The Voice of Valpo was crowned at an exciting night in the park this past Saturday. The Party in the Park was an overall success, with over 200 in attendance and over $50,000 raised for the Valpo Parks Foundation, money that will benefit the very locale where the event was hosted. "Butterfly Meadow Park is one of the most popular spots in town for young families with children," shared Parks Director John Seibert. "Every year we host thousands of people at this facility and the most requested amenity is shade. The funds raised Saturday will be used to build two shelters at Butterfly Meadow Park to fulfill this need, and we couldn’t be more pleased with how everything turned out."
Thanks to the hard work of so many putting in hours upon hours planning this unique and fun event: Dr. Jerry and Julie for being hosts for the evening; Christy, Barbie, John and Dan from the Parks Department for making everything go smooth; Mark Ritzi, Mary DeBoer, Andy Urschel, and Carol Costakis, four folks willing to undergo the scrutiny of lights and camera and share their loss with the public for a great cause; Kurt Gillins, Amy Hubbard, Daniel Doss, and Stephanie Kaim, four singers that gave great performances; Strongbow for providing excellent catering on a hot night; and to the judges for playing their part to the fullest and making it a fun evening.
The highlight of my night was definitely the musical love shared on stage between Mark Ritzi and Dr. Jerry, who performed a stunning rendition of Sonny and Cher’s "I Got You Babe" and Hank Williams "Hey Good Lookin’."
"Thanks to our very talented volunteer singers, the amazing people at the Parks Department, and our wonderful committee, the evening was a huge success," said Julie Douglas, member of the Valpo Parks Foundation board. "When we first started thinking about the event, we couldn’t even have imagined it would turn out to be as great as it was. We are so thankful for the tremendous support from the community, both in sponsorships and attendance."
Julie also added: "In the words of Pat Bodensteiner, dancing queen of the evening, ‘I haven’t had that much fun at an event in a long time.’ I don’t think she was just saying that for my benefit!"
The night concluded with Amy Hubbard named Valpo’s Voice, as nearly $2,000 was raised in support of the singers. The group of four came together to perform the song "Home", a touching end to a night of entertainment.
Without the sponsors, this event would not have been a success so thanks to all that supported this event:
- Porter Regional Hospital- Presenting Sponsor
- Urschel Laboratories- Presenting Sponsor
- Growing Kids Learning Centers
- UFS Corporation
- Task Force Tips
- Vale Park Animal Hospital and Jerry & Linda Rodenbarger
- North Coast Distributing
- Horizon Bank
- C.S.I.
- Family Express
- Giving Focus
- Gariup Construction
- Design Organization
- Parkreation Inc.
- Frontier Communications
- Ozinga Ready Mix
- Ivan and Pat Bodensteiner
- Citizens Financial Bank
For more photos of the event, click here! To learn more about the Parks Foundation and support their efforts, visit the website here.
Below are the Valpo Voice contestants who didn't make the final cut!
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