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Derby Party to raise money for Emerald Mountain School’s Flexible Tuition fund

Emerald Mountain School will be hosting a Derby Party on Friday, May 3, at Rex’s American Grill & Bar. Grab your best hats, dresses or seersucker suits to celebrate the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby and raise funds for the school’s Flexible Tuition fund.
File photo

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — It’s finally May, which means spring flowers, sunshine and the running of the Kentucky Derby. Getting the Steamboat Springs derby celebration started is Emerald Mountain School.

On Friday, May 3, the school is hosting a Derby Party fundraiser at Rex’s American Grill & Bar. The event boasts food, drinks and a silent auction filled to the brim with items not typically found at other fundraisers around town.

According to Debbie Gooding, director of admissions and development at the school, each family whose child attends Emerald Mountain School is asked to donate an auction item, and each donation is as diverse as the families themselves. Available this year is a weeklong trip to the Hawaiian island of Kauai, a four-person climbing adventure led by an expert climber, tickets to a Colorado Rockies game on Father’s Day, Brazilian jiujitsu lessons, a two-day float trip along the Yampa River with Olympian Johnny Spillane and more.



The students at Emerald Mountain School also make handmade items, such as a birdhouse, a bench and a Lazy Susan made from beetle-killed trees. Gooding said some students even are donating other items for the auction, like a soccer camp taught by two students.

And if those items aren’t enough to draw you in, the Derby Party also will include a wine “pull.” A hundred donated bottles of wine, ranging from cheap to expensive, will be wrapped in brown paper bags and sold for $30 per bottle or $100 for four bottles. The fun is not knowing what you’ll end up with, Gooding said.



All of the money raised from the event will go directly to Emerald Mountain School’s Flexible Tuition fund. Based on financial need, the school is able to help families with the cost of tuition.

The Derby Party bursts out of the starting gates at 6:30 p.m. Tickets to attend are $50 and available from any Emerald Mountain School parent or by calling the school at 970-879-8081. Tickets also can be bought at the door.

To reach Mackenzie Hicks, call 970-871-4208, email mhicks@SteamboatPilot.com or follow her on Twitter @mackenzieshawna.


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