Lakeside club embarks on unique fundraiser
Lynnette Hintze / Daily Inter Lake | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 years, 5 months AGO
<p>From left: Deb Newell, Kathy Demler, Noelle Birkey and Heather Dennis add puzzle pieces to the seat of a chair they are refurbishing as part of the Lakeside Community Club project “Chair-ish Our Community” on Wednesday, June 15, east of Kalispell. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Sue Birkey, fair chairwoman, and members of the Lakeside Community Club, paint chairs for the 27th annual Lakeside Community Fair. More than 40 chairs are being refurbished. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Painting supplies abound at the home of Lana Lackey as she and members from the Lakeside Community Club gather to work together on refurbishing chairs for their “Chair-ish Our Community” project on Wednesday, July 15. The chairs will be featured at the 27th annual Lakeside Community Fair. More than 40 chairs are being refurbished. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Noelle Birkey spray paints a chair for the “Chair-ish Our Community” project. Birkey is the daughter of Lakeside Community Fair Chairwoman Sue Birkey. She is in town visiting from Portland. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Heather Dennis cleans a chair for the “Chair-ish Our Community” project. Dennis is the daughter of Lakeside Community Fair Chairwoman Sue Birkey. She is in town visiting from the San Francisco Bay area. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Painting supplies abound at the home of Lana Lackey as she and members from the Lakeside Community Club gather to work together on refurbishing chairs for their “Chair-ish Our Community” project on Wednesday, July 15. The chairs will be featured at the 27th annual Lakeside Community Fair. More than 40 chairs are being refurbished. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
Chairs of all sizes and shapes are finding new life in Lakeside.
The Lakeside Community Club has embarked on a project called “Chair-ish Our Community” that aims to raise money to help a variety of nonprofit organizations in Lakeside and throughout the Flathead Valley.
Forty volunteers are refurbishing and decorating chairs that will be featured at the 27th annual Lakeside Community Fair on July 9.
“To generate money, people are taking chairs and recycling or upcycling them. All of these wonderful chairs will be for sale at the event,” said Launa Lackey, chairwoman of the chair project. “Different mediums are being used, like decoupage and paint.”
Some of the chairs will be sold during a live auction at 1 p.m. on fair day; others will be part of a silent auction and a few will be priced outright for the attic treasures sale.
The Lakeside Community Fair has become the social event of the season in the community on Flathead Lake’s west shore. There’s a parade at 11 a.m.; a children’s zone from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. featuring crafts, mini golf, free snow cones and inflatable toys; and the ever-popular attic treasures sale and auctions.
“Last year we netted $27,000 that goes back to the community through an application process,” Lackey said.
First organized in 1909 by a group of 10 homestead wives in the Lakeside community, the club’s mission has evolved to support West Shore and Flathead Valley organizations, charities and services.