6 p.m., when the lodge raffles off a new 2003 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck, said Steve Bazar chairman of the event. Raffle tickets cost $1.

Bazar said the idea for the event grew once the lodge obtained the truck.

"We decided to have a great big, all-day event," he said.

Entry to the day's festivities is free, as is some of the entertainment, including music from local bands and a car show, Bazar said.

Organizers are expecting about 20 cars and 12 motorcycles to be displayed by area residents.

A barbecue lunch for $3 a person and barbecue dinner for $6 per person will also be served, he said.

All tickets can be purchased at the event.

In addition to the car show, there will be games such as a dunk tank and a hoops shoot area. There will also be a shopping area with local vendors, Bazar said.

The money raised will go toward the lodge's charitable donations, Bazar said. The 50-year-old Henderson lodge gives out hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to community groups including Boy Scouts of America, Youth Drug Awareness and Safe Haven, according to an Elks statement.

"This event gives us the opportunity to make the public aware of the many charities in our area that the Elks Lodge supports as well as bringing the community together for some great fun, food, entertainment and maybe a little networking," Dick DuPont the Exalted Ruler of the Lodge said in a statement.

Members of the lodge are expecting a good turnout and hope that this event will lead to larger events.

"The bigger they (events) are the more money we can give away," Bazaar said.

So far Bazar said the Elks have received positive feedback from the community. He said they have relied on donations from local businesses for additional raffle prizes.

These prizes included a dinner for two cruise on Lake Mead Cruises, dinner for two at the Fiesta Henderson buffet and a $40 gift certificate to Handy Palace, he said.

He added that raffle ticket sales for the truck, which is fire engine red, have covered the truck's cost and raised an additional $7,500.

Bazar said he hopes the event will show people what the Elks are all about.

"Come out and help the Elks help the community," he said.