Pumpkins Palooza prep is in full bloom! Last week's Painting Pumpkins Kick Off brought together teams of talented local artists, Rotarians, family, and friends for an afternoon of creativity — and the results speak for themselves. We have some genuinely fabulous painted pumpkins in the works, and it shows what happens when this club puts its heart (and paintbrushes) into a project.
Now it's time for the next step: our Painted Pumpkin Scavenger Hunt kicks off Thursday and runs October 1–15. To make that happen, we need your painted pumpkins in hand by early Wednesday, September 30, so our delivery team can get them out to local businesses on Wednesday and Thursday, complete with our displays and flyers. If we don't have yours yet, please contact Cathy or Robin to coordinate getting them to us — we don't want a single pumpkin left behind.
In other news, President Andrea had a wonderful outing this past weekend: she was welcomed by the Giardina family, owners of the Golden Era in Nevada City, to take part in their Dolly Parton Day celebration on September 25th. While there, she shared information about our Imagination Library program, collected some generous community donations, and even got to lead and judge the Dolly Parton lookalike contest — reportedly a very tough decision because our community showed up in droves to express their love for Dolly!
Looking ahead, we're excited to welcome Safari Davis as our speaker this coming week. Safari is the young woman our club sponsored to attend RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) camp, and she'll be sharing her experience with us firsthand. For anyone unfamiliar, RYLA is Rotary's leadership development program for young people, typically ages 14–18, built around a multi-day retreat or camp experience focused on leadership, citizenship, and personal growth. It's always a treat to hear directly from the students we've invested in — don't miss it.
2nd ANNUAL PUMPKINS PALOOZA FAMILY CELEBRATION and PAINTED PUMPKINS SCAVENGER HUNT
Pumpkins start popping up around town this Thursday! Between Painted Pumpkins Scavenger Hunt October 1 - 15, have fun scouting the town for your favorite pumpkins ~ take a friend along and then come prepared to bid on it at our Pumpkins Palooza Family Celebration October 15! Just of a few in the works:
Taste of the Town Restaurant Raffle
New this year, we are bringing back our popular Taste of the Town Restaurant Raffle! Chances to win just multiplied! Grand prize is 10 local $100 restaurant certificates ~ a $1,000 value! Plus, drawings for smaller packages offer more chances to win!
Only 100 tickets will be sold at $100 each and terrific odds to win! Tickets are now on sale by Nevada City Rotary Club members and will be available at the event. Contact Tom Ryan or Robin for tickets.
Rotarians, the purchaser keeps the larger ticket section which also serves as an event ticket for 2 adults. Please return the stubs to either Tom Ryan or Robin.
We have 18 fabulous local restaurants participating! The Palooza team is continuing to collect $100 certificates from favorite local restaurants. Contact Tom Ryan for specific restaurants if you can help solicit. The Rotarian who comes up with the most $100 certificates wins a free raffle ticket!
See Robin if you want more tickets to sell!
We have a beautiful batch of pumpkins from the Haunted Pumpkin Patch are harvesting our pumpkins at Bakbraken Acres! Check with Tom Ryan to help with the harvesting!
Board Meetings are held on the second Monday of the month. Our next Board meeting is October 12 at 5:30pm via Zoom with President Andrea leading us.
Not a Board member but want to join us? Contact Robin or reply to this Rotario for instructions. All club members are encouraged to attend a meeting. Location/schedule is subject to change, please ask.
In other news, President Andrea had a wonderful outing this past weekend: she was welcomed by the Giardina family, owners of the Golden Era in Nevada City, to take part in their Dolly Parton Day celebration on September 25th. While there, she shared information about our Imagination Library program, collected some generous community donations, and even got to lead and judge the Dolly Parton lookalike contest — reportedly a very tough decision because our community showed up in droves to express their love for Dolly! 
