Kentucky Derby event returns to Stables at Le Bocage
The sixth annual Derby for Dollars at The Stables at Le Bocage will be at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, May 5, to benefit Family and Youth’s Shannon Cox Counseling Center.
In true Kentucky Derby style, individuals are invited to dress with wide-brimmed hats, seersucker suits and any other attire related to the Kentucky Derby. Prizes will be awarded for the best dressed.
“People really go all out,” said Devan Corbello, Family and Youth outreach coordinator.
In addition to the televised broadcast of the Kentucky Derby, themed cocktails, live betting, a cigar bar and food-tasting booths will be available to participants.
More than 25 local restaurants will be lined up for “restaurant row,” offering samplings of their best food and beverage menu items, Corbello said.
Students of The Stables at Le Bocage will showcase their equestrian skills in a jumping
exhibition.
Derby for Dollars 2016
Valet service will be available, and all events will take place under covered tents or indoors.
Corbello said participation in the event has “skyrocketed” over the past several years. This year, the organization expects more than 600 people to attend and aims to raise $100,000 to support the counseling center and its initiatives.
Established by John and Ginny Henning, the Shannon Cox Counseling Center provides grief counseling to children who have experienced a tragic loss.
Cox was “a local advocate for the less fortunate, children and families,” Corbello said.
Upon her death, her friends sought to fill the need for quality grief therapy for children. Working with local schools and social agencies, the center annually serves 165 Southwest Louisiana children, free of charge, said Caitlin Delafield, Family and Youth counselor.
Tickets are $125 at www.fyca.org or by calling Dana McDonald at 436-9533.