On Saturday, January 13, members of the community gathered at the Central Park Sunken Gardens in Alliance for the Cupcakes and Cocoa 5K. The event was held to raise money for the ongoing “Pillars in the Park” fundraiser. There were 27 total participants in the event.

“Pillars in the Park” began to raise money to rebuild the pillars that used to stand in Central Park. The pillars once lined the walkways around the Sunken Gardens and were a popular attraction in Alliance. Due to deterioration, the pillars had to be taken down. Alliance resident, Tami Cox, has put together a board that is in charge of raising money to rebuild the pillars. Small projects have been put in place, such as the Cupcakes and Cocoa 5K, and the board hopes to begin writing grants, soon. With that, collection jars have been placed around town to raise extra funds.

Members of Alliance High School’s National Honor Society helped with this run. They were stationed at various points along the course of the 5K and made sure every participant turned in the right direction. Despite the fact that winter temperatures were in full force, National Honor Society put on their best smiles and cheered everyone on.

The run was organized by the physical education teacher at Alliance High School, Angela Hiemstra, who stated, “For the first year, I think we had great participation!  It was very cold and the fact that we had 27 runners brave the cold was great!  I really appreciate everyone who took the time to participate and the help of the AHS National Honor Society.  NHS members guided the runners on the correct route, which really helped with the overall organization.  I have had many compliments on the race.”

At the end of the run, participants congregated inside of the Knight Museum, where they received cupcakes and their choice of hot chocolate or coffee to warm themselves up, after their cold three-mile venture. This event is just the beginning for “Pillars in the Park”; however, the run was a huge success.

Hiemstra states, “We hope everyone had a good time and plans to run again next year!”