Both the Eden Prairie Lioness Lions and the Eden Prairie Lions service clubs held annual fundraising events the first week in December. The 2023 iteration of the Lionesses’ juried Art & Craft Fair was the 14th annual, while the Lions’ Wild Game Dinner celebrated 50 years.
Proceeds from the craft show go to the nonprofit organizations that receive funding from the Lioness Lions, such as the Staring Lake Outdoor Center, Eden Prairie Community Band, Eden Prairie Reads, Eden Prairie School District programs, MoveFwd, Cornerstone, Eden Prairie Crime Prevention Fund, Eden Prairie Safety Camp, PROP Shop, the Eden Prairie Senior Center and PROP (Eden Prairie’s food shelf).
Proceeds from the wild game dinner were earmarked for local animal rescue and shelter organizations such as the Eden Prairie Outdoor Center, Secondhand Hounds and Southwest Metro Animal Rescue. Donations for PROP and True Friends were also approved at the event. For the 50th anniversary, former Eden Prairie elementary principal Bob Hallett spoke about creating the event in 1973. Eden Prairie High School football coach Mike Grant shared photos and reminiscences about hunting and fishing trips with his late father, former Minnesota Vikings coach Bud Grant.
The Eden Prairie Lions were founded in 1961; the Eden Prairie Lioness Lions Club was initially formed as an auxiliary in 1974 by the wives of EP Lions Club members; it became an independent member of Lions Clubs International in 2021.
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