Cape Gazette Run & Fun Fest to benefit Harry K Foundation May 11
The Cape Gazette’s 2nd Annual Run & Fun Fest to benefit the Harry K Foundation is set for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, May 11, throughout Nassau Commons west of Lewes.
The day of community engagement and family fun for all kicks off with the Seashore Striders Cape Gazette 5K run through Nassau Valley Vineyards and a portion of the Lewes-Georgetown Trail, and continues during the afternoon with an all-day festival sponsored by Artesian, Patio Systems, ChristianaCare and a growing list of local business supporters.
Attendees can relax in the beer garden with brews from Dewey Beer Co., Big Oyster Brewery, Mispillion River Brewing, Crooked Hammock Brewery and Brick Works; play in Shoot Your Shot, an all-ages basketball free-throw contest hosted by Factory Sports; register to play in an offsite mixed-doubles pickleball tournament hosted by Dave Marshall Tennis & Pickleball Center; and grab a bite from a variety of food trucks.
Younger guests will enjoy an on-site petting zoo and pony rides, touch-a-truck, make-and-take kids crafts and more family fun.
Live musical entertainment will feature Kyle Offidani and Spokey Speaky. Visitors can browse a selection of handmade goods in the maker’s market featuring local artisans and crafters selling their wares.
“In addition to offering a fun-filled day for the community, the day’s festivities will also provide support to the Harry K Foundation,” said Tara Marks, event director. “We are so proud to be serving this great community, and hosting this event gives us not only an opportunity to engage with our readers, but also to share in that experience while raising money to help alleviate food insecurity for the children of Delaware. We were absolutely thrilled with the success of last year’s inaugural event, and we’re so excited to bring it back with some newly added components. It’s going to be a great time."
Awards and post-run festivities directly follow the race. Runners will receive a T-shirt, beer ticket presented by Crooked Hammock, and refreshments presented by Redner’s Fresh Market.
New this year is the mixed doubles pickleball tournament beginning at 11:30 a.m. at Dave Marshall Tennis & Pickleball, which will offer competitive opportunities to players of a variety of abilities in a round-robin format. All brackets will be for coed teams consisting of one male and one female player. There will be multiple brackets, 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 divisions. To allow for the most amount of competitive games played per team within ages and levels of play, bracket draws will be determined when registration closes. Space is limited to the first 40 teams (80 players). Pickleball play will conclude with a gold, silver and bronze medal ceremony. Registration includes an event T-shirt and two beer tickets to the festival beer garden for post-tournament refreshment.
The Factory will host another new offering for this year’s event, open to ballers young and old: a shootout competition for eight age/gender groups (boys/girls 12 and under, boys/girls 13-17, men/women 18-30, men/women 31-99). Awards will be given to the top three shooters in each division. Participants will receive an event T-shirt, and registration includes 30 minutes of open gym time.
To find registration links for the 5K race, basketball shootout and pickleball tournament, go to runandfunfest.com. All are welcome to attend, whether they are registered in an event or not.
The event entrance will be located at Nassau Commons Boulevard near Redner’s Fresh Market. There will be plenty of available parking, with signage and traffic attendants to direct attendees. This is a rain-or-shine event.
