The St. John Cancer Fund is gearing up for three fundraising events in October, beginning Sunday at 10 a.m. with the Dinghy Poker Run, followed by the second annual Charity Golf Tournament on St. Thomas Oct. 17 and the third annual Save Second Base Block Party at Woody’s Seafood Saloon in Cruz Bay on Oct. 26.
“The St. John Cancer Fund provides monies for prevention, treatment and supportive services in the fight against cancer on behalf of the community of St John,” according to Mary Bartolucci, one of the organizers.
Registration for Sunday’s Dinghy Poker Run is all week at various St. John businesses. The fee is $25.
On Tuesday, register from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Barefoot Cowboy. Wednesday’s registration is from 5 to 7 p.m. at La Plancha del Mar Restaurant. Register from 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday at Woody’s. The Beach Bar hosts registration from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday. The final advance registration is at High Tide Restaurant from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday but if you’ve procrastinated, you can still register at High Tide at 9 a.m. Sunday.
According to organizer Kim Morris, any size boats, including rentals, can be used.
Those participating will sail or motor to four different boats moored on St. John’s north shore where they’ll pick up a marked playing card on moorings off Solomon Beach, at Henley Cay, at Caneel Bay and off Gibney Hawksnest Beach.
“They’ll be marked so people can’t cheat,” Morris said.
The skippers must return to High Tide between 1 and 2 p.m. to pick up the last card, and the boater with the best poker hand wins.
Morris said even people without boats can still play by buying cards at $5 each at High Tide. And she said those who drew crappy hands can buy replacement cards at $5 a pop.
The winner gets $500 donated by the Parrot Club plus half of the proceeds from the Poker Run with the rest going to the St. John Cancer Fund.
The Oct. 17 Charity Golf Tournament at Mahogany Bay includes a $25,000 prize if you get a hole in one on the 18-hole course, organizer Meaghan Enright said. She said the organizers have an insurance policy that will pay off if someone makes a hole in one.
While the details are still being worked out, she said there will be other prizes as well as a raffle at the tournament and after-party.
The after-party is open to anyone even if they didn’t participate in the tournament. It begins at 7 p.m. at High Tide.
Enright said the tournament will start at 11 a.m. and transportation will be provided from the Red Hook ferry dock.
Registration for the golf tournament is $125 per person or $500 for a team of four. Enright said if you don’t have a team of four, sign up anyway and the organizers will put together a team.
Hole sponsorships start at $250.
She said last year, the event raised $6,000.
The Oct. 26 Save Second Base Block Party has already become a St. John tradition. It begins at 8 p.m., with the street in front of Woody’s closed from 7 until 11 p.m.
“It gets people out and it’s a kick off to the season,” Woody’s owner Todd Beaty said, referring to the start of the winter tourism season.
Music will be by Inner Visions.
All the money from the sale of drinks goes to the Cancer Fund.
The October events are held in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness month, and Beaty said the money raised goes for things like breast cancer screening.
He said the breast cancer focus is in honor of all the women who worked at Woody’s during its 18 years in business.
And the name comes from a youthful term that has its roots in amorous pursuits.
Beaty said the event raised $16,937 last year.
For more information on the Dinghy Poker Run, call 693-9030. For the Golf Tournament, call 804-337-5314. For Save Second Base, call 779-4625.
