Run/walk part of Cloverdale park effort

The Cloverdale Civic League is sponsoring a major fundraiser for the Cloverdale Community Park next weekend.

The Oct. 20 events, which include a run/walk and a motorcycle ride, are part of the Civic League's two-year campaign to raise $70,000 for a three-phase park renovation, said League President Angela Ladd.

A ribbon cutting ceremony later in the day will officially commemorate the opening of the soccer fields at the park.

About three dozen people attended the dedication of the Cloverdale Community Park's log cabin Saturday morning. Participants enjoyed doughnut and apple juice as they toured the home and learned about its history and work volunteers put in to bring the historic structure to Cloverdale.

Festivities begin with the two-mile "Paces for the Patch" run and walk. Registration for the event begins at 8 a.m. in the Cloverdale Middle School parking lot and costs $20 per person. Children 10 and younger are free. The first 50 participants receive a free t-shirt.

For more information or to pre-register, call Lori Halloran at 795-4027.

Registration for the next event, a motorcycle ride, begins at 11 a.m. at the park. The 160-mile trip will take riders from Cloverdale to Terre Haute, then south through Jasonville and Linton then to Bloomfield and Bloomington and north through Spencer.

The cost for the ride is $25 for each driver and $15 for each passenger. For an additional $5, participants can compete in a poker run along the way.

For more information, contact Michelle Zimmerman at 795-3997.

Then, at 4 p.m., a ribbon cutting and hog roast will help the civic league officially open the new Davis Fields.

The band Bits and Pieces begins performing at 6:30 p.m.

Kids' games also highlight the event.

Families planning to stay for the concert should bring their own blankets and lawn chairs.

Parking space will be available at the Cloverdale Middle School. Hay wagons will shuttle participants between the park and their cars.

Anyone wanting to sell food and handicrafts at the event can purchase a booth for $15. Call Zimmerman to reserve space.

Ladd said she is hoping for about 100 walkers and 300 riders to show up. Her goal is to raise about $6,000 for the park.

The installation of the soccer fields, as well as a facelift for the park, was the first phase of the two-year park improvement plan.

The Civic League hopes to bring new playground equipment to the park in May for the second phase of the renovation.

The final phase is the installation of paved walking paths, which is slated for late summer, Ladd said.

So far, the Civic League has raised more than one third of its $70,000 goal.

The new work on the park is important because it will give the residents of Cloverdale a place to come together, said Park Board President Ron Jones.

"It's something that the whole community can use," he said.