Denver Days 2013 ended Saturday night, and I think this has to be one of the best yet! The crowds were large Wednesday and Thursday evenings for the students to pay one price and ride all night long! The Denver Lake Norman Rotary Club sponsors Denver Days, and had a fund-raising cookout – must have been decent food since we sold out both nights!
We had good music all three nights and for those who had not heard Jim Quick and Coastline (Saturday night), they were treated to some awesome music and a great show by Jim! Gonna have to have them back at a future Denver Days! Thank you also to Chosen Rejects, Treehouse and Bob May for great music and entertainment.
This was the 11th annual Denver Days, and the Denver Days Board looks for suggestions to make 2014 even better. Suggestions come from the Board and from the Rotary Club, and we would love suggestions from you! Anything you feel should be continued, anything you feel should be started or stopped or any changes please let us know. You can post or email info@denverdays.com.
The Denver Lake Norman Rotary Club has managed Denver Days for the last 3 years, with 100% of the net revenue going directly to the “East Lincoln Rescue Park” and we should be ready to have a ground breaking for the park toward the end of this year or the first of 2014. By coming and having fun at Denver Days, you are helping the park construction! Now, isn’t that a great deal?
Thanks to everyone who came and had a good time. Thanks for the Special Needs Kids who had a great time Thursday afternoon. Thanks to the bands, all the vendors and businesses, the sponsors, advertisers and all the volunteers who made this happen!
It’s time to start planning for 2014, and time for your suggestions. We would love to hear from you!
The Denver Lake Norman Rotary Club welcome tent is your entrance to the midway and rides, where you can ask questions and get information about Denver Days, the park or directions to the best rides. Our Rotary Club is proud to host Denver Days for the 4th year, with our goal to make your visit enjoyable.
Rotary will have special events going on throughout Denver Days and hope you will participate:
1. Wednesday and Thursday evening cookout! Come for dinner! We’re cooking burgers, hot dogs and brats and plus all the fixins for you! The grill will be hot and ready by 5 PM, prices will be reasonable, and we know our cooks will do such a good job that you will come back the next night! Wednesday and Thursday only!
2. Half and half nightly drawing, and the winning ticket each night receives half the “pot” if your ticket is drawn! Buy as many tickets as you want, $1.00 each, and then hope you hold the lucky ticket when the drawing is held at 9 PM nightly. Pretty easy, huh? The more tickets you buy, the better your chance of winning. The winner each night will be announced at the entertainment stage, and you must be present to win.
3. Silent Auction both Friday and Saturday nights. Lots of nice items, so place your bid and hope you have the winning bid at 10 PM when the tables close. All items are donated so while buying something nice for you or as a gift, you help us to support our many projects. Restaurant coupons, automotive and marine services, lots of selections. No minimum bid, but check back often. Do not need to be present to win.
All proceeds from the Rotary tent will help support our local and international projects; these are listed on the Rotary Club page or you may visit denverlakenormanrotary.com for more information.
If you are interested in joining our Rotary Club, just stop one of the Rotarians wearing a white knit shirt with the Rotary seal emblem and let’s talk. Our club is very active and is made up of people who want to make our community and our world better and we know that, working together we can accomplish so much more than as individuals.
FREE Concert by JIM QUICK & COASTLINE at Denver Days 2013. The swamp boy was raised just east of the Carolina Sandhills and has an upbringing surrounded by soul. From the roots of black gospel to the hard-hitting vocals of the 60s, Jim’s sound is reminiscent of Mussel Shoals yet has a distinct character like no other. On stage, his showmanship is second to none and recognized time and time again from The Carolina Music Awards by winning “Entertainer Of The Year” more than anyone. Quick’s been touring the Southeast US for more than 15 years, playing nearly 300 shows per year, and has released more than 11 albums including his newest, DOWN SOUTH.
Originally introducing their music as the Coastline Band, a band of friends who played the Carolina beach bars day in and day out,—the group pushed Quick to the forefront and naturally transformed into Jim Quick & Coastline.
See all the free entertainment at http://www.denverdays.com
Monday, September 23th, start watching for changes to “downtown Denver” as Cole Rides from Virginia starts putting up the amusement rides, bringing in the cotton candy, ice cream vendors, and all sorts of games. Yes, I know, for many people watching an amusement park being put together is not very exciting; but it is interesting to watch. We have worked with Cole Rides for several years; they have had a lot of experience and it just all goes together. All the rides are inspected prior to any riders; safety is of the utmost importance with Cole!
