Hazel Dell throws holiday bash

It was the annual free holiday party for kids in Hazel Dell — bigger and better than ever — with more smiling, rambunctious kids and parents (about 1,000), more volunteers (about 100), and, perhaps most exciting, more shiny new donated bikes (19) in all colors and sizes.

In a nearly shoulder-to-shoulder crowd Thursday night in the gym/cafeteria of Sara J. Anderson Elementary School, girls in bright-red Santa dresses and hats were offering trays of soft drinks and hot chocolate and children were busy at tables, coloring greetings for their parents and decorating cookies with sprinkles.

Other kids were getting their faces painted or being photographed with Santa.

Tiffanie Kneeland was standing near a table with her five children, ages 2 to 13, and a big bag of donated and gift-wrapped presents, one for each child, that they hadn’t opened yet.

“It’s great,” said Kneeland, of the party that’s thrown by the Northeast Hazel Dell Neighborhood Association and a bunch of other agencies, groups and businesses. “It’s a great way to help the homeless and people who don’t have enough for themselves.”

With those new bikes lined up on the stage, Vicki Fitzsimmons, the association’s secretary and a financial adviser by trade, was explaining to a Hispanic family how the raffle-ticket system worked, using Spanish she learned from three years of classes in high school.

The raffle announcer, too, was using both English and Spanish when she called out the winning numbers. “We have a winner!” she said. “Yahoo! Everybody give him an applause!”

“Did you win anything?” Ronald McDonald asked a group of children. “You might. You might.”

Minutes later, in his stage appearance, he led the crowd in singing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and asked, “Did anyone bring a friend? Can everybody spell friend? F-r-i-e-n-d.”

For the lucky, delighted bike winners, a representative from Fire District 6 was making sure the helmets that came with the bikes were properly fitted.

Those who didn’t get bikes were winners, too.

“Every kid gets at least three things,” a stuffed animal, a wrapped gift and books, Fitzsimmons said. Nine-hundred new donated books were arranged on tables.

Nearby, cadets with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office were decorating 10 trees that also would be given to crowd members.

“This is probably the biggest turnout we’ve had in the 12 years we’ve been doing this,” said Doug Ballou, executive of the neighborhood association’s board, who provided the crowd estimate. “It grows every year.”

The party is called the Community Youth Holiday Event. Kids and parents came from all over the county, many from Hazel Dell.

The association began planning the event in August and other area neighborhood association volunteers also help.

Volunteers, about 100, also assembled 150 meal boxes for those who needed them.

Donated items and volunteers came from many businesses and groups including Hewlett-Packard, Burgerville, the Altrusa Organization, Yard ’N Garden, Walmart, Vancouver Public Schools and Sara J. Anderson’s PTA and the Hazel Dell/Salmon Creek Business Association.

Those who want to donate cash or gifts are asked to call Bud Van Cleve, the neighborhood association’s president, at 360-695-1466 or e-mail him at bsvanc@aol.com.

John Branton: 360-735-4513 or john.branton@columbian.com.