GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- A family-friendly event Saturday night in Richmond Park will raise funds to support stewardship of Grand Rapids' parks and trails.
The "Love Your Parks: A Night Out with Friends" will run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The executive director of the nonprofit Friends of Grand Rapids Parks, Stacy Bare, said on West Michigan's Morning News they're trying to raise enough money to receive a $50,000 matching gift from a private donor.
"We're about $15,000 short of that goal. And once we reach that goal, we'll be able to complete a multi-use trail system around Four Mile (Road) and Ball Perkins (Park)," Bare said.
Ball Perkins Park is an 80-acre greenspace at 1675 Perkins Ave. NE. The city purchased 38 acres of the land in 1990 and another 48 acres in 2002, with support from the Wege Foundation. A 0.65-mile natural walking path was installed in the park in 2016.
Grand Rapids Parks & Recreation says new mountain bike trails are planned for the north portion of the park. The paths would be singletrack natural surface trails that are the width of a single bike and designed to have minimal impact on vegetation and erosion.
Love Your Parks will run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at Richmond Park. There will be food, drinks, entertainment, raffle prizes, and fire-side chats with the Friends team. Tickets are available through Friends of Grand Rapids Parks.
The price is $75 per ticket, with a 15-percent discount if you purchase two or more.
"We'll have three different stations. People can learn about our different projects. They can roast s'mores, we'll have fire dancers, ax throwing. And there's a big, heated tented. So, people can warm up inside the tent, hang out in there. We have a deejay, a couple food trucks and local craft drinks and craft beers," Bare said.
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