The 2013 festival will again be in the same location, right at the heart of Denver. Thanks again to the Callaway, Owens and Carswell families, for allowing the use of their land for Denver Days. It is a pleasure for the Denver Days Board and volunteers to work with these community-minded citizens like these folks. Thank you!
Wednesday, Sept. 25th at 4 PM, the 11th annual Denver Days opens ! The first two nights, the rides will be open (students get your “all rides for one price” bracelet), along with the low-calorie offerings of cotton candy, dipped ice cream, popcorn, plus the games of chance, and we are adding a special cookout Wednesday and Thursday, hosted by Denver Lake Norman Rotary. Peoples Bank is bringing their cooker and I am told we have some phenomenal burgers, dogs and brats! You will go right through the Rotary tent, so if hungry just stop!
Looking at Denver Days from a member of the club that works to put it on, this festival could not happen year to year without a lot of volunteer work, and the desire to keep Denver Days growing. Cole Rides makes it easy for us: The more tickets they sell this year, and the more profit they make, the more rides they will bring next year. The Rotary Club is responsible for everything from parking to helping load the equipment for the bands. If you have a question or need any help, please ask anyone with a Rotary shirt on; our job is to make sure you enjoy Denver Days.
Our food vendors, businesses and craft/jewelry vendors will be setting up Friday afternoon and the corner of Hwy. 16 Business and St. James Church Road becomes a small town. We have a wide variety of food and a nice place to eat and enjoy the bands, and according to my wife, the vendors have GREAT deals on jewelry, pottery, pocketbooks and much more! Come visit our local business owners, get your blood pressure checked, buy some Christmas gifts or just say Hi to those who paid to set up a tent space and support our local festival.
Most importantly, ALL net proceeds from vendors, advertisers, sponsors and a percentage of the rides will be earmarked for construction of the planned “East Lincoln Rescue Park” which hopefully will be started late this year.
We will love to see you at Denver Days 2013!
We are putting the finishing touches on the 2013 Denver Days Information Booklet, to be distributed to area businesses. This includes information about Denver Days, a festival map to help you get around, information on the bands, updates on the East Lincoln Rescue Park and other community projects that your local Rotary Club is working on.
If you have interest in supporting the booklet, please let us know! Advertising rates are $250 for a business card ad and $400 for a quarter page. This is a full-color publication and you will be proud to be a part! Email us at publicity@denverdays.com
Saturday, June 1st was the 6th annual “Day at the Lake” and it was a success! This started in 2008 as an outing for the foster kids and their families from Lincoln County and has been expanded every year so that this year, we hosted the foster kids and families from Lincoln and Catawba Counties, a Communities in Schools program where this day was the incentive, a couple group homes and about 30 Montagnard children and their leaders.
This day is made possible through volunteers from the Denver Lake Norman Rotary Club, and hosted at Bob Hecht’s house in eastern Lincoln County, by Bob, Linda and their daughter Nicole, and we could not tell who had more fun, the kids and families or the hosts!
The schedule was shown from 10 AM to 5 PM, but the carloads started arriving about 9:40 AM. We heard one story where the three foster kids in one house got up Saturday morning, did all their chores, then went in to wake up their foster parents to tell them it was time to go! The kids look forward to this one day for months; last year the younger children had a “paper chain” and every morning they tore off a link in the chain so they would know just how many days were left.
All the week prior, kids asked their parents “is today Saturday yet?” and they were ready for the day! The kids could learn to ski, take a pontoon boat ride on the lake, go fishing, swim in the pool or play on the beach or ride down the huge inflatable slide into the slide pool. Lunch was burgers and hot dogs and the last count was 100 lbs burger and close to 200 hot dogs – with nothing left!
To work on a day like this, where your hard work is rewarded by all the smiles, and kids (and adults) coming to say “Thank You” and asking if we will do this again next year! 
Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make the 2012 edition of Denver Days such a success! Yes, we had rain here and there on Friday and Saturday, but Wednesday and Thursday each were the best attended two weekdays since Cole Rides have been a part. Wednesday and Thursday looked just like a small version of a county fair, with rides going nonstop, games were played, food lines were long and everyone had a great time!
No, we did not make a huge amount of money for the “East Lincoln Rescue Park” but we are going to be able to contribute some, and the park project is looking great for maybe a ground-breaking this Spring. Check www.denverlakenormanrotary.com for updates as we get closer to starting.
Thanks to all the vendors who took the time to make the commitment; we appreciate your being here and hope your Denver Days was successful also. The bands Thursday, Friday and Saturday did a great job, and the Special Needs Kids Day Thursday afternoon was really a “special” day with 190 kids and adults coming out to enjoy Denver Days. Many thanks to Rhonda Harrill and Rock Springs Elementary School for such a great place, and to the land owners, Dwight and Kay Callaway, Jason and Amanda Owens, Allen and Evelyn Carswell!
