Breakfast Lions Club Tri-Fest – 30 Years of Giving Back

This year, Tri-Fest was held April 21, 22, and 23 in downtown Henderson. With weather conditions not
ideal due to cold temperatures and rain, Tri-Fest went on without a hitch, as it has for the last 30 years.

Hendersonians say they attend Tri-Fest for a variety of reasons, including the carnival rides, live music, to run the 5k/10 race, people watch, or, of course, the food. Strolling down the four blocks on Main Street, foodies can get a variety of items including chocolate covered bacon from Henderson General Baptist Church, a brain sandwich from Missions of America, and have a famous lemon shakeup from the Corydon or Henderson City Lions Clubs.

However, many people that have frequented Tri-Fest many not realize its economic impact on the Henderson community.

In 1987, Tri-Fest was started by the Breakfast Lions Club to support local nonprofit organizations.  This reason, alone, is something Breakfast Lions Club member Jennifer Preston says is the reason why the club has put countless hours into planning and implementing Tri-Fest in Henderson over the years.

“Tri-Fest is about community, church, and schools,” Jennifer says. “And for the past 30 years, one of the reasons they wanted to develop the Tri-Fest was so that they could create a way they could give back to more than one organization.”

Jennifer says not only do nonprofit organizations benefit from operating their own food booths during Tri-Fest weekend, but they also can get a nonprofit grant from the money the Breakfast Lions Club collects from ride ticket sales and booth rentals.

“We’ve given nearly $700,000 over the past 30 years in small grants, and that does count the money that each booth makes over the weekend on sales. It’s really about how we can help nonprofits and how much we can be involved,” Jennifer says.

A few organizations impacted by Tri-Fest over the years include the Henderson County Humane Society, Henderson Area Arts Alliance, the Volunteer and Information Center, Junior Achievement, Henderson County Schools, Henderson Christian Community Outreach, the Father Bradley Shelter, and Habitat for Humanity of Henderson.

Habitat for Humanity of Henderson, whose mission is to construct homes for community members in need of decent housing, has planned and implemented the annual 5k/10k race for the past nine years. The race, which Habitat’s Executive Director Britney Smith says has become one of Habitat’s largest fundraisers, helped the organization raise $10,607.64 this year.

“We are so thankful to the Breakfast Lions Club for letting us be part of Tri-Fest weekend,” Britney said. “The race is our biggest fundraising event, and it’s a physical representation of how many people in Henderson help Habitat build houses, build hope, and change lives in Henderson.”

Overall, Breakfast Lions Club President Rich Foster said the club raised less this year than in previous years due to cold temperatures and rain. However, Rich says he is still proud of the impact it will have on the community.

“This year’s Tri-Fest was not as good as some past Tri-Fests because mother nature didn’t cooperate,” Rich says. “We didn’t have a good Friday at all (due to rain), Saturday was a little bit chilly, but Sunday, the sun was out, and it was crowded. So, mother nature didn’t cooperate, but we were still able to make it work with a good Sunday.”

Rich says he has been in the club for ten years and says the reason why he does this year after year is very personal to him.

“My favorite memory of Tri-Fest didn’t actually happen at Tri-Fest,” Rich says with tears in his eyes. “A few years ago, I left Tri-Fest after we closed and I had to go to the Dollar General Market to pick up something. I still had my (Lions Club) vest on. When I was in there, I had two strangers, who I didn’t even know, come up to me and thank us. That’s what it means to me.”