DREAM hosts events as part of fundraiser weekend

DREAM Adaptive Recreation is hosting a weekend of events with proceeds supporting its year-round adaptive programs.

The Snow Ball Gala is set for March 6 from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake.

Featured is a beef tenderloin or salmon dinner, no host bar, silent and live auctions and music by Halladay and Rob Quist, auctioneer Bobby Roshon and emcee Janice Lake.

The keynote speaker is Montana native, adaptive X Games Medalist, Kevin Michael Connolly. He was born in Helena with a limb difference, missing both of his legs. An extreme sports athlete and global adventurer, Connolly became a bestselling author, actor and X-Games medalist before he turned 30-years-old.

After graduating from Helena High School in 2004, Connolly began attending Montana State University. On a year abroad, Connolly was skateboarding down a backstreet in Vienna and took his first prototype photo for what would become The Rolling Exhibition. The Rolling Exhibition is an art exhibit of more than 33,000 photos taken across 31 countries, documenting his unique perspective. Connolly’s photography has been featured in the Smithsonian Institute, ABC’s 20/20, NPR, BBC, Yahoo! News, and National Geographic.

His memoir, “Double Take,” chronicles his early life, as well as his journey working on The Rolling Exhibition. “Double Take” has been published in three languages and garnered rave reviews.

Connolly’s desire for adventure was also featured in Travel Channel’s 2014 original series, “Armed & Ready,” where he created prosthetics to solve obstacles confronted by many active amputees. Connolly currently lives and works in Helena.

Snow Ball Tickets are $85 per person, $160 per couple and $625 for a table of eight.

For those looking for a bit more action, the fun-filled all-abilities SHRED-a-Thon is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, March 7 at Whitefish Mountain Resort. Participants must fundraise in advance of the event by using DREAM’s online platform to create a fundraising page or form a team to have a better chance to win awesome awards.

The event includes a light breakfast and a food truck lunch served up at the DREAM Shack in the Spruce Lot, with awards for the most vertical feet skied or boarded in multiple categories, prizes for most funds raised, awesome raffles, giveaways and more.

Support at these events helps empower individuals of all ages with cognitive, sensory and physical disabilities through outdoor recreation, notes DREAM.

Current programs include alpine skiing and snowboard lessons at Whitefish Mountain Resort, the advanced Backcountry Powder Camp in partnership with Great Northern Powder Guides, Nordic skiing in partnership with Glacier Nordic Club, Mountain biking, paddle boarding, kayaking and watersports days full of waterskiing, wake boarding, wake surfing and more. Programs specifically for military veterans with a disability are also offered.

To learn more, purchase Snow Ball tickets or create a Shred-A-Thon page, visit: www.DreamAdaptive.org/events