We have photos posted on the main website page of www.denverdays.com, just click to take a look.
Planning has started for Denver Days 2013 and we hope to see you the end of next September. Any questions, comments or suggestions, please look at the contact list below and send an email to the area you are interested in.
Thanks to the Denver Lake Norman Rotary Club for assuming responsibility for Denver Days. This was our 3rd festival and we think our best!
Student Coupon for Denver Days 2012
Denver Days AND ColeRides.com offers a discount coupon for Wednesday and Thursday night, where you can pay just one price and ride all the rides from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The coupon gives you $2.00 off the one-price admission of $20. This discount and all-you-can-ride bracelets apply on Wednesday and Thursday nights from 5PM until closing, and students only. Sounds like a busy couple of nights to me!
Print the student coupon here
http://www.denverlakenormanrotary.com/images/denverdaysstudentcoupon.pdf
9/18/12 Spearheaded by the Denver Lake Norman Rotary Club Foundation, the East Lincoln Rescue Park project is moving along and getting closer to our ground breaking. Our final master plan has been approved and we have about 50% of the funds necessary for phase one.
The East Lincoln Rescue Squad served eastern Lincoln County from 1977 through 2009, and was an all-volunteer organization with dedicated individuals giving of themselves for the community. The rescue squad services contract was not renewed, and the squad decided that the real estate owned by the squad and all equipment would be given back to the community who supported the squad through the years. The vehicles and equipment were distributed through the county with the building and land donated to the Rotary Club Foundation.
The construction of the new two-story Lincoln Charter Elementary School is on land purchased from the Foundation, as well as land adjoining Hwy. 16 for a second school entrance. The rescue squad building is currently on the market, priced at $340,000 and once that has been sold, phase one of the park can be started. The Rotary Club Foundation has leased 31 acres of land on Galway Lane, in front of the Lincoln Charter School and we are anxious to get started!
The park, when completed in its entirety will have two multi-purpose fields (soccer, lacrosse, football), a large open space for activities, multi-purpose shelter, amphitheater, playgrounds, picnic shelters, disc golf, walking trails and a dog park. Most exciting is that once completed, the park could serve as the permanent home for Denver Days. To date, the Rotary Club Foundation has invested a huge amount of time and is ready to begin Phase I, once funds are available.
The Denver Lake Norman Rotary Club Foundation is a non-profit corporation and has been approved for 501-c-3 status, so any monetary donation may be tax-deductible for you. Please see your CPA for deductibility, but if you have interest in making the park a reality, please contact Guy Cline at guy.cline@ubs.com. Please visit http://www.denverlakenormanrotary.com and click on the “park” button for periodic updates.
The proposed park is a cooperative effort between the Rotary Club Foundation and Lincoln County and is an example of how private and public can work together. All of us at the Denver Lake Norman Rotary Club are very proud to be a part of the park and are looking forward to the day when we can break ground and bring this park to you, our community.
Located at the entrance to the midway and rides, the Denver Lake Norman Rotary tent is where you can ask questions about Denver Days, the park or directions to the best rides. Our Rotary Club is proud to host Denver Days again this year, with our goal to make your visit enjoyable. We also have two special things going on and hope you will participate.
1. Half and half nightly drawing, and the winning ticket each night receives half the “pot” if your ticket is drawn! Buy as many tickets as you want, $1.00 each, and then hope you hold the lucky ticket when the drawing is held at 9 PM nightly. Pretty easy, huh? The more tickets you buy, the better your chance of winning. The winner each night will be announced at the entertainment stage, and you must be present to win.
2. Friday and Saturday, come get your “Half and Half” tickets, and participate in our silent auction, both at the Rotary tent. Lots of items to place a bid on, and all items are donated so when you have the winning bid, you take that item home and also help Rotary to support our many projects. Restaurant coupons, automotive and marine services, hardware and more. No minimum bid, but check by the bid tables often to see if you still have the highest bid. No need to be present to win. The silent auction tables will close at 10 PM Friday and Saturday nights.
All proceeds from the Rotary tent will help support our local and international projects; these are listed on the Rotary Club page or you may visit denverlakenormanrotary.com for more information.
If you are interested in joining our Rotary Club, just stop one of the Rotarians wearing a white knit shirt with the Rotary seal emblem and let’s talk. Our club is very active and is made up of people who want to make our community and our world better and we know that, working together we can accomplish so much more than as individuals.
Denver Lake Norman Rotary 