No. 01
The Big Pinwheel
Build a pinwheel from scratch, write a name on the back, plant it in the field. By 4 PM the field has three hundred names.
Booth · Booth 101
Free
Edition 2026
Lemonade Stand-Raiser'26
The Stand-Raiser started in 2020 as a six-stand neighborhood experiment on a hot Tuesday in July. Three of the stands were run by the same family. The whole thing raised $812 — and there is still a thank-you note for it on the bulletin board outside the elevator.
The Stand-Raiser Goal
Every cup poured shows up here.
Every stand reports to the foundation in real time. Every dollar funds the program at the heart of why we gather.
$124,860
raised so far this season
Goal
$180,000
$0$45K$90K$135K$180K
Active stands
60
Cups poured
28,114
Avg per stand
$1,840
From Dr. Lila Whitfield-Reyes
The Stand-Raiser started in 2020 as a six-stand neighborhood experiment on a hot Tuesday in July. Three of the stands were run by the same family. The whole thing raised $812 — and there is still a thank-you note for it on the bulletin board outside the elevator.
This year we'll be on the island again, eighty stands strong, with three hundred kids pouring cups and a stage of small bands and a registration tent. Every cup poured shows up on the leaderboard before the next one is sold. Every dollar lands where it's meant to before the weekend is out.
Come for an hour. Bring a thirsty friend. We can't wait to see you.
Activity Booths
8 booths. One day.
Pop-up booths run by staff, hospital therapists, and local makers. Look for the colored flags overhead.
No. 02
Lemon Lab
Make your own recipe with our pediatric dietitian. Strawberry, lavender, mint, hot pepper — the kids invent, you taste.
Booth · Booth 102
Free
No. 03
The Art Tent
Easels and watercolors with the hospital's art therapist. Send a picture upstairs to the third floor — they'll hang it by Monday.
Booth · Booth 103
Free
No. 04
Face Paint Row
Seven artists, three folding chairs, infinite glitter. A lion will take twelve minutes. A pinwheel, fewer.
Booth · Booth 104
Free
No. 05
The Pop-Up Stand
No stand of your own? Borrow ours. Two folding tables, a sign, chalk, a cooler. Pour for an hour, then pass it on.
Booth · Booth 105
Free
No. 06
Story Time
Authors from Chop Suey Books read a half-hour at a piece. A small carpet, a great many beanbags, the occasional dog.
Booth · Booth 106
Free
No. 07
Music Stage
Four small bands and a music therapist on a borrowed PA. Every set is twenty minutes. Bring lawn chairs.
Booth · Booth 107
Free
No. 08
The Awards Tent
Winners of the Stand-Raiser announced at 3:45 from this tent. Trophies are made by the kids in the art tent.
Booth · Booth 108
Free
This Year's Honored Stands
6 kids. 6 reasons.
Every year we honor a handful of stands run by kids whose families have been through the program. Here's who you'll meet.
Anna Bautista
After the surgery I asked my mom if we could have a stand. She said sure. I have the recipe from the Lemon Lab last year — it's strawberry with a little bit of honey.
Eli Sterling
My family stayed at the Family House for six weeks when my brother was in oncology. I have run a stand every year since. This year I'm running two — one here on the island, one back home in front of the church.
Iris Donovan Hart
My lemonade has strawberry. My friend Sam is helping. We have a sign that says please give a dollar for the hospital. My mom helped me draw it.
Marcus Okonkwo
I want to do the cups. Mom says I can. We are making the signs at home. The signs are very good. Adaeze is going to help me.
Story Reyes Marlin
My stand is on the corner of Forest Hill and Lockwood. I have a chair, a sign, a cooler, and a sister who pours. Last year was great. This year is going to be better.
Theo Park
I had my stand even when I was in the wheelchair. Mom did the pouring. I did the signs. Now I can do both, and my brother Henry is on cups this year.
The Day Plan
Saturday, 13 June.
10:00AM
Opening Ceremony & Honored Stands
Welcome from Dr. Whitfield-Reyes. The six honored stands are introduced; ribbon cut by Story, last year's champion.
Main Stage
10:30AM
Stands Open · Bidding Begins
Eighty stands open at once. Live leaderboard updates begin. The Lemon Lab opens its first batch.
All Island
11:30AM
Story Time · The Bear Who Wouldn't
A reading by author Tilda Vance, host of the Pinwheel Reading Hour at WCVE. Ages 3 and up. Beanbags provided.
