Ramped Up for Summer

This is a great time to get involved with Greater Park Hill Community (GPHC). We’ve just completed our first of three Family Bike Rides of the year, co-sponsored by the Bike Depot, and we have several exciting events coming up this summer. Our annual Garden Walk will be held on June 8th, offering an opportunity to glean landscaping ideas and to celebrate some of the many diverse and wonderful gardens tucked throughout Park Hill. July 4th will feature our annual and growing Independence Day parade along 23rd Avenue. It’s not too late for your block/group/school/church to sign up! March, skip, dance, or ride, the parade is a great way to show off your patriotic pride in your own backyard. See parkhillparade.org for more information, and thank you to Justin Bresler for organizing this fun annual event! I hope this year, you’ll stop by 23rd and Eudora during the parade to buy hotdogs in support of the GPHC emergency food pantry, sponsored by realtors Bridget Walsh and Louis Plachowski.
On Thursday, June 20th, we’ll host our first Park Hill Evening of the Arts fundraiser at the Greater Park Hill Community office, with its unique garden patio. For just $20 in advance, this creative evening offers two drinks (more available by donation), appetizers and desserts, while allowing an opportunity to see local artists at work, including performance painter Devin Montagne who will create a painting of the Denver skyline during the event. That piece will be raffled off (for additional ticket purchase), and you’ll have a chance to buy artwork from several area artists, who are donating a portion of their proceeds. This fundraiser will not only support GPHC’s food pantry program, but also GPHC’s general fund and outreach efforts that support you, as Park Hill residents, in a variety of ways. I’m very excited about this event, and hope you will join other GPHC supporters for an enjoyable one-of-a-kind art celebration. Thank you to organizers Shannon O’Connell, Melissa Davis and Roberta Locke, and our generous sponsors Johnson & Wales University, along with The Garden, Oblio’s Pizzeria, Cake Crumbs and Latke Love. Tickets may be purchased online at greaterparkhill.org or at the GPHC office at 2823 Fairfax St. Day-of tickets are $25.
All GPHC events are volunteer-driven, and all started with an idea germinated by a group of dedicated Park Hill residents. The efforts of our local volunteers, from those putting on our annual home tour (September 22nd this year) to those wanting to start up Park Hill’s own Viva Streets Ciclovia are greatly appreciated, and signify the passion that makes Park Hill so vibrant. I highly encourage you to learn more about opportunities for community involvement, and to share your ideas by attending our monthly community meetings (1st Thursday except July and December at 6:30pm). GPHC exists to serve you, but couldn’t exist without your energy and input. Please get involved as a block worker, Board member or event volunteer to help shape and celebrate the unique community in which we live. As we gear up for our twice-yearly membership drive, I hope you’ll also consider supporting our work with a membership gift of $25 or more to enable us to maintain and expand services. Thank you Park Hill!

Robyn Fishman is a Park Hill resident and the Executive Director of Greater Park Hill Community Inc. She can be reached at 303-388-0918 or director@greaterparkhill.org. Find GPHC on Facebook at facebook.com/GPHCDenver.