Only eight days to Lions picnic in the park benefit for new band shell

On Thursday, August 18 the Tupper Lake Lions Club is inviting everyone in the community to join them for a picnic in the Flander's Park for a good time for a good cause: the new band shell envisioned for the Raquette Pond shoreline.
Working alongside the Lions that evening will be the volunteers from the Tupper Lake Veterans of Foreign Wars post.
The Lions will prepare and donate allthe food- picnic fare of barbecue chicken, the Lions famous hotdogs and hamburgers, smothered, if diners wish, with Lions onions and an assortment of tasty salads.  The veterans will be serving adult refreshments (one of which comes with every $25 single ticket, and two with a $40 couples' ticket) and will likely have some of their games of chance tickets for sale in their mobile unit that evening.  The organizers promise to have lots of beer and wine for sale at the VFW's bargain basement prices.
Organizers are hoping for good weather and perhaps an extension of this summer's great run of warm evenings and sunshine.  If they don’t materialize, however, a rain date of Friday, August 19 has been selected.
There's going to be all sorts of games for picnic-goers to play: bean bag toss, horseshoes, Texas horseshoes.  A bon fire is also planned.
Several different entertainers will perform under LeRoy and Trudy Pickering's big tent.  George and Liz Cordes have promised to start things out for the Lions with some popular dinner tunes.  Popular entertainers Ben McClelland and Jay Martin will carry the crowd through the evening with their repertoire of seventies-style music, which is familiar to the older crowd here.
It ought to be an evening of great music.
To make sure every member of the family can attend the party in the park, the Lions are feeding children 12 years of age and under free that night.
All proceeds from the event will become the start of the seed money the village needs to built its new bandshell in Flander's Park.  The Lions Club intends to build it or the lion's share of it, excuse the pun.
Tickets may be purchased in advance at the Free Press office, the chamber headquarters on Park Street or at the village office.  Tickets are also available from members of the Lion's Club.  Tickets will also be on sale there that evening.
The event begins at 6p.m. with serving to begin minutes after the start and continuing until all are fed.
“We're hoping the community will join us for this initial fundraiser for the new performing shell here,” Lions President Dan McClelland noted this week.
“If things go well this week and at several other benefits the village committee is looking at this fall and winter, Tupper Lake could be home to concerts in the park and other acts ona regular basis as early as next summer,” stated the newspaper publisher.