Flower Mound Rotary will light up the night

Bring your running shoes and appetite to a community-wide family friendly event set for Saturday, Oct. 19, at Heritage Park in Flower Mound.

Hosted by the Flower Mound Rotary Club and sponsored in part by The Cross Timbers Gazette, this first ever Neon Night 5K and Festival offers something for everyone and also celebrates the first anniversary of the park.

All proceeds from the event will be distributed by the Flower Mound Rotary Club to local non-profit organizations.

At 3 p.m. on Oct. 19, a washer tournament will kick off the fun, and the first of three live bands starts playing an hour later. There will be food, a beer garden, a Fun Run and a 5K, and the kids can play in the park. 

“It truly is a family friendly community event,” said Rotarian and event co-chair Lori Fickling.

The Fun Run starts at 6 p.m. followed by the “Neon Night 5K” at 6:30 p.m. Fickling invites everyone to come have fun and experience something magical and different while lighting up the streets of Flower Mound.

“Each participant receives a glow necklace, t-shirt, and reflectors.  Look the part! If it is bright-colored, blinks, shines, or glows, it’s perfect! Put it on and come celebrate!” 

Registration for the 5K through Oct. 15 is $20 for ages 19 and under and $30 for ages 20 and over. Registration for the Fun Run is $15 per person for any age, also through Oct. 15, and the cost will go up after that date. Although pre-registration is suggested, you can come out and register the day of the event.

Flower Mound Rotary President James Benton said club members have been discussing putting on an event like this for three or four years.

“We’ve had a feeling that we needed to have a family friendly community event. We talked about doing a Fun Run, we talked about having an event with live music, and we’ve talked about having a food-related event,” said Benton. “Then we decided that all those things we’ve talked about doing, let’s just do them all at once. Let’s just hit this!”

Bands will play before and after the 5K, and include April Made, Big City Outlaws and New Ground.

Each year, the club presents grants to groups in the community, and in 2013 the club was able to give away $40,000 to 14 local non-profits like Denton County Friends of the Family and the Cross Timbers Family YMCA. The grants ranged from $1,000 to $10,000.

Flower Mound Rotary Club members hope you’ll come out, join the fun, and help others at the same time.

For more information or to register for the race, visit www.fmrotaryfest.com.

The Flower Mound Rotary Club meets each Thursday at noon at Salerno’s Restaurant, 3407 Long Prairie Rd. in Flower Mound, and anyone interested in joining or learning more about Rotary is invited to a club meeting.