Shangri La At The Lake

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

Any time spent at the lake is time well spent — made even better with food, drink, live music and dancing. Underground Kindness goes a step further with Shangri La At The Lake, turning a lakeside party into an opportunity to support area students.

The local nonprofit offers a suite a programs to public schools, the Bonner County Juvenile Detention Center and Sandpoint Teen Center focused on fostering self awareness, acceptance, expression and compassion in kids so that they might grow into healthy, productive community members.  

Though Underground Kindness accepts donations year-round, the seventh-annual Shangri La At The Lake, set for Saturday, July 13, is the only standalone fundraiser for the organization — and it’s a doozy.

In addition to food and drink including beer, wine and a signature cocktail served family-style from Ivano’s Ristorante, Sandpoint’s favorite dance band Tennis will kick out the tunes. Students are set to share testimonials of how Underground Kindness programs have affected their lives, while partygoers have the opportunity to participate in a slate of live and silent auctions featuring items donated by local businesses, a huge winner-take-all beer and wine raffle, and paddle raise during which attendees can make direct donations to the organization.

Shangri La At The Lake brings in about $30,000 to Underground Kindness, which will go toward more than 400 classes affecting 10,000 area students in the 2019/2020 school year. Last year, community support for Underground Kindness translated into over 600 classroom hours of programming for local kids. 

Tickets are $65 for individuals, $110 for couples and $1,000 for a VIP table including priority food service, reserved seating for 10, two free bottles of sparkling wine and one free bottle of sparkling cider.