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Color Blast 5K Deadline Approaching; Hospitality House and WYN Team Up for Brighter Community

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May 2, 2014. On Memorial Day, May 26, Hospitality House and Western Youth Network (WYN) are teaming up to host the  Memorial Day Color Blast 5K Run/Walk to raise funds, awareness and support for families and youth in our community. The event will take place on the Boone Greenway Trail at Clawson-Burnley Park beginning at 5 p.m.

In order for participants to be guaranteed a Color Blast T-shirt, they must preregister by Monday, May 5. Pre-registration is $25 for adults and $10 for kids 12 and under. Participants can register online at www.HospHouse.org or registration forms can be found at EarthFare, The Rock Sports Bar and Grill, Peppers, Appalachian Mountain Brewery, Town Tavern in Blowing Rock and 24/7 Gym at New Market Center. Online registration will continue to be available after the May 5 deadline; however, a Color Blast t-shirt will not be guaranteed.

Those who pre-register can pick up their packets from May 19-21 between 1 and 5 p.m. at the Hospitality House located at 338 Brook Hollow Rd. in Boone. On-site registration begins at 4 p.m. and will cost $30 for adults and $15 for kids 12 and under. T-shirts will be first come first serve.

Participants can expect a free photo booth with fun props, face painting, music and free samples of frozen yogurt from Menchie’s Boone. Water and fruit will be provided by EarthFare and local food trucks will also be on hand so families can eat in the park and not worry about preparing dinner.

“With Watauga County students having to attend school on Memorial Day, we wanted to provide a fun, unique event that parents can bring their kids to and that entire families will enjoy,” said Brittany Johnson, AmeriCorps VISTA and project manager for Hospitality House.

“We want the community to have a blast and be able to end the now non-holiday weekend in a colorful way.”

The Color Blast, sponsored by Town Tavern Blowing Rock, Bistro Roca and New River Gymnastics Academy is an event that showers participants in environmentally safe, cornstarch-based colored powder at certain locations along the trail. The main idea is to tie-dye each runner’s white event t-shirt by the end of the run. The event welcomes competitive runners, casual runners, joggers, walkers, people with disabilities, families and all those who are willing to give back to their community. Sorry, no pets. A guide to the Color Blast will be posted at www.HospHouse.org and will be included in the pre-registration packets.

Food donation bins, supporting the Bread of Life Food Programs, will be located at the picnic shelters to collect canned goods, boxed goods and dry goods like coffee, sugar and tea.

Western Youth Network (WYN) and Hospitality House, organizations that have been serving the High Country for thirty years, are organizing this event together. All proceeds will be divided evenly between the two organizations and will support two different programs.

The Hospitality House serves those living in crisis, poverty and homelessness. With the poverty rate increasing to 29 percent, making Watauga County the third highest in the state, their services are in great need. The Color Blast 5K funds will kick start the Benefit Boutique project which is not only an economic resource for the organization, but will also serve as a job skills and financial literacy training program for clients it serves.

WYN reaches the youth of the High Country  by providing afterschool programs, mentoring opportunities as well as evidence based programs and practices to reduce and delay the onset of early substance use and abuse. The 5K fundraiser will support WYN’s Youth Mentoring Program. This program has been successfully operating in Watauga County since 1985 and Avery County since 2002. The mentoring program serves youth between the ages of 6 and 17 and encourages students to stay motivated and focused on their education, provides a positive way to spend free time and assist with daily challenges.

For more information, please contact Brittany Johnson at Brittany@hosphouse.org or Faith Motter at motterf@westernyouthnetwork.org.