Amidst two hours of music, of laughter, of flying arrows, of loaded hot dogs, of humming engines, of festival-like glee, there is a brief pause filled with weighted silence that reverberates across the water louder than any of those things.
This is the Folds of Honor moment of reflection during Northshore Marina’s and VIP Boats & Yachts’ Start of Summer Party and In-water Boat Show at Lake Travis, a moment surrounded by the mission to raise more than $15,000 in one evening to contribute toward scholarships for the children of disabled and fallen service members. Each dollar spent by the public is matched by Northshore Marina.
Folds of Honor is a nonprofit organization founded by F-16 fighter pilot Lieutenant Dan Rooney in 2007, after he experienced a life-changing moment on an airplane that was flying from Chicago into Grand Rapids with the remains of fallen American soldier Corporal Brock Bucklin. Charlotte Jacunski, the general manager at Northshore Marina, took this mission to heart when she was introduced to Folds of Honor at the Association of Marine Industries (AMI) Conference around 2018. She spoke about the mission of Folds of Honor:
“Folds of Honor, as a whole, they provide scholarships to the children and spouses of fallen or disabled service members or now as of last year, first responders, as well.
Since its inception, the program has awarded over 52,000 scholarships. The expanded mission that Charlotte spoke of includes providing college and primary school scholarships for the children of firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, and police.
Northshore Marina and VIP Boats and Yachts support this mission in the best way they know how: with a good time on a hot night with friends on Lake Travis. A special representative of Folds of Honor will speak about the impact of your contributions to the organization, and on the lake, with the warm aroma of food and music echoing across the water, Northshore Marina is ready to host an integral piece of Lake Travis living:
To start the summer right.
S’mores, summer camp, and beer
Northshore Marina will host the party on its Lake Travis docks, while VIP Boats & Yachts, the event’s platinum sponsor, will host the in-water boat show. A collective of local sponsors – from the Lucky Rabbit of Jonestown to the Dog Haus Cedar Park Biergarten – pay for most of the event, and then Charlotte and the rest of the Northshore team help to host a silent auction, games, and family-themed activities like a face painter, a balloon artist, and a caricaturist.
The theme of the 2023 Start of Summer Party was a carnival-like atmosphere. This year, they’ve moved the event into the evening, with a direction to include the adults just as much as the family. For the kids, though, a new theme will rule the night:
“We’re doing summer camp,” said Charlotte. “We’re gonna have hamburgers and hot dogs, and s’mores, and have a little archery game [the floating archery competition], but that concept of the tickets worked really well for fundraising, so we’re going to continue with that trend.”
To balance the kids using tickets for their favorite games and foods, the adults can use the same ticket concept to buy their beer, which will be donated by Northshore’s ship store vendors.
Lucky Rabbit Live Music, Dog Haus, and Argentinian dove hunts
Okay, so only two of those three will be present on the Northshore amenity deck on Saturday, May 18th. The live music is sponsored by Jonestown’s most popular sundown hangout and live music destination, the Lucky Rabbit. Benton Travis and Bobby Earl Grogan will perform Texas red dirt country music as the B&B Acoustic Duo throughout the evening. Dog Haus sponsors the food and they will serve up tater tots, burger sliders, and a hot dog bar.
The “Chili Idol” by Dog Haus. Photo: Dog Haus
The Argentinian dove hunts? Well, you’ll have to do some bidding for one of those. The silent auction will include two dove hunts. Items in the auction’s past have also included boat details and boat care packages. Four of the biggest prizes at the silent auction will be four premium-spaced parking spots directly in front of the unloading area at Northshore. Three golf cart parking spots and one vehicle spot will be available in the silent auction. Last year, two of these spots went for $5,000.
The VIP Boats & Yachts partnership and in-water boat show
The boater who loves to see the gleam of new hulls bobbing in the water will get to see a whole lineup arranged along the dock walkway at Northshore Marina. VIP Boats & Yachts co-hosts the event with Northshore Marina, and their presence as a local new and used boat dealership will be seen in a big way. Their lineup of brands includes Fountain Powerboats, Formula Powerboats, Blackjack bay boats, Twin Vee PowerCats, Prestige luxury yachts, and the classic Berkshire pontoon boats.
VIP Boats & Yachts also reserves about 15 slips at Northshore Marina and will offer the opportunity for slip transfers to boaters who wish to trade in their vessel and park a new one on sale at the marina in the same evening.
Start the summer – honor legacy.
Northshore Marina hosted their first event with Folds of Honor in 2019, drawing hundreds of people to its docks, and supporting a worthy mission with tens of thousands of dollars raised. From 7 to 9 p.m. on May 18th, Northshore will run it back for 2024 with a mission to support the families of those who made a profound sacrifice.
As the day’s heat melts off the water, the dollars spent will not be immediately visible in a statue or a building upgrade. The effects will ripple out to a few years from now, when a child of a fallen service member or first responder steps forward to receive a diploma, knowing that in the absence of their loved one, their loss has been recognized.
Northshore Marina thanks its 2024 Start of Summer Party and In-Water boat show sponsors, including VIP Boats and Yachts, Capital Marine Services, Lone Star IV Medics, Renewal by Andersen, Flagship Towing, and Pro Detail, with music sponsored by the Lucky Rabbit of Jonestown and food from the Dog Haus Cedar Park Biergarten.
Northshore Marina is a five-time Marina Association of Texas “Outstanding Marina of the Year” award winner and a luxurious deepwater Lake Travis marina serving Austin and the Lake Travis communities. Explore Northshore’s Lake Travis boat storage services, and be sure to visit the Start of Summer Party’s platinum sponsor, VIP Boat & Yachts, as the premier Austin, Possum Kingdom Lake, and Surfside Beach locations for new and used boats.
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