Story Tent
12:00PM
Live Music · The Backstreet Sextet
Twenty minutes of folk-pop from Marlow's most beloved sextet. Sing along if you know the words.
Music Stage
1:00PM
Lemon Lab & Art Tent · Both at Full Tilt
Drop-in invention hour at the Lemon Lab. Watercolor sets out at the art tent, with a portrait wall on rotation.
Lab + Art Tent
2:00PM
Three Hundred Pinwheels in the Field
All pinwheels built in the morning are planted at once. The field opens for photos.
South Field
3:00PM
Hospital Walk & Floor Stories
Foundation staff lead a short walk; on the way back, a small group from the third floor reads what they wrote this year.
Meet at Tent
3:45PM
The Awards · Stand-Raiser Champions
First, second, third place. Best new stand. Best lemonade. Best sign. Trophies made by the art tent.
Awards Tent
4:00PM
Closing & Pinwheel Walk
A short closing from the foundation. We walk through the pinwheel field as a group. By dusk the field is quiet again.
Main Stage
In Gratitude
The Donor Wall.
The neighbors, families, firms, and small businesses who underwrote this year's program.
Founders
Gifts of $25,000 and above
The Whitfield Family Trust
◆
Caldwell & Park Foundation
◆
Adaeze & Marcus Okonkwo
◆
Marigold Capital Partners
Champions
Gifts of $5,000 – $24,999
Drs. Amelia & Niko Patel
◆
The Ashworth Family
◆
Beatrice Yamamoto
◆
The Halloran Family
◆
Reyes-Marlin Family
◆
Riverbend Brewing
◆
Chop Suey Books
Friends
Up to $4,999
Cordelia Vance
·
Marshall Owens
·
Theodora Cho
·
Jasper Madden
·
Penelope Reed-Hart
·
The Walsh Family
·
Forest Hill Florist
·
Coopers Corner Grocer
·
WCVE Pinwheel Hour
The Setting
Riverbend Island. Where we meet.
Riverbend Island sits in the middle of the Marlow River, walkable from the lot via the footbridge at Riverbend Drive. The Stand-Raiser uses the lawn between the amphitheater and the rocks; you'll find us by the pinwheel field. The Foundation's tents are along the eastern path; the food trucks are by the water. Parking is free at the Riverbend lot but limited — strollers welcome, dogs on-leash, please.
Frequently Asked
A few things worth knowing.
Do I need a stand to come? Can I just show up?
Yes, please. The Stand-Raiser is free to attend; we'd love it if you brought thirsty friends and a few singles. About half the people on the island any given Saturday have no stand of their own — they're walking the loop, buying cups, watching the music stage. Come for an hour. Come for the day.
How does my kid set up a stand?
Register at standraiser.brightstar.example.org by the first week of June. Sign-up is free; we provide a kit (signage, cups, cooler, a small leaderboard sticker, the rules-of-pouring printed on cardstock). Stands can be anywhere — your own front yard, a friend's stoop, or a folding table on the island day-of.
What happens to the money?
Every dollar reported to the leaderboard lands in the Bright Star general operating fund, which sends 100 percent of Stand-Raiser proceeds to the children's hospital on the corner of Park and Eighth. Specifically: art therapy, music therapy, family housing on the third floor, and the kitchen that feeds families on long stays.
I have a kid who's been in the hospital. Should we run a stand?
Only if it sounds like fun. The honored stands are family-led and we'd love to know about yours; reach out to Esme at the Foundation if you'd like to be one of next year's honored stands.
What about the weather? Rain plan?
We have one. If it rains, the music moves to the amphitheater shell and the tents go up. We've held the Stand-Raiser in rain three of the past five years. Bring a jacket; we'll bring the cups.
Can I volunteer? I don't have a stand.
Yes, please. We need about forty volunteers each year — registration, leaderboard updates, pop-up-stand staffing, awards, cleanup. Sign up at the volunteer page or just walk into the registration tent on the day; we'll find you something to pour.
The Ask
If you can pour, please pour.
If you can't pour, please buy. If you can't buy, please come anyway. Every Saturday in June, every cup, every dollar — it lands where it's meant to.
The pinwheel field will be a quiet thing again by Monday morning, but it will have done its work. The third floor will hear about the day before the last cup is rinsed.
Save the date for next year.
13 June 2027 · Riverbend Island
