We did it! $56,200 raised at Dinner in the Park 🎉

Dinner in the Park 2026: What a Night! 🌿✨
Nearly 200 guests, one unforgettable evening, and an incredible investment in Carmichael’s parks and recreation.

A fundraising dinner in a park raised $56,200 for Carmichael's parks and recreation programs on September 19, 2026.

Dear Friends,

On September 19, nearly 200 friends, neighbors, community leaders, businesses and supporters gathered beneath the trees at Jensen Botanical Garden for the Carmichael Parks Foundation’s Dinner in the Park, an immersive evening of music, wine, food and community in one of the very spaces we work together to support.

The garden was beautiful. The tables were full. The music was incredible. The dance floor definitely got its workout.

Together, this community raised $56,200 to help us continue investing in Carmichael’s parks, recreation programs, youth and families.

And we want to share the story of how it happened.

A collage of outdoor event scenes featuring people dining, speaking, and socializing in a park setting.

Why We Raised Our Paddles 💚

Before we asked anyone to raise a paddle, we wanted our guests to understand exactly what they were being asked to support.

During dinner, we shared Our Impact in Carmichael, a Fund-a-Need video highlighting the work the Carmichael Parks Foundation and this community have made possible.

Our work looks like a child getting to play a sport their family otherwise couldn't afford.

It looks like improvements to the parks, gardens and facilities our community uses every day.

It looks like community events, recreation programs, beautification projects and investments that create places where people can gather, play, grow and belong.

Since 2011, our community has helped the Carmichael Parks Foundation provide more than 2,400 youth scholarships and invest more than $475,000 back into Carmichael parks and recreation. Those numbers represent thousands of individual stories and we're nowhere near finished.

If you missed the video that evening, or would simply like to see it again, we hope you'll take a few minutes to watch.

This is what your support makes possible.

After the video, Skip Wahl of Skip's Kitchen took the stage and invited our guests to help us write the next chapter.

Paddles started going up; across the garden, people gave at every level. By the end of our live Fund-a-Need, our guests had pledged an incredible:

$31,200

That alone would have made the evening extraordinary and was a new record for this organization's annual event.

But we weren't finished yet. An Extraordinary $25,000 Gift ❤️

Dr. Kawanaa Carter and Robert Buccola made an extraordinary additional $25,000 Fund-A-Need gift to the Carmichael Parks Foundation.

Their generosity brought the total raised through Fund-a-Need and this additional pledge to:

$56,200! 🎉

It is a vote of confidence in the work of the Carmichael Parks Foundation, in the people doing that work and in what is possible when a community decides that its parks, children and shared spaces matter.

Thank you for believing so deeply in this mission. Thank you for choosing to make an investment that will reach far beyond one evening. And thank you for helping us dream a little bigger about what comes next.

Every person who participated became part of that $56,200.

That is what community looks like.

An Evening Under the Trees ✨

A lively outdoor event with dining, music performances, grilling, and guests enjoying the atmosphere.

Dinner in the Park was designed to celebrate the very places we're working together to support.

Guests began the evening with our Musical Path Reception, enjoying the Rombauer wine experience while wandering through the beautiful setting of Jensen Botanical Garden.

From there, everyone gathered in the lower garden for more Rombauer wine and River City Brewing Beer, an open-air dinner by Pickles & Olives Catering Company, surrounded by trees and glowing string lights.

As dinner began, Grammy-nominated artist Andrey Chmut filled the garden with live saxophone.

Then came our impact video, Fund-a-Need and an incredible outpouring of generosity.

And after all that fundraising?

We celebrated.

Wasted Space took over, the music went up, and our elegant garden dinner became one very full dance floor under the stars.

A lively outdoor event with groups of people socializing, dancing, enjoying live music, and engaging in activities.

More Than One Night

The beauty of Dinner in the Park is that the evening ends, but its impact doesn't.

The Carmichael Parks Foundation is the nonprofit partner of the Carmichael Recreation & Park District, helping fund opportunities and enhancements that extend beyond what traditional public funding alone can provide.

That includes youth recreation scholarships, park and facility improvements, recreation programs, community events, beautification projects and special initiatives throughout Carmichael.

This Night Took a Community

There are far too many people behind an event like Dinner in the Park to pretend it happens by magic.

We extend our deepest gratitude to Roger and Carol Wieckowski Dreyer, our Premier Sponsor, and Carmichael Water District, our Experience Sponsor, for their tremendous support of this year's event.

We are equally grateful to our supporting sponsors, table sponsors, donors, community partners and the businesses and individuals who contributed services, resources and expertise to make the evening possible.

Thank you to Sachuk Events, Rombauer Vineyards, River City Brewing Company, Pickles & Olives Catering Company, Andrey Chmut, Wasted Space, Skip Wahl, A&A Event Production, and all of the partners who helped transform Jensen Botanical Garden for the evening.

And then there are our volunteers, particularly the ARC Rugby Team!

The people who arrived before guests ever saw a beautifully set table. The people who hauled, carried, checked, directed, decorated, problem-solved and stayed after the party was over.

The image captures a lively outdoor event with guests dining, staff serving, and various activities in a scenic garden setting.

Thank you.

You created the kind of evening that looked effortless precisely because so many people worked incredibly hard behind the scenes.

And Most of All, Thank YOU.

To every person who attended Dinner in the Park:

Thank you for showing up.

You filled our tables.

You supported our sponsors and partners.

You watched our story.

You raised your paddles.

You celebrated our community.

You danced under the trees.

And you helped turn one September evening into $56,200 of additional support for the work ahead.

We hope you left feeling just a little more connected to Carmichael and knowing that you played a part in something meaningful.

Relive the Night 📸

The photos are here!

From the garden waiting for its first guests, to dinner beneath the lights, paddles held high during Fund-a-Need and a packed dance floor at the end of the evening, the gallery captures the night beautifully.

An event gallery promoting a “Dinner in the Park” with images of attendees enjoying the occasion.

Because of you, we are leaving this year's event with more resources to invest in our children, our parks and the experiences that make Carmichael feel like home.

We're leaving with new supporters and stronger partnerships.

We're leaving inspired by the generosity we witnessed.

From all of us at the Carmichael Parks Foundation, thank you for believing in this work.

Thank you for investing in Carmichael.

Thank you for loving your parks.

With tremendous gratitude,

Rosie Buck
President
Carmichael Parks Foundation