Lakeside, Somers full of activities this Saturday

Lakeside and Somers will be buzzing

with activity Saturday as the West Shore plays host to the 22nd

Annual Lakeside Community Club Fair, the 30th birthday celebration

of the Lakeside QRU. and the 14th Annual Somers Cajun Street

Dance.

The Lakeside Community Club, which

consists of about 120 women, performs community service projects in

Lakeside and around the West Shore and the surrounding areas. The

group is responsible for putting up the snowmen decorations in the

winter, known as frostys, and sets up the flower barrels beautify

the town in the warmer months.

The club also uses its work to help

other nonprofit groups and service agencies including the West

Shore Community Library, QRU, Rollins and Somers-Lakeside Fire

Departments, A.L.E.R.T., CASA, the West Shore Food Pantry,

R.S.V.P., Lucky the decoy patrol car, Flathead Shelter Friends and

the Somers School Big Creek Project. Each year organizations apply

for funds from the LCC to help with operating costs and other

direct needs. The LCC board reviews those applications and gives

money to those organizations with needs that, if filled, will

ultimately be the most direct help to West Shore residence.

The fair is the group’s main source of

income for making these donations.

“It’s our biggest fundraiser of the

year so we devote a lot of time to it,” said Dody Sheremeta, who

has been a member of the club for five years. “We do it because we

want to help the local nonprofit groups that do so much for all of

us.”

Last year $30,000 was raised at the

fair.

“All of that money we give back to the

community,” Sheremeta said.

The club is able to raise that sizeable

amount of money by making the fair an event that has multiple

draws.

“It is a lot of fun. There really truly

is something for everyone, especially this year,” Sheremeta

said.

The fair starts off with a pancake

breakfast from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Lakeside Community

Chapel.

The annual 5K race starts at 9 a.m. at

Volunteer Park. Those interested in participating in the race can

register starting at 7:45 a.m. at the park.

The rest of the fair gets going at 9

a.m. as well. That’s when Attic Treasures opens, which Sheremeta

described as a “glorified garage sale” at which the items are

“cleaned up, displayed nicely and priced well.” Also at this time,

the bake sale and silent auction will begin.

“Our bake sale is very popular,”

Sheremeta said. “It’s a huge sale and everyone in the club usually

bakes at least one or two items for it.”

The arts and crafts vendors will sell

their wares from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the children’s silent auction

will open at 9 a.m. too. That auction runs until 1 p.m. with half

hour closings throughout the day.

“It’s an all-day family-friendly even,”

said Kay Hopkins, president of the Lakeside Community Club.

“There’s no admission fee to any of the things we’re putting on,

there’s something all day long and something for everyone. It’s a

family event and it’s also a great event for collectors and for

bargain hunters.”

The annual parade is back this year

after being eliminated from the fair last year due to it causing

traffic problems

“They’ve given it some extra thought

and planned it differently with some changes to the route,”

Sheremeta said. “We didn’t realize how much it was missed until we

took it away.”

Those who would like to be in the

parade need to line up at 10 a.m. on Bierney Creek Road. The parade

will begin at 11 a.m.

Pre-registration is not required, but

it is encouraged that those interested in being in the parade

contact Ron Hopkins (844-3425), Jere Newell (844-3848) or Rudy

Heinle 844-2176 prior to Saturday.

Sheremeta said they worked to make this

year’s fair more kid friendly, which they will work to accomplish

with a treasure hunt from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and a watermelon

eating contest at 1 p.m.

The silent auction that is open to all

ages will close at 2 p.m., the split the pot drawing will be held

at 2:30 p.m. and Attic Treasures will close at 3 p.m. The final

event of the Lakeside Community Club Fair will be the duck races at

Tamarack Brewing Company at 4 p.m.

“We can’t thank the community enough

for everything that they do to make this event such a success every

year,” Hopkins said. “We are so thankful for their support all year

with giving us donations for the Attic Treasures sale and the

silent auctions, and for their attendance on the day of the event.

It is their support that allows us to have this event each

year.”

The events for the fair will be

centered around Lakeside Elementary School. For more information

visit www.lakeside-community-mt.com.

A big birthday

This year’s fair is going to be an even

bigger party as the Lakeside QRU celebrates 30 years of service in

the community on Saturday as well.

Members of the community are invited to

stop by the new QRU building, located on Bills Road, from 10 a.m.

to 5 p.m. for cake and ice cream and tours of the building and the

ambulances. The commemorative floor tiles that were sold this

winter as a fundraiser will also be on display.

While not a requirement of attending

the event, guests are encouraged to bring a birthday present to the

QRU in the form of a cash donation. A birthday invitation was sent

out to 2,000 households in the QRU’s coverage area that included

the opportunity to donate $3, $30, $300 or $3,000 to the Lakeside

ambulance organization. The group is still working to raise money

for the new building, which will need about another $30,000 to

complete.

The Lakeside QRU holds an annual

fundraiser in December and January, and this year the group brought

in $117,000 with it to help with construction and other needs.

“We really want to offer a special

thanks to the people that contributed,” said QRU member Gene

Shellerud. “We are very thankful to those people who have

donated.”

The QRU’s newest fundraiser is the

raffling off of a large bronze statue of a Native American buffalo

hunt that is valued at around $25,000 and was donated to help the

organization. They are selling 100 raffle tickets at $1,000 apiece

for the statue, which is currently on display at Glacier Bank in

Lakeside.

Shellerud noted that the birthday party

will also be a celebration of 30 years of service at the Lakeside

QRU for two founding members who are still a part of the unit —

Mary Granger and Carol Curry.

Last year the Lakeside QRU responded to

over 230 calls and this year they have already responded to over

120 calls, according to Shellerud.

Cajun party

The 14th Annual Somers Cajun Street

Dance is set to take place Saturday.

The gates will open at 6 p.m. and the

show starts at 7 p.m. with the Smokehouse Blues Band followed by

headliner Dikki Du and the Zydeco Krewe, from Louisiana.

Dikki Du and the Zydeco Krewe is

fronted by Troy Carrier. Troy is the younger brother of Chubbie

Carrier, who headlined the first Somers Cajun Street Dance in

1997.

The Carrier family, Zydeco royalty

headed by patriarch Roy Carrier, is noted for its tradition and

history.

Troy, who is the youngest brother, is

joined by other family members in the band and brings a new twist

to the Zydeco groove.

The Smokehouse Blues Band, a local

Flathead Valley band, is rapidly growing in popularity as the group

has been playing festivals and club dates all over the region.

The Somers Cajun Street Dance, which is

a fundraiser for the Somers Volunteer Fire Department, is family

friendly and is host to a variety of food vendors.

The cost is $20 at the gate and

children under 12 get in free.

For more information on the street

dance call 857-3119 or 857-3351.

To learn more about the Dikki Du and

the Zydeco Krewe, visit www.dikkidu.webs.com.