Jacob Smith
Staff Writer
On April 26, Lakeland Volunteers in Medicine (LVIM) will be hosting their 17th annual Swan Derby on Lake Mirror in downtown Lakeland. This event is free admission and runs from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., consisting of three swan boat races, a fireworks show and much more.
“Lakeland Volunteers in Medicine provides compassionate, free, high-quality, outpatient medical, dental and mental health care to the working uninsured of Polk County, Florida,” reads the event sponsorship packet. Started in 2001, LVIM has served nearly 34,000 patients and has provided more than 600,000 patient visits for the residents of Polk County.
Started in 2008, the Swan Derby serves as LVIM’s one and only major community fundraising event. All proceeds go towards the purchase of clinical supplies, equipment and patient services for nearly 3,000 Polk County residents.
“LVIM wished to create an event that was totally unique to Lakeland, that would highlight our City of the Swans and most of all, to bring awareness and raise unrestricted funds to the LVIM mission,” said LVIM Director of Development Sonia Glisson.
The main attraction is the three boat races: the Maiden Handicap, the Derby Dash, and the Swan Derby. The jockeys for each of the races are determined by different methods of sponsoring the event. The Maiden Handicap has ten teams where local non-profits choose their two jockeys, while the Derby Dash racers are made up of the Leaders of Polk: some of Polk County’s best and brightest community leaders.
For the Swan Derby, the process is quite different.
“The jockeys for the main race, the Swan Derby, are chosen by the sponsors that have committed to a sponsorship level that allows them to ‘own’ a swan boat for the day,” said Glisson. “To ‘own’ a boat, our sponsorship levels are $10,000, $20,000 and $50,000.”
The “swansorships” range from $1,000 to $50,000, with each level offering benefits, such as invitations to the pre-show VIP reception and company recognition on merch and LVIM’s social media pages. Other ways of showing support include purchasing Super Tickets, which offers the chance of winning one of 12 exclusive prizes at the event, donating to a Leaders of Polk team and showing up to the event.
In addition to the three races, there will also be live entertainment, activities for children, a derby hat contest and a fireworks show to end the night. These event enhancers serve as a way to pay tribute to the Swan Derby’s main inspiration, the Kentucky Derby.
“Everything about the Swan Derby is themed after the Kentucky Derby and promises to bring a little bit of the Kentucky Derby to Polk County,” said Glisson. “We have done our best to keep the event as close to the historical event as possible.”
The Swan Derby serves as a way to fund the LVIM mission and to provide the community with a fun, free event that everyone can enjoy. Glisson spoke about the success of the event and the impact it has had on the community.
“The Swan Derby itself is a free, family-friendly event that brings families together to have some fun and enjoy what our downtown has to offer,” Glisson said. “Each year, we feel that the attendance numbers grow, although we have no way to really count the number in attendance. We can confidently report about 3,500 guests on the lawn